The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Ashdoes]

Is this normal comb and wattle size for a 6 week blue cochin? I will be sooo upset if she turns out to be a boy. I only have one and I have been wanting one for a while. I will post this on the cochin thread too but thought you guys might have some opinions...

I have a black Cohin hen that took months to figure out if she was a he or a she, because she had a comb going on. And my boy Onyx didn't have as much comb as the other two boys, for quite a while, s he was hard to figure out as well. Even the Cochin thread thought Hawk might end up being a boy, we just had to wait it out.

 

[bbsnooks]

Hi. its me makin trouble..

man.. is my inability to put in a reply.. gett'n me in trouble..

I totally missed this somewhere... I am confused on this... What was this in response to? Thanks!

country. girl. i thought it was you -- said you have ranouds ( poor spelling) and it was ? hard to get warm.?. in the chilly weather.
I was trying to reply between what you said.. and then reply to the 2nd thing you said.. and before i knew it.. the message had sent it self..
( thats my story.. stickin to it) I dont even have a cat to blame it on..

all kiddin aside - I was just passing on my favorite.. keep the body warm trick.. it just didnt put the spacers in there..


and so I tee'd one up for loanwizard.. < good swing.. i didnt see that comming.. >

I'm gonna go back to hiding.. for a while.. ; )

 

[Bulldogma]

and so I tee'd one up for loanwizard.. < good swing.. i didnt see that comming.. >

I'm gonna go back to hiding.. for a while.. ; )

Please don't go back into hiding! We like having you about and even more, having some fun!

 

[countrygirl74]

I have a black Cohin hen that took months to figure out if she was a he or a she, because she had a comb going on. And my boy Onyx didn't have as much comb as the other two boys, for quite a while, s he was hard to figure out as well. Even the Cochin thread thought Hawk might end up being a boy, we just had to wait it out.

Do you happen to have any pics of her around 6 weeks? Did she have wattles too? I think the wattles are what concern me the most as none of my other breeds of 6 week olds have any. You do give me a little hope though! I just wish I knew for sure so I would know if I should pick up another one on Friday as it's the last day they will be getting blue cochins in... hmmm - decisions, decisions.

 

[delisha]

Quote: lol..tell you what..try stuffing the closest nest box that is easiest for you to reach with hay, straw, etc full to the brim and it looks like no one can fit in. Tell us what happens.

My vote on nest box choice...after purposely irritating their owners...is to make a clutch to set. In the wild, once upon a time, they all lay, someone sets, the rest lay, someone sets, the rest lay...and so on, right?

I love the irritate the owner part the best!

Quote: Got to love his answers!

Quote: Love this answer!! Tell you what..Load a nest box no one uses with straw, hay, shaving and put tons of fake eggs in it and tell me what happens!

Hi. its me makin trouble..

man.. is my inability to put in a reply.. gett'n me in trouble..

Quote: no hiding allowed on this thread!
Between you and LW we might have some more fun!!

Speaking of fun..I know I am having fun asking you to do these things. However I think we can learn some things about the habits of our birds. Why they do the things they do and what goes threw those little tiny minds. Watching and learning our chickens teaches us so much that no one else but them can teach us. Each of you that answered the question told me one important thing..you deeply care for your chickens..and are interested in why they do some weird and unusual things. Thank you for participating...please let us know your results!!!

 

[PaintedFeathers]

anyone know if poppy seeds are okay to put in fermented feed? I am going to put sesame seeds in but no one is sure about the poppys. Thought I might be able to get a better response here.

 

[countrygirl74]

Hi. its me makin trouble..

man.. is my inability to put in a reply.. gett'n me in trouble..

country. girl. i thought it was you -- said you have ranouds ( poor spelling) and it was ? hard to get warm.?. in the chilly weather.
I was trying to reply between what you said.. and then reply to the 2nd thing you said.. and before i knew it.. the message had sent it self..
( thats my story.. stickin to it) I dont even have a cat to blame it on..

all kiddin aside - I was just passing on my favorite.. keep the body warm trick.. it just didnt put the spacers in there..


and so I tee'd one up for loanwizard.. < good swing.. i didnt see that comming.. >

I'm gonna go back to hiding.. for a while.. ; )

Okay, I thought it might be that but wasn't sure. So coconut oil helps keep warm? I never knew that! I will have to try it. Raynauds is a circulation disorder that's hereditary. My father has it, I got it, and then gave it to my oldest son. I take natural herbs and such that improve circulation to help. I mostly have issues with my hands in the cold. I just finished up taking care of the animals and my hands hurt so bad - fingers red and painful! There's a wind chill of about 40 right now and silly me went out without my gloves because I figured it wouldn't take long. Cooking dinner is warming them up.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Ashdoes]

Wow it's hard to keep up with the thread when I don't have the time to sit and read three times a day!
Do a lot of you mix your own feeds? I just grab the bags of flock raiser and ferment that. I tried adding stuff to it, and figured out I was lowering the protein too much. I got a 20% flock raiser that I'm pretty happy with right now. I wasn't able to find the waterfowl starter in a feed store anywhere near me, so we got chick starter, and I'll just be sure to give them meat or eggs every couple of days, and keep an eye on their legs.
On a happy side note, my husband got home Sunday, which is why I've had no time to read. We went out yesterday to "look" at trucks, which was his deployment gift, and of course left with one. I'm excited he's home, but this also means the busy season is starting. We're getting the barn wired, the ducks are coming next week and trees and fruit bushes are being delivered starting today and for the next month, as well as building a deck. I need the sun back, today was windy and freezing again, had a snow day a day after school started back.
I do have a chicken issue going on though. One of my sex-link girls has always laid very well, but twice in the last week her shells have been very thing and cracking when she lays them. What's up with that? I've just taken them from the nest box, and cracked right into the FF trough. Any tips, or will she fix this on her own? I, of course, have oyster shells out for them.

 

[Ashdoes]

Do you happen to have any pics of her around 6 weeks? Did she have wattles too? I think the wattles are what concern me the most as none of my other breeds of 6 week olds have any. You do give me a little hope though! I just wish I knew for sure so I would know if I should pick up another one on Friday as it's the last day they will be getting blue cochins in... hmmm - decisions, decisions.

I will check for close up pics, but I know for sure I played with her wattles and kept telling my husband I was worried we had three or four boys, I was really questioning two of them on boy or girl. I also know the woman we got them from said she has some she questions for months as well, so even the chicks with an obvious comb, like Hawk, end up being girls. Hawk is my blue girl, she had the comb and wattles, and Break is our black girl and she had a little bit of comb and wattles, but I knew sooner that she was a she. Our splash and self blue girls barely had any comb and we knew pretty early they were girls. I'm sure each strain ends up with their own traits, and if I were to go back to this same woman, I'd know which to pick and end up with the most hens.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Today marks the last batch of Johnny chicks I will hatch. They all came from two barn yard pullets that just started laying a few months ago. Phoebe and Edith lay every day without a hiccup. Phoebe lays very fast and actually runs from the nest to get back to the garden as fast as she can. Edith takes a couple hours. I hatched six chicks from their first pullet eggs that first week of lay. I just processed two males out of the six. I thought for sure most of them were cockerels because their legs were so thick and the combs so pronounced from a young age. Looks like four are pullets now. They are growing very quickly.

I have noticed the same thing with my barnyard mixes. They get big combs and thick legs very early, but don't redden up like a cockerel's do. My 5 week SplashLRW bantam is totally a cockerel. I thought my mix at same age was too, but now I am thinking it is a pullet, still has yellow comb and just wattle against beak and not growing. But time will tell.