The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

Delisha- I cleaned everyone's feet tonight. Boy does the dirt/mud get packet in the crevices of their feet!! Just the one had a circle on her foot. I meant to take a picture when I went back out to trim butts but forgot.

I thought I would share before & after pics of Red. She had the worse prolapsed vent a few months ago. All I did was put a few coats of Nustock on and then gave then parsley, cilantro fresh for a month or so and I added game bird conditioner to their ff. I am happy to say even the 2 smallest hens have some heft to them now and have filled out. I even noticed their legs are thicker now. They will all be a year old next month.

2/16/13 is when I did my first in depth hen inspection. This is reds bottom then. According to my notes approx 3 times I put Nustock on her bottom.

Here is the same hen and her messy butt today. Vent is clean & healthy looking color to skin

And here it is after I trimmed it up. I think fluffy butt feathers multiply as u cut them there was FEATHERS EVERYWHERE. everyone got a trim. No one was impressed. But they got rice & meal worms for their troubles

And one other thing I noticed is that they radiate heat from their vent areas. And my mom couldn't believe how toasty their stomach were when she held them for me. Those down feathers sure do keep the heat in

BDM ur chicks are beautiful. I love the look of SFH and wish I could add some to my flock.

 

[cywiar merch]

Does anyone know where we could purchase dried liver or meat meal? I've been looking around for a source with no luck.

Don't know if anyone has already answered this but i'm off to bed now.(Uk time) A lot of people buy dried liver treats for their cats and dogs, Idon't know US based info but if you try an online pet shop, you should find some. If I remember correctly they are not that cheap. I know of someone that dries her own chicken hearts for treats for her cats. I have never treid it but I think it is just chop small and placed in the oven. Don't know whether this would work for liver.

 

[BlueMouse]

my mother dehydrates liver for her dogs as treats. she slices it thin and then puts it in her dehydrator. I will warn you though, it STINKS. I mean, really, truly, gag inducing STINKS. We do it outside. If she does it in winter she does it in the garage and it STILL makes the house smell. My recomendation? slice into skinny strips (sort of like liver "worms) and freeze in singler serving glopse on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Peel frozen glops off of wax paper and place in a large zip lock freezer bag. The evening before you want to feed liver, pull a frozen glop out of the bag and put out to thaw. Just my .02!

 

[Elliemae 77]

Ok, I decided to bite the bullet and cull the hen with respiratory problems....now what....how do I make my pen sanitary again. Spray it down with bleach? What about my other birds that I so stupidly put in harms way. Just monitor for symptoms ? Is there anything I should be giving them? I already do acv in water and ff. I plan on cleaning out my coop and spraying it down with bleach to kill any critters in there. This is a very good leson learned, just hope its not too late. So far no one else is showing signs. A little sneezing, but they were eating when I was monitoring too.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Duh...never thought of making my own...that way I could buy grass-fed too. Thanks for the input on that. I could do the dehydrator, BM (!), but I think I'd sit it outside on the deck. Of course, every meat-eating critter for miles around would probably come running!

Quote:

my mother dehydrates liver for her dogs as treats. she slices it thin and then puts it in her dehydrator. I will warn you though, it STINKS. I mean, really, truly, gag inducing STINKS. We do it outside. If she does it in winter she does it in the garage and it STILL makes the house smell. My recomendation? slice into skinny strips (sort of like liver "worms) and freeze in singler serving glopse on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Peel frozen glops off of wax paper and place in a large zip lock freezer bag. The evening before you want to feed liver, pull a frozen glop out of the bag and put out to thaw. Just my .02!

 

[Mumsy]

Hmmmm.... I wonder why so many people say citrus and parsley are poisonous to them then?

I believe it is the same reason you have so many people parrot the same old same old advice on so many threads giving advice that is hearsay. Coming from someone who read something from someone. It amazes me how much advice is bogus. I've been raising chickens for fifty years. I learn something new every day. But one thing is for sure. I didn't know citrus and parsley was poisonous to chickens. I didn't know a lot of things were bad until I read about it recently on the internets. I always believed my chickens knew what they wanted to eat and not eat. I kind of figured the chickens had some instincts in this area and I leave them to it. They free range. I feed them the best I can when those pickings are slim. So far...The chickens know best.

 

[Eggcessive]

Oooh eggsessive, id love to see pics of your poop board! Ive been trying to get better ideas under my perch. Cleanup is a pain there.

These are about 30 inches off the floor, the boards are 24 inches deep covered with Sweet PDZ stall freshener (you can use sand, shavings, or some types of kitty litter,) they have a 4 inch lip around them in front, the roosts are 11-12 inches higher than the boards, and the whole thing frees up extra floor space underneath. Takes me about 15 minutes with a kitty litter shovel and a plastic dustpan to clean a 40 foot long board into a 5 gallon bucket that I empty into a compost pile. The PDZ (zeolyte) is non-toxic, drying to your litter, and can be thrown into the garden with no worries.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

On the broody -
I just had the one and am BRAND NEW to this so it's just what I did. I didn't want the others coming and laying eggs in there with her and I didn't want her to go back to the wrong nest after she had eaten and drank for the day. So...I moved her to the other side of the hen house that is divided off by a door so she had that side to herself. I put her own feed and water supply in there with her. The door that divides the 2 sides is covered w/hardware cloth so they could all see each other.

I moved her BEFORE I got fertile eggs, in the dark of night. She had fake eggs under her. I wanted to be sure she was going to stick with it before I got eggs. And...before I moved her, for 3 days I physically picked her up and took her out in the yard to the farthest away area and deposited her on the ground. I did this to see if she was really determined to set. I did that at least 2X / day for 3 days. After that 3rd day, I made her a nest box from a "rubbermade" tub then, after dark I moved her into it. Then I observed her for 2 more days to be sure she was going to stick with it before I ordered the eggs!








I had EXCELLENT advice from the KING OF BROODY HATCHES - Stoneykill. Here's an article he wrote about broodies: http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/01/broody-hens-natures-incubators-your.html

The last picture up there is DAY 1 when the kiddos came out of the nest w/mom (That was NEW YEAR'S DAY - 15 DEGREES OUTSIDE IN THAT HEN HOUSE). I opened the door between the 2 sides at about 1 week. Mom immediately attacked anyone that came near and protected those kids...and the others learned really fast not to mess with her kiddos!

So cute!

I have an idea that I would use if I didn't have a place separated by a door. I was going to purchase the plastic poultry netting

http://www.menards.com/main/buildin...-plastic-poultry-netting/p-1750924-c-5772.htm

and tack it to the roof of the hen house and let it hang down like a curtain to divide off an area. This could be stapled on one wall and if it's not wide enough, 2 or more pieces could be hung vertically side x side and zip tied. You could put a brick or some other weight on it at the floor that would keep the others from getting in.

For you to get in, you just lift it up and walk under. When you're just starting to integrate them, you could roll it up or down depending on if you want to have the separated or integrated until you want to remove it altogether.

Like this idea. Might also work to separate one who is being picked on until healing if wounded.

Lala, I am so sorry to hear about your situation. Poisoning makes sense. Losing three in such a short time frame has to mean something.. At least with the first two, this one may be a coincidence (because she has been poorly for months).

I'm rooting for you.

x2

Breaking news dot dot dot....may babies did figure it out. For the past two nights I have been playing Mama hen doing my usual (don't laugh now...or not so loud I can hear it all the way over the internet) cheap cheap cheap and they come running to me. I tap tap tap on with food all the way up the ramp and they follow my fingers. Then they flap back to the ground arghhhh....but tonight....ahhhhh. I went out with a new tub of meal worms with the intent to do all of this finger tapping and cheap cheaping up the ramp to find my babies put themselves to bed like big girls. There my sweetie husband and I stood watching from the porch to make sure they did not come bak out as the automatic door closed for the night. He turned to me and said woman what have you done to me. I played basketball all over the world, seen and done it all and now look at me. Watching to make sure chickens stay in bed while the door closes. lol Now how is that for a sweetie of a hubby

I'm sure someone also answered this, but here's what I do and it works well to prevent reintegration issues later. I just let the hen stay on the nest- just make sure you MARK THE EGGS and pull non marked eggs daily, because other hens will get in there and lay eggs. And I mark my calender. Then, on hatch day, I have a wire front I can fit on the nest box and I put that on to keep other hens OUT and to keep the chicks from falling out. After 24 hours/all eggs hatched I move mother and baby to a seperated area inside the coop, where they're away from the others but can still see each other. This area has it's own small run, but within a week I start letting them in with the rest of the flock, but I watch closely to see how well the mother protects them from other hens (btw, if she does a poor job I wouldn't let her raise chicks again...). So far the two hens I've let hatch chicks have done a great job protecting their chicks from the other chickens. I did keep the chicks separate for a while after the mother stopped caring for them (they typically stop around 3-4 weeks) because the others were picking on them... I kept them in that same separate pen just until they got big enough to defend themselves.

Good info & ideas.

Is it doing that with all of them? I'll go back in and check it out. I may have done something dumb - LOL!

You? Do something dumb? haha oh well I guess everyone succombs at some point in life. LOL You are one of my inspirations. But I HAVE THE MARKET CORNERED on doing dumb things. hahahaha

I believe it is the same reason you have so many people parrot the same old same old advice on so many threads giving advice that is hearsay. Coming from someone who read something from someone. It amazes me how much advice is bogus. I've been raising chickens for fifty years. I learn something new every day. But one thing is for sure. I didn't know citrus and parsley was poisonous to chickens. I didn't know a lot of things were bad until I read about it recently on the internets. I always believed my chickens knew what they wanted to eat and not eat. I kind of figured the chickens had some instincts in this area and I leave them to it. They free range. I feed them the best I can when those pickings are slim. So far...The chickens know best.

x to the inth degree on this one. Other than foreign objects like styrofoam or metal pieces (non organics) I agree chickens do seem to know. Maybe it is just the genetic God given instinct to follow his pattern. Like some birds build hanging nests and some build with sticks..... it is in their makeup.

 

[cuties]

These are about 30 inches off the floor, the boards are 24 inches deep covered with Sweet PDZ stall freshener (you can use sand, shavings, or some types of kitty litter,) they have a 4 inch lip around them in front, the roosts are 11-12 inches higher than the boards, and the whole thing frees up extra floor space underneath. Takes me about 15 minutes with a kitty litter shovel and a plastic dustpan to clean a 40 foot long board into a 5 gallon bucket that I empty into a compost pile. The PDZ (zeolyte) is non-toxic, drying to your litter, and can be thrown into the garden with no worries.

Thank you sooo much!! This is eggzactly the type of info I have been looking for!!!

 

[delisha]

Quote: How very exciting!!!!

my mother dehydrates liver for her dogs as treats. she slices it thin and then puts it in her dehydrator. I will warn you though, it STINKS. I mean, really, truly, gag inducing STINKS. We do it outside. If she does it in winter she does it in the garage and it STILL makes the house smell. My recomendation? slice into skinny strips (sort of like liver "worms) and freeze in singler serving glopse on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Peel frozen glops off of wax paper and place in a large zip lock freezer bag. The evening before you want to feed liver, pull a frozen glop out of the bag and put out to thaw. Just my .02!

I love the idea of the frozen strips...thank you very much

Ok, I decided to bite the bullet and cull the hen with respiratory problems....now what....how do I make my pen sanitary again. Spray it down with bleach? What about my other birds that I so stupidly put in harms way. Just monitor for symptoms ? Is there anything I should be giving them? I already do acv in water and ff. I plan on cleaning out my coop and spraying it down with bleach to kill any critters in there. This is a very good leson learned, just hope its not too late. So far no one else is showing signs. A little sneezing, but they were eating when I was monitoring too.

You can't stress about what has been. Stop beating yourself up. You are now on a different path. Once you change and correct a bad decision, you need to reward yourself instead. I am not going to say I am sorry you killed that chicken..I am going going to say I am sorry you are going threw this. I too hope all will be well. Make sure you give that coop a good air out and try to let in as much sunshine as you can. No matter how cold out it is..get them out of the coop all day. Add Oregano and some Cilantro daily. Bleach is hard on chickens lungs..please be careful. You might want to choose Oxine instead.

Quote:
I recently read that adding ACV does nothing for chickens and if you add it to chick vitamins they null each other out. It did not make sense to me but I do not know every thing.And what I do know does not fill a thimble. I did some research and found some information where some company made that statement and was in fact selling there own chicken vitamins.It was a sales technique and tactic.People must have read it, repeated what they read and it became gospel. So people..even thought I might make a statement and share what I have been doing does not make it something you should do. Do your research if it does not sound right to you. Use your own gut feeling.
ACV is one of the cheapest things you can do for your chickens to extend the quality of life. It has been heavily researched. I never read any of it till I came on here. I added it because it has been used for hundreds of years on farms.