No Progress: Is Chicken Raising Just Endless Poop Clean Up With NO Rewards?

[smartgirlchic]

Well at least you got them to eat out of your hand.  Let's take it to the next level.  Get them to chase you for it!  

Here's the deal.  Oftentimes I free range my chickens, and if I need them to come to me IMMEDIATELY, well, they better listen!  

I mean, really, what if there's suddenly a predator on the loose in the area?  What if its about to storm torrential rains, and I need to lock'em up in the chicken house ASAP before it storms so I don't get drenched at the last minute?  Or, what if I have to leave the house right away and can't leave them outside (alone?).  I need them to WILLINGLY cooperate! 

How to teach them?  Do the BUG trick.  It's simple.  

Catch a live grasshopper.  Yell out "BUG!"  They come running because they know only ONE chick will get the prize (and it always the first one that shows up.)  

Make sure when you yell BUG, there is actually a bug between your fingertips and you're only about 3' from the flock.  Then do it further away.  And then, even further.  
Yell BUG when you're on the other side of the house, but NEVER yell BUG when there's no bug or you will compromise their trust.  
Of course, trust is the key to "bonding."

So, besides teaching them a useful trick that could potentially save their lives, its fun and hilarious to watch, and it is a form of bonding...without having to actually touch them.

Good luck.  Ahhh, the joy of chickies.   

Great tip! Will do!

 

[smartgirlchic]

Watch the watermelon...lot of sugar in the red part that's not really good for them....makes their poops pretty funky and colored too.
BUT...the Rinds!
Those are the ticket, still plenty of liquid, throw them in the freezer then dole them out when it's hot, they'll clean them down to the thin outer skin.
Besides I want to eat the red part ;-)

Oh thank you! I didn't know. Will be careful!

 

[ronott1]

For the hot day, just had to share a photo of our Clarisse playing in the sprinklers!

Cute! Let me ask my colleague if I can have you pm him re the timer, or if he might post an answer to this thread.

Yes, I use the orbit timer. Amazon has a single hose connection for about $25.00. They sell two hose connections too. I have seen them at Home Depot too.

http://www.amazon.com/Orbit-62061N-...F8&qid=1435676548&sr=8-2&keywords=orbit+timer

 

[souriasia]

Yes, I use the orbit timer. Amazon has a single hose connection for about $25.00. They sell two hose connections too. I have seen them at Home Depot too.

http://www.amazon.com/Orbit-62061N-...F8&qid=1435676548&sr=8-2&keywords=orbit+timer

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[Skyfeathers]

I have really enjoyed reading all your posts, I'm sitting here with a smile on my face, just picturing what you all describe and laughing out loud at some. Who knew we would get so much fun out of some really large birds? Aren't they great?! Such good tips, too. I like the idea of putting feed on a new treat to get them used to a new taste, but I would probably have to use scratch. My girls will hardly touch feed if it's not in their feeder. Silly things!
We planning to put a couple box fans in the large run to create a breeze for the girls, with good ol' Southern humidity, 81% at this moment, we don't need the mister! but I may get one for our "dry" season in August. Souriasia, your chicken in the sprinkler is hilarious!
Since my girls don't like yogurt, even after several tries, I've been putting probiotics in their water on occasion. I read somewhere that giving probiotics to chicks for the first several weeks helps develop their intestinal flora early, so they end up healthier, so I did that with my dozen youngest ones. Time will tell, so far they're very healthy.
Oh, I was going to mention one way I've discovered to help my girls be more comfortable with me. Epsom salts baths!!! There have been several instances where I've done this, and those hens are all friendlier and more at ease being held. First was Ruby, an Ameraucana who has Aspergillosis (it's not contagious) she developed Vent Gleet from taking antibiotics, so I would bathe her to clean her up, and it helped calm her, too. She flies up on my arm for treats now. She's a very hyper hen. Then there was BumbleBea, a Buff Orpington with Bumblefoot. We bathed her a few times when treating her. She is now very friendly. Another Ameraucana hen, Diva, was really floppy one day last summer, so I gave her a soak, and in a few hours she was up and running around. She was always very flighty, but did calm down some. Lily, a White Leghorn chick, was picked on so badly by the Red Sexlinks when they were a couple weeks old I had to separate her, and soaked her in Epsom Salts to get the blood off. She is the only Leghorn that lets me pet and hold her. I understand the magnesium in the Epsom salts and the warm water help them relax, and I pet them and talk to them the whole time. Some of them had to be kenneled in our bathroom awhile, and were handled more, others were a one time thing. I wrap them in a towel afterwards, then blow dry them. They actually seem to enjoy it! I cover their heads lightly if they get alarmed, and they quiet down. Anyways, just something I've noticed. Their skin is thin and absorbs the magnesium quickly, which helps if they're dehydrated since that can happen in the heat, and I'll also give them Save-aChick or Gatorade by dropper if they seem to need it.
I've learned a lot about chickens the hard way, and am so grateful for all the help I've gotten from you great people here on BYC! In fact, I got my first flock from some folks who advertised here.
This is a great thread, smartgirlchic, I hope you are feeling much better about your chickies! Looking forward to what ever else comes up on here!

 

[pattywac3]

I add plain fat free yogurt Greek kind and Braggs apple cider vinegar unfiltered and fresh garlic to my chickens crumbles and add water to make it consistency of oatmeal. They love it! Gobble it up! They barely touch the dry food. They dump it over and scratch it into their bedding. Was wasting so much, that is why I started wetting it.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

OK, I cannot stop laughing about the emotional benefits of Epsom salt baths for chickens -- it makes them sound like Victorian ladies with the vapors! So cute, and a great idea.

Also, I was thinking the same thing -- this is a really nice thread, and I am grateful to smartgirlchic for starting it and to everyone for sharing.

 

[Skyfeathers]

pattywac3, I've wondered if my girls would eat garlic, I've never given it to them, but have read about its benefits. I guess just put it in a press then mix it in yogurt and add to feed on a daily basis? Surely they would eat the yogurt if it's mixed in their feed . They wouldn't even eat it when I dipped bread in it! They would flip it or wipe it off their beaks.
I put ACV in their water when it is cooler, but stop when it is consistently above 85 degrees or so, as I've heard they don't tolerate the heat as well when they are on it. Right now a small amount of electrolytes in their water is all I'm adding.
Ballerina Bird - I love your name by the way - I can imagine a chicken doing a ballerina dance, fits right in with my Victorian ladies with the vapors! Too cute
You are right, this is a great thread. I hadn't laughed or smiled so much in awhile!
HIMA, I love the mental image of running across the yard, first catching a bug, then with a flock of chickens running after me, I would have a stampede! Oh my, how funny! . They are already around, on top of, and sometimes under my feet, yesterday I noticed Rita, a calm, quiet little hen who is usually between my feet, wasn't moving much, and didn't run after the scratch I put in front of her. I moved to look at her better, and she picked her foot up from where it had been under mine, and went and got her scratch! She hadn't squawked or tried to pull away, either. I'm so glad for the deep litter system!

 

[pattywac3]

SkyfeAthers, I use garlic in a jar I buy in grocery store. It is in water. It very tiny bits. I use it when I cook also. I put a tbs. in a plastic bowl, a quarter cup of vinegar, a tbs. of yogurt, sometimes I even add a tbsp. of DE and add water to mix it, then add crumbles a little bit at a time constantly stirring. The stuff smells awful! They love it!

 

[Ballerina Bird]

pattywac3, I've wondered if my girls would eat garlic, I've never given it to them, but have read about its benefits. I guess just put it in a press then mix it in yogurt and add to feed on a daily basis? Surely they would eat the yogurt if it's mixed in their feed

. They wouldn't even eat it when I dipped bread in it! They would flip it or wipe it off their beaks.
I put ACV in their water when it is cooler, but stop when it is consistently above 85 degrees or so, as I've heard they don't tolerate the heat as well when they are on it. Right now a small amount of electrolytes in their water is all I'm adding.
Ballerina Bird - I love your name by the way - I can imagine a chicken doing a ballerina dance, fits right in with my Victorian ladies with the vapors! Too cute

You are right, this is a great thread. I hadn't laughed or smiled so much in awhile!
HIMA, I love the mental image of running across the yard, first catching a bug, then with a flock of chickens running after me, I would have a stampede! Oh my, how funny!

. They are already around, on top of, and sometimes under my feet, yesterday I noticed Rita, a calm, quiet little hen who is usually between my feet, wasn't moving much, and didn't run after the scratch I put in front of her. I moved to look at her better, and she picked her foot up from where it had been under mine, and went and got her scratch! She hadn't squawked or tried to pull away, either. I'm so glad for the deep litter system!

Thanks! I love ballet, have a lot of training in it, and named my hens Odette and Odile after the swans in Swan Lake. Your cute story about Rita further reinforces something I was going to say earlier as well, which is that it sounds like you really love your chickens and they really love you.