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

[Fred's Hens]

I just split my cucumbers and squash open and toss them to the chickens. You can do the same with pumpkins. They clean out the seeds, guts and flesh, leaving nothing but the skin. They have a gizzard, so they can grind up the seeds themselves.
Speaking of homeopathic, cucurbits are natural wormers. The seeds contain a substance that causes worms to loosen their grip on the intestinal walls. The flesh loosens their bowels a bit, making it easier to flush out the worms. This does not kill the worms or even get rid of all the worms inside the chicken. It reduces the worm load the chicken is carrying. I think pumpkin is the best, but the others have some benefit too.
Obviously, it is best of they don't have any worms, but it is pretty normal in nature for birds and animals to have some worms. They can manage a light worm load without a big problem. It's when the worm numbers get built up that it starts to really sap the animals energy.

My view almost precisely. The benefit of making a slurry out of the guts alone, however, is to provide a concentrated "short", especially for the younger birds, that may avoid the seeds because of their size. Older birds? As you say, not problem.

 

[qball53]

In a totally different scenario, we have 3 great pyreneees. They are not house dogs. They guard our livestock and my poultry. They do what they do naturally, but they are not at all dominant over us or in the house. They are very submissive to us. They are, however, very strong willed. If they smell a coyote, you better not get in their way. Nothing will stop them from going after a predator.

If you want them for guarding chickens and livestock, they are the best, but it does take the right circumstances. They cover a lot of ground and one of their means of protecting the area is by barking to deter predators. If you have neighbors closeby, it's probably not a good choice for you.

We have Anatolian Sheperd dogs. They are a flock/herd guardian dog bred for that purpose in Turkey for thousands of years. They are becoming popular in America recently for sheep/goat herd protection. Many people prefer them above the Great Pyrenees. Ours has adopted our chicken flock on her own and insists on being in the yard with them at night. We absolutely love these dogs and will never be without one again.

 

[deek]

The guts of cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, etc are easy to feed. Use a blender or food processor to blend into a slurry and mix with dry feed, such as mash or crumbles.

The walnut tea extract is more easily purchased through a website specializing in homeopathic, holistic or herbal remedies. Country folk and natural minded people "doctor" themselves with these remedies and have for centuries.

I love homeopathic methods (now)! I learned as a child never to admit to having an ailment near my grandmother. She would go to her garden and whip up a remedy. Boy, as a child I just wanted something store bought like all the "other kid's moms" were given. Now, I wish I had paid more attention.

She died at 98 with perfect eyesight, totally independent, and in charge until the very end.

Back to the topic...how early do you start giving them the slurry? I'm excited...first the ACV and now squash flurry...my grandmother would be proud!

 

[m.r.heavenlyhens]

I just have to put in my two cents here. I have a small dog that is a rat terrier and a large dog that is a mix (rescue dog) Setter and lab type. I completely agree with you on the training. I spent time letting my dogs know that they are not to mess with the chickens, but praised them when they would were quiet around them. The rat terrier has turned into a "hawk dog" He will go around the yard doing his usual thing, but let a bird of any kind fly over and he turns into a killer, running barking and letting it know it is not welcome. The larger dog likes to take a sniff at the hens and goes and lays around just hanging out. I start with the young chicks and let the dogs sniff, but that is it. I show them very firmly that they are not to be harmed. I know that it was a long time before I could leave them out alone in the yard with the chickens, but it was well worth it. I would have a retractable leash and when he would run after a young chicken, I was able to stop and get after him.
The rat terrier still has his hunting instinct intact, he takes off on the scent of other vermin, but he knows the chickens are off limits. They both are very useful in the yard, but they are in at night with me. Thanks so much mommison and IamSamSam

 

[Ivywoods]

Ok here's a Q about flightey fowl. Is there any way to ground flightey breeds other than clipping the primary flight feathers? My week old chicks are flying out of their containment area in the yard.... they are only there for a few hours but I don't want any babies wondering off we have cats around the garden to keep the birds away from the berries...

If your one week old chicks are flying out of their pen at this age, and you have cats around, you have two problems. One is keeping the birds in their place, and two (the bigger problem) is keeping the cats out. You need to improve you pen arrangements.

 

[Leahs Mom]

If your one week old chicks are flying out of their pen at this age, and you have cats around, you have two problems. One is keeping the birds in their place, and two (the bigger problem) is keeping the cats out. You need to improve you pen arrangements.

What size pen are you using? When I put out the little ones, I lay a piece of chicken wire or screen over the top so they can't fly out.

 

[bubbapain]

thanks ridge runner read through all the posts

and didnt know if there was such a diffrence bee made it sound like there was

thanks guys all this was a real eye opener

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have not kept up with all the posts on here, just check in occasionally or when I think I can contribute. Bee may very well have her own definition of a hen house versus a coop, but to me it is tom-A-to, tom-ah-to. Call them whatever you want. When I was growing up on the farm, we called it a hen house. On this forum, it would be called a coop.

Like I never heard of a "nesting box" until I got on this forum. To me, they were "nests".

 

[DBrewer]

I currently have just 3 little RIR's. I wanted to make sure I was up to messing with them before I bought more than I could handle. I am pretty positive I want to get more down the road (not far down the road). So my question is this. Am I better off continuing to buy more RIR's (I'm looking for eggs, meat is a maybe at this point), or should I mix in different breeds? If so, any in particular?

Thanks.

 

[CSisley]

When I was a kid our beloved boxer stopped messing with the chickens when he had to wear one that he had killed around his neck till it was falling off from decomposition. He was tied(not usually tied) up next to his dog house with food and water but we weren't allowed to interact with him at all until his time was done. I'm surprised we weren't reported to the SPCA but he never touched a chicken again and it saved him from going to the pound.