The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Guys can I get photos of makeshift chick perches. My chicks are getting to the size they are ready to practice perching

I have a small wood child step stool, the kind used when littles start using big toilet. I turn it upside down so it has a good solid base and they can choose the dowel in the center or the plywood sides to perch on. They love it.

 

[camilleathome]

I have a small wood child step stool, the kind used when littles start using big toilet. I turn it upside down so it has a good solid base and they can choose the dowel in the center or the plywood sides to perch on. They love it.

I perched up their feeders so they wouldnt get woodchips on it and their using those a lot now -_- lol. I love these chicks their so silly

 

[countrygirl74]

I have been sooo busy lately, it's been hard to keep up, but I am reading everything when I get little breaks here and there. I love this thread and all the stuff I learn.
Thanks so much for those of you who commented on my friend's chick problem - I was also very concerned about the layer feed and it's the first thing I mentioned to him even before I asked all of you for advice. He is going to try some things and see if she can get better. I hope it works!

 

[amberr]

Saw the link to how to kill and process a chicken using slipknot tied in a tree.................much prefer to see it done this "respectful" way......

Of course, my grandfather and great greatparents reportedly just grabbed ahold of them, wrung the necks and then chopped off the heads. When I begin to "harvest" chickens, though, I think I'll follow Alexia Allen's method.

Wow I can't see myself being able to do that either method at this point, I hope I can bring myself to cull if one is sick and suffering but I just don't know..... I just don't think I have the stomach for it. I think it's all the blood. Are there anyways to cull without all the blood? Not for eating after just to end misery for example.

 

[PeepsCA]

Thought I'd share some chicken-ish pics...
I spent my day in the garden, but every time I took a break I was in the shade with a cold drink and my camera... 91 today, blah. I felt bad for my poor Silkies

They didn't move around in one big mob today like they normally do, they were actually smart enough to hang out in the shade and follow the random cool breezes that blew thru (well, most of them were).

My little flock of Silkie Mutts (and 2 Showgirls) are just about all grown up now.
Fluffy Butted Yard Art


Silly young Roos trying to figure out how to get the Ladies' attention (amateurs!) Dancing in the heat was too much work


The guy on the far left is asleep, the guy on the far right was nodding off too, lol


Dumb and Dumber kept darting in and out of the sun, and panting


My Showgirl Hen... so ugly she's adorable (and smart enough to stay in the shade right next to the waterer with icecubes in it lol)


Handsome, 'cept for that red comb

My Showgirl Roo, so ugly he's... just ugly. And he's a bully

The only dummy in the bunch not smart enough to go get in the shade and STAY there.
I moved her to the shade at least 10 times

This is guy is a perfect example of why you do not breed White Silkies with anything but another White, lol.
(I didn't breed him, just hatched him)


There's a beak in there somewhere, I know there is cuz she squawked all day any time one of the boys got too close (chicken PMS maybe?)


My Goats needed a break in the shade too. Browsing and ruminating in the heat is hard work

Believe it or not the Black Turkey on the other side of the fence is a HEN, in full strut lol. I think she over heated and lost her mind

Can't wait to see how she acts once it hits 115+ degrees in June, lol.

 

[OohLaLa]

Have you tried locking them in their coop for up to a week, 24 hours a day? That will usually get them used to coming in at night. Also I make sure their is a light on inside the coop that goes off when they are on the roost after fully dark. Mine don't all come in until dusk--right now in Ohio at 8:15 PM. There are always the girls that come in early to get the best spots on the roosts LOL.

Yup they were locked in the coop only for a full week before given the open door option to their run. Last night they were at least on their front porch by the closed door when I went out.

 

[lalaland]

lol, by the time I read the day's posts, its too late to comment.
Peeps, hard to believe you have that kind of heat - love the pics.

LeahsMom, thanks for the suggestions on the coop. I like the idea of something that is semi-temporary while the chicks are chicks, and can be removed when they are integrated with the flock.

I have an electric fence question.
The 400 sf run has wire fencing, plus one strand of electric fence about 4-6 inches off the ground. There is a base of wire fencing on the ground - laid flat on the ground - to deter dogs from digging under.

All this wire has turned it into a fairly lethal fence. Squirrels routinely electrocute themselves on it - I think because they are touching the electric wire and the fence and possible the ground fence too.

Doesn't kill skunks or coons or dogs.

With the straight run chicks that are coming, I'm wondering about keeping some of the roos and letting them free range outside of the pen. Will they electrocute themselves on the fence? WIll they want to be in with the hens continuously ? Guess I am tring to figure out if I have to build them a run for themselves or if it will work to free range with a run nearby of hens?

 

[Kassaundra]

Wow I can't see myself being able to do that either method at this point, I hope I can bring myself to cull if one is sick and suffering but I just don't know..... I just don't think I have the stomach for it. I think it's all the blood. Are there anyways to cull without all the blood? Not for eating after just to end misery for example.

I can think of one, but don't know if you would find it any less disturbing or doable. Cervical dislocation (breaking the neck) w/ a broom stick and a tug on the feet. For the details you would have to look up broomstick method or something like that as I have never been able to bring myself to do that.

 

[Pozees]

Wow I can't see myself being able to do that either method at this point, I hope I can bring myself to cull if one is sick and suffering but I just don't know..... I just don't think I have the stomach for it. I think it's all the blood. Are there anyways to cull without all the blood? Not for eating after just to end misery for example.

There is a video on You Tube about using a SodaStream to euthanize rats and mice that I know works for chicks, I imagine it would work for an adult as well. You basically give them enough CO2 to put them to sleep, then increase until they stop breathing. You can make your own using vinegar and baking soda but I don't know the ratio or amounts.

 

[Bulldogma]

A few of my chicks at 2 weeks old. American Bresse(white), SFH, and Partridge Barthuhners(3 chipmunks)'
5 week old Tolbunt Polish
5 week old Partridge Orps

5 week old SFH.
I can't wait until their pens are finished! We are so behind from the rain.

Thanks for sharing - beautiful chicks!!

I guess he will need a coating of anti fungal cream too...What exactly do the leg mites look like and how often do you oil there legs to prevent?

You can't usually see leg mites, but you can see the results of them - leg scales that stick out and look ragged.
This bird has been treated with NuStock, but you can still see how the scales are sticking out instead of smooth and flat.

Thought I'd share some chicken-ish pics...
My Showgirl Roo, so ugly he's... just ugly. And he's a bully

Peeps - your pics are wonderful... but this guy takes the prize! LOL!! He looks like a clingon!