The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Bulldogma]

Holy cow, folks - we're almost at 10,000 posts! Just 10 away.

 

[Mumsy]

Thank you mumsy..

As you sure she was a young bird? Any chance she was a hermaphrodite?(sp) her organs are so interesting. I would have liked to have been there. She looks like the fat content cut off blood supply to many of them. Your good care kept that bird alive much longer than normal. She should have been dead months ago. You feeding your birds magic?

If I was not frequenting this thread and learning, it would never have occured to me to take pictures and share them here.

I bought four young pullets at the Washington Feather Fancier Spring Brisk show last Fall. They were raised and sold by a breeder of Ameracaunas and Orpingtons. She is highly regarded as a knowledgeable and upstanding person. I didn't spend much money on them. They were out of her project pens. All I wanted were a few layers for Johnny. Judy and Janet had short legs, and were buddies. They looked alike except for tails and girth. Judy was fuller. They have what look like pea combs.

This picture of them was the day I brought them home in the quaranteen pen. They stayed there a month.


Janet was the pullet I killed and processed yesterday evening.

I think they were five months old when I got them. Judy started laying green eggs two months ago and went broody soon after. Janet was normal female pullet acting. She was lowest on the pecking order. She stood in the nest with tail down for the last three days. LIke she wanted to lay an egg but she was in pain.

I wish you were with me when I did these necropsy too del. I am still looking at the pictures of her insides and they confuse me. I stared at them insitu for the longest time before removing them for further examination. Her pancreas was enormous and so were her small intestines. I still don't know exactly what was going on in her ovum and oviduct.

I put her cleaned carcass into a stock pot. I guess I will use it to make 'light broth'. Nothing went to waste. Her liver, heart, and gizzard will feed the baby chicks. I planted a rose over her feathers and remains. She is honored this way. It is a noble thing when a chicken can nourish life with her own life.

My magic Fermented Feed! Hah! Thanks for that!

 

[countrygirl74]

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps029

When you have an opportunity..please take the time to read this everyone. Many beneficial bits of information.

Great info... I bookmarked it for future reference. Still learning so much on here!

 

[loanwizard]

1000 pages, 9994 posts..... don't y'all ever sleep?

 

[countrygirl74]

 

[loanwizard]

Haven't been here for a while, been stressed.... One of these days I will share.....

I still have Buck, the dog of terror..... Buying 50 1 year old Comets hens, all laying..... for $3.50 each..... meeting him at an auction barn tonight.... we will see what we get..... Buck sleeps inside now and is happy on a cable during the day. In fact if I don't find a home for him.... other than mine, he will probably be kept outside simply because he gets hot inside. Never seen a dog with a thick of coat as he has.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Anyone that has followed my blog and knows about Molly, a runt pig that was given to us.... I took her to the processor yesterday, she wasn't doing well and could hardly walk. I won't keep an animal in pain, not sure if the inspectors will even clear the meat.

My goose started laying.... guess I am her gander. She squats for me.....

Going to learn a lot about hogs this spring.... 2 prego sows..... got to get the boar secure and the girls set up.... hopefully it will warm up before I am surprised and some killed. Going to have to lean how to cut the boys too.....

Anyhow, hope everyone is well,

Shawn

 

[Bulldogma]

Haven't been here for a while, been stressed.... One of these days I will share.....

Shawn

Sorry things have been stressful. Keep us posted on your new birds!

 

[PetRock]

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps029

When you have an opportunity..please take the time to read this everyone. Many beneficial bits of information.

Thank you for sharing this article! I book marked it so I can easily find it later!

 

[jendodd79]

So a question from a newbie then -

My Blue Maran pullet was born sometime between April and June, we got her after Christmas. She started laying the end of January and was laying every 3 days. Then a month later she stopped. I don't have a clue what normal molting looks like, but she appears to perhaps be molting? Is it normal for a 7-9 month old pullet to molt? Her comb is still red, but not as vibrant as it was a month ago. What signs should I look for to make sure that it isn't something like egg binding?

 

[jendodd79]

Sorry terrible iphone pic!