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

[Skyfeathers]

Souriasia, that is perfect! Who would have thought?! My Buff Orpington hen Marigold would be adorable in that, (though I doubt she would think so!). She is one of those sedate hens that never has a feather out of place and strolls around the yard, rarely runs or squawks. A perfect lady, but very curious and talkative. You almost feel honored to be in her presence! Never thought I would hear myself say that about a chicken!
Sutremaine, thank you for the tips, here's hoping my girls will learn to love garlic! Some of them are 4 years old, may take awhile for them to develop a taste for it. My youngest pullets will probably surround it, talk about it, decide who has to sacrifice herself by tasting it, then if she survives they will devour it. They are hilarious!

 

[pattywac3]

Thank you pattywac3, glad to know the jar kind is ok, I just really dislike peeling garlic. No matter what method I try, I always end up with garlic skins stuck to my fingers! I will try this as soon as I get some garlic and yogurt, maybe tomorrow. I'm a firm believer in DE, as well. How many chicken do you feed this to, I have 35 so am thinking I'll need to multiply...

I feed 30 chickens.

 

[souriasia]

Souriasia, that is perfect! Who would have thought?! My Buff Orpington hen Marigold would be adorable in that, (though I doubt she would think so!). She is one of those sedate hens that never has a feather out of place and strolls around the yard, rarely runs or squawks. A perfect lady, but very curious and talkative. You almost feel honored to be in her presence! Never thought I would hear myself say that about a chicken!
Sutremaine, thank you for the tips, here's hoping my girls will learn to love garlic! Some of them are 4 years old, may take awhile for them to develop a taste for it. My youngest pullets will probably surround it, talk about it, decide who has to sacrifice herself by tasting it, then if she survives they will devour it. They are hilarious!

Marigold, what a pretty name. Is she the grande dame of your flock?

Young pullets are so funny. When mine were young, they went around together in a sort of knot, endlessly chattering -- I can't think of the words to describe it. You could hear them coming before you saw them because of the ceaseless gabbling, talking over each other and so forth. It didn't sound as if any of them ever took a breath! My husband used to say when they came toward him that he felt as though he was being overtaken by a gaggle of teenage girls.

I will have to try the garlic thing. I never thought of it before it was brought up on this thread. I'll have to see if the girls will eat it.

 

[Skyfeathers]

Pattywac3 I will try it tomorrow, I have to get some garlic today - we live a ways from anywhere. I'll let you know what they think I've been mixing up some feed with vitamins, Nutridrench and olive oil, sage and oregano because some of them have feather issues from the rooster and were looking poorly. I put him in his own area so they could get their feathers back and was giving them this mixture daily to boost their nutrition. Now I have some hens that think they are roosters! I'll try it mixed in that and see what they do.

Souriasia, how do I post a picture on here, I've never done that before. I have a picture of Marigold I'll post if I can figure out how. She is not the grande damme of my flock, Mimi, a Barred Rock is. They are both quite sedate, and take no noncense from the others. Sounds like you have some very sociable girls, don't you love listening to them? I have some mixed red pullets that are 4 months old now and their voices are really changing. They have the deepest clucks I've heard yet! Kind of nice to have a variety! The Ameraucanas sound like screeching pterodactyls, Mimi and Marigold whisper (like ladies), the Olive Eggers yell like they are trying to copy the Ameraucanas , then all the others with their peeps or clucks - the word is cacophony!

 

[souriasia]

Skyfeathers, when you write a post or reply, notice that at the top of the box you write in there's a row of icons. I forget if you've used any emoticons, I feel like you have, if so it's in that same place with that icon. One of them is kind of like a tiny picture. That's the one you want to choose. If you're not sure which one is the right one, when you hover your cursor over each one it'll give a little description of what it's for.

When you click on that it'll bring up a window where you choose your picture. If you already have some posted in your profile (you have at least one, your avatar) it'll show those and you can choose one. Otherwise you can browse to find the one you want.

Forgive me if I missed a step or got something wrong -- I'm doing this from memory as I'm doing it on my phone.

I can't wait to see a photo of Miss Marigold, as well as any others of your girls that you care to share!

I'm down to 2 ladies of a certain age, so they're pretty reserved compared to what they once were. We're almost ready to get some new girls, just finishing up our quarantine coop and then we'll be ready. Chattering tweens, here we come!

 

[GretaGarboFirst]

I tried putting straw( instead of wood chips) in my nesting boxes today! One would think I moved my girls to a different country. Each of the girls carefully, and I mean carefully,
examined the change. One of my girls laid her egg in the pen.....a protest if I ever saw one. This evening I went to say goodnight and noticed the messy straw pile was neat as a pin! The straw was in the shape of a nest.....a perfect circle....with 5 eggs in the center. How can we not smile with the gifts that the girls give us. My dear friends are named: Greta Garbo, Spamoni, Sweet Heart, Rosa and Sunshine. They are indeed my therapy!!!

 

[ronott1]

I tried putting straw( instead of wood chips) in my nesting boxes today! One would think I moved my girls to a different country. Each of the girls carefully, and I mean carefully,
examined the change. One of my girls laid her egg in the pen.....a protest if I ever saw one. This evening I went to say goodnight and noticed the messy straw pile was neat as a pin! The straw was in the shape of a nest.....a perfect circle....with 5 eggs in the center. How can we not smile with the gifts that the girls give us. My dear friends are named: Greta Garbo, Spamoni, Sweet Heart, Rosa and Sunshine. They are indeed my therapy!!!

Straw has a tendency to grow mold--aspergillus which can be bad for them. Change it often and make sure it stays dry.

I found three eggs that my new pullets laid in a box of screws....silly chickens....

 

[souriasia]

GretaGarboFirst, I love your girls' names. I have to ask, was Greta Garbo your first one, and that's how you chose your name? It reminds me, I used to have a friend that had a horse named Garbo.

I love the nest story too! The girls set us straight, don't they!

 

[GretaGarboFirst]

Greta Garbo was the first chicken name I chose.....way before I even had a chicken. I used to daydream about owning chickens. I would look in my yard and plan my coop and dream about chicken names! Then I decided to clear a spot and start building. Of course, I dragged my husband into it. As he was building I kept changing my mind. I thought it had to do with creativity, but he didn't see it that way! After a couple of struggles we got a really nice coop. Then we got the chicks. GRETA GARBO was the first Chick named and also the first chicken to lay an egg. She is the boss and stands tall and proud all day long. We started with 8 chickens a little over a yr. ago. One was a blind chick who I worried about terribly for 4 months. I dedicated lots or time and care to her. In the end we put her down. I learned a lot about "chicken courage" from my little Violet. I also learned a lot about myself. Chickens make me think and feel about life more fully.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Greta Garbo was the first chicken name I chose.....way before I even had a chicken. I used to daydream about owning chickens. I would look in my yard and plan my coop and dream about chicken names! Then I decided to clear a spot and start building. Of course, I dragged my husband into it. As he was building I kept changing my mind. I thought it had to do with creativity, but he didn't see it that way! After a couple of struggles we got a really nice coop. Then we got the chicks. GRETA GARBO was the first Chick named and also the first chicken to lay an egg. She is the boss and stands tall and proud all day long. We started with 8 chickens a little over a yr. ago. One was a blind chick who I worried about terribly for 4 months. I dedicated lots or time and care to her. In the end we put her down. I learned a lot about "chicken courage" from my little Violet. I also learned a lot about myself. Chickens make me think and feel about life more fully.

That is sad about little Violet, but what a lovely idea that she taught you something about bravery. And how lucky she was to have you to care about her!

I love the name Greta Garbo, too. I have already decided that when I can have more chickens I will continue my ballet theme (Giselle, Aurora, Swanhilda, Dulcinea, etc.), but I really love the idea of giving them classic movie star names -- Bette, Audrey, Ingrid, Marilyn, Vivian. They often seem like classic movie stars! Greta Garbo sounds like a star.