The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[hellbender]

Italian Maremma...Although when they are young? not so much... LOL

That really is acute rascal..wanna' give me one???

 

[Pozees]

Delisha, so if I understand correctly, your SLW eggs were 100% fertile despite the clumsiness of the male? Or did I get it backwards? They are beautiful, BTW! I have one hen, we adore her, and call her (very originally) Dottie.

 

[lindz8504]

Italian Maremma...Although when they are young? not so much... LOL

I really wish you were going to be having another litter soon! I would get one in a heartbeat!

 

[aoxa]

The starlings are terrible this year. I can not let my flock outside until late in the day because the starling go in the house and make a big mess and eat the feed. Have not had the problem with them attacking any chickens yet.

Scott

I concur.. .

about roosters and fertility:

I keep watching the eggs for the little white ring but am only finding little white dots - solid, not with a ring. WIth two roosters, wouldn't you think some of the eggs would be fertile?

I've read that fertility can be lessened in cold weather, and we continue to have nights in the -20's, and days of below zero weather...is that it? Or do I just have too roosters who aren't fertile?

I know the hens are being mated!

Rooster fertility is affected by daylight as well as hens. The more light they get, the more their swimmers work. Calcium increases sperm production as well. A little extra calcium for breeding roosters is not a bad thing.

That is despicable.

I'm guessing that it was one of your lower chickens in the pecking order but incredibly despicable.

What did you do that has worked to keep the starlings out?

:O I have never had starlings kill my birds, but the diseases they carry has me keeping everyone in on cold days. This is the only time they seem to come around.

 

[aoxa]

Me neither.

I do remember, as a child, my grandparents calling them "Dirsty Birds" and being extremely upset when they were around the yard. They were immigrants from Scotland and I believe they told me that the starlings were birds that were native to England and that some "not so smart" person had brought some to the US where they seemed to proliferate.

When I asked them why they didn't like them I remember 2 reasons.

They're "DIRSTY BIRDS" in that Scott brougue. Said they made a dirsty mess everywhere.
Also said they chased away the more desirable birds form the area.

A friend of mine from France told me these birds are welcomed in their native habitat.

Quote:

 

[aoxa]

rubber snakes, I wonder if that would attract hawks.

If it is inside the barn or coop where the starlings are the most trouble, I can't imagine a hawk being able to see it.

 

[ki4got]

I think I'm going to get a pet owl and tether it on a large perch outside in the yard.

It will be tormented by so many chickens in so close of reach but I don't care. I'm going to torment an owl to torment a hawk.

I wonder if they could be trained to NOT attack the chickens...

 

[waldeneffect]

One way we've been trying to keep our chicken more organic is to put them in pastures we can rotate.

Here's a post on some of the conclusions we've come up with when it comes to comfrey and other things that are helpful to plant in these pastures.

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/A_complex_pasture_means_more_food_for_chickens/

 

[hellbender]

One way we've been trying to keep our chicken more organic is to put them in pastures we can rotate.

Here's a post on some of the conclusions we've come up with when it comes to comfrey and other things that are helpful to plant in these pastures.

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/A_complex_pasture_means_more_food_for_chickens/

Beautiful birds and setting.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I was thinking of the ones around the pool. We have a pool so I could see my boy having a blast decorating the rim with toy snakes. But anything that would or could draw hawks is a no go around here.
And if anyone wants to know, a pool costs a lot more than chickens. Some day I will retire the pool and convert that large corner of our yard to something grand for the chickens.