Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Beekissed]

Don't be concerned...it happens now and again. It's just extra calcium deposits on the shell. Different times of the year you'll see this more but it's usually not something that occurs a lot. Some hens will be more likely to have them than others.

 

[JeffOeuf]

Thanks, Bee. I was pretty sure that was the answer. My birds don't eat enough crumbles to get too much calcium...they barely eat any at all! They're currently working to rid my raised beds of every grub and worm that dares to venture in. The beds are 18 inches deep, and I swear, the chickens are digging all the way to the bottom until they hit the native rocky soil. I went back there yesterday and one was down in a hole deeper than she was tall, kicking soil out like she was headed for China. After eating grubs and weeds all day, the crumbles don't seem to have much appeal.

 

[Nancygardens]

I saw on U-tube some thing about a roo giving a special call for grasshoppers that hen preferred these for treats so maybe that's a bug call a roo was giving some one was mentioning!

It's so funny when we open the door they run out in a mad dash to get under the grapes their favorite treats that fall on the ground. They run and flap their wings on the way.

They also run for cover when an airplane is over head.

Our chickens love popped pop corn! And come running when we toss it out on the ground for them to eat hubby & grand kids like to do this at the end of the day.

Today I dumped a big bunch of leaves in the pen and they spread it out for bedding, I saw they were napping on some leaves yesterday figured that it works and I have plenty of those!

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I saw on U-tube some thing about a roo giving a special call for grasshoppers that hen preferred these for treats so maybe that's a bug call a roo was giving some one was mentioning!

It's so funny when we open the door they run out in a mad dash to get under the grapes their favorite treats that fall on the ground. They run and flap their wings on the way.

They also run for cover when an airplane is over head.

Our chickens love popped pop corn! And come running when we toss it out on the ground for them to eat hubby & grand kids like to do this at the end of the day.

Today I dumped a big bunch of leaves in the pen and they spread it out for bedding, I saw they were napping on some leaves yesterday figured that it works and I have plenty of those!

I hadn't thought of the leaves for chickens, I do this for my goats in the fall because the leaves make really good insulation and they keep the goats warm (it also doubles for a midnight snack).

 

[Beekissed]

I'm really liking how the leaves are breaking down in the litter. I've gathered and saved 4 trash cans full of compressed leaves to use this winter. Right now the litter is a mix of pine shavings, leaves and a little bit of hay from cleaning out nest boxes and such. It has no bad or ammonia odor whatsoever but does have an earth/soil smell when you lift it up close to smell it. The current litter has been in the coop since the middle of Sept. Here's a pic of how it looks:

 

[KnobbyOaks]

I'm really liking how the leaves are breaking down in the litter. I've gathered and saved 4 trash cans full of compressed leaves to use this winter. Right now the litter is a mix of pine shavings, leaves and a little bit of hay from cleaning out nest boxes and such. It has no bad or ammonia odor whatsoever but does have an earth/soil smell when you lift it up close to smell it. The current litter has been in the coop since the middle of Sept. Here's a pic of how it looks:

Is there a reason that you use hay in the nesting boxes instead of shavings?

 

[Mskayladog]

Old timers do you worm your chickens? I saw what might have been a long round worm in a pile of poo on the poop board. I ground up some pumpkin seed and pumpkin and fed it to them but now wondering if I should start a worming program.
Would cold weather when laying down be a good time to worm?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Old timers do you worm your chickens? I saw what might have been a long round worm in a pile of poo on the poop board. I ground up some pumpkin seed and pumpkin and fed it to them but now wondering if I should start a worming program.
Would cold weather when laying down be a good time to worm?

We give this advice every few hundred pages. We don't mind.

Since I grow an acre of cucumbers and squash (market garden farmer) I've got tons of cucurbits. There something about the cucurbit that causes the round worms to drop out and they get flushed from the system. I grind up the seeds and guts from 4 or 5 large squash, I use a Ninja type whizzer. I mix into it a pound or two of the feed mash. They gobble it up. I feed this from September thru January, once a month. In July and August, they get big, 'ol cucumbers and they gobble them up.

If I had concerns, which I do not, I would also use black walnut tea and or cayenne pepper in a mix as well. Got to be careful with the tea though.

That's it. I do not use chemical wormers. Whenever our birds are butchered, we check. The "load" is very, very low, and well within the bird's ability to carry with no weight deficit. Remember, no one worms the wild birds.

 

[Mountain Momma]

THANK YOU for going to Long Island!!

Glad your chickens faired well in your absence.

Ditto from me. REally cool to disrupt your life in such a self less way.
I'm moving the dogs outside. i think they will be happier and I will be happier. Its obvious we dont understand each other and after last night I'm not sure we ever will. I moved the hay barn to the back deck and left them there all day. Then when I got home I let them run the yard. They proceeded to dig at the chicken run until they could reach a rotten pumpkin and ran off with it like a huge prize. Emma was very willing to stay in the maint area of the chicken coop. Actually she would not come with me and I left her there for about an hour, she was content. This weekend im gonna get DH to install a dog door in the garage- I think. Its insulated with a Southern facing window and I can arrange it so they cannot destroy much. That and the electric collars and if they get killed by some animal it will be because they have no sense and they dont pay attention.
DH says no to leaving them out all night. Its 50 degrees, they have a dog house aka hay barn. I might not give in. Ive vacuumed the whole house already.

The roosters were not afraid of them but they were vocal about them digging at the fence. Of course the numb skulls didnt even take any notice. So back on the back deck locked up until I can fix the fence again. Honestly, Ive had dogs my whole adult life and i mite not be great at training and enforcing but im certainly marginal and not totally responsible for the total idiocy of these two. They have good hearts but are useless in every other way.

I was at the feed store today and they had free samples of some high line 23 dollars for 12 pound freez dried dog food. So I got three small packets and added it to my ff.
So the chickies will have a treat in the am. Sorry to gripe about the dogs. Maybe my neighbor will take one. He likes Darcy a lot.
L

 

[Zanna]

We give this advice every few hundred pages. We don't mind.

Since I grow an acre of cucumbers and squash (market garden farmer) I've got tons of cucurbits. There something about the cucurbit that causes the round worms to drop out and they get flushed from the system. I grind up the seeds and guts from 4 or 5 large squash, I use a Ninja type whizzer. I mix into it a pound or two of the feed mash. They gobble it up. I feed this from September thru January, once a month. In July and August, they get big, 'ol cucumbers and they gobble them up.

If I had concerns, which I do not, I would also use black walnut tea and or cayenne pepper in a mix as well. Got to be careful with the tea though.

That's it. I do not use chemical wormers. Whenever our birds are butchered, we check. The "load" is very, very low, and well within the bird's ability to carry with no weight deficit. Remember, no one worms the wild birds.

Would you mind sharing the recipe for the black walnut tea? Would feeding some black walnuts have the same effect? They are plentiful on our farm.........