The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[subhanalah]

I have infants probiotic powder.and coconut milk based greek yogurt in raspberry but could go out tomorrow...what's the best course?

you can use both of those. No need to buy something with a different label when you have something perfectly good at home, right?

 

[lalaland]

you will want to read the yogurt label to be sure it has live culture - lots of the sugar sweetened ones do not have any live cultures, in which case the powder would be the best option.

 

[Saerasx]

I'm no expert but I read about using unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (with the mother) in the water to help prevent pasty butts. That is what I did and none of my chicks had any problems. I think "the mother" is probiotics (someone correct me if I'm wrong). And no, probiotics definitely wouldn't hurt however you choose to give it to them. I'm hoping your little chick will be just fine now and not have a recurrence.

Do you know about how much I should be adding? I will probably make up a gallon and mix it up with the ACV, I have the Braggs organic and it does contain the mother

 

[joyfulkeeper]

Do you know about how much I should be adding? I will probably make up a gallon and mix it up with the ACV, I have the Braggs organic and it does contain the mother

1-2 tablespoons in a gallon. No need to be precise, just a glug and a splash should do. I use it in all my waterers now. Oh, almost forgot, don't use it in galvanized containers, the acid eats at it and leaches it into the water.

 

[Sally8]

Once again I'm 400 posts behind but jumping ahead with a question. I set 43 eggs thinking that they weren't all viable and after candling them last night I'm going to have more chicks than anticipated. (Some eggs were older as I was saving specific eggs from specific hens but I have a EE that lays a green egg. My roo is a BCM. I've never been able to get a chick from those green eggs. They are fertile and out of the 7 that I put in the incubator only 1 started but looks like a blood explosion inside. What happened? In the other photo, it looks like nothing has happened at 9 days. Is that what the egg is showing and I can throw that egg out? I see that it looks quite porus. The 1st egg is the green one, the 2nd is a brown EE egg. Since Wrinkles has been "under the weather" this spring, as soon as I feel comfortable, I'll crack open the eggs that didn't start to see if they are fertile. Wrinkles does have 18 girls so maybe that's too many. All the Silkie mixes that I have are fertile showing me that Paco is doing his job. He is so very protective of his 7 girls.


My princess, hopefully, will get her cast off on Wednesday. She loves her chicks but her parents were worried that the cast would hold bacteria, so, we improvised.

 

[armorfirelady]

Sally your granddaughter is beautiful. I like the improvision !!!!

 

[mlowen]

Hey, y'all....
I'm not freaking out at all, but this is getting pretty bad looking. I have looked at each and every hen. No nits, no crawling bugs. I've been out in the middle of the night--no mites. I am sure this was started by the top hen (a leghorn) because the bottom (barred rock) hen's feathers from her back at the base of her tail and her rear were picked off, first. Then the next from the bottom (also barred rock) started showing loss, then this one (wayandotte) and lastly the second from the top, also a leghorn. They are not scratching. They are not preening overmuch. They are all seemingly happy, healthy, energetic. After the pictures, I put coconut oil on her back and sprayed some bluekote because it looked like she was getting some little scabs under her higher back feathers. To top it all off, I think she may be starting to molt--her breast feathers are looking ratty and I'm finding down around the coop. Does anybody have any suggestions, other than praying for a good spring molt and start over again? They all just look so ugly.

 

[aoxa]

Hey, y'all....
I'm not freaking out at all, but this is getting pretty bad looking. I have looked at each and every hen. No nits, no crawling bugs. I've been out in the middle of the night--no mites. I am sure this was started by the top hen (a leghorn) because the bottom (barred rock) hen's feathers from her back at the base of her tail and her rear were picked off, first. Then the next from the bottom (also barred rock) started showing loss, then this one (wayandotte) and lastly the second from the top, also a leghorn. They are not scratching. They are not preening overmuch. They are all seemingly happy, healthy, energetic. After the pictures, I put coconut oil on her back and sprayed some bluekote because it looked like she was getting some little scabs under her higher back feathers. To top it all off, I think she may be starting to molt--her breast feathers are looking ratty and I'm finding down around the coop. Does anybody have any suggestions, other than praying for a good spring molt and start over again? They all just look so ugly.

This looks exactly like rooster damage to me.

 

[misbhaven]

I had a hen that was actually bleeding from my roo his favorite by far... I sprayed with blue kote and put a saddle on her.. she has healed up nicely..i got the little upside down Y shaped one it right between her wings and doesn't seemed bothered by it a bit...I can sew but at 2 for 3.99 I couldn't make them for that plus the time.

 

[mlowen]

This looks exactly like rooster damage to me. 

Yeah, but there is no roo.