The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

Hi Everyone,

I have been on this thread along with the old timers and the gnarly bunch doing research to prepare myself for chickens. After reading many things on all these places, I am looking for some honest advice as I have become unsure as to whether my particular circumstances will be right for chickens.

I have quite a small back yard of about 20 feet by 25feet and I was wondering if this is suitable for about 3 or 4 chickens. Of course they would have a run and coop and be able to go in the garden but they will not have the opportunity to go into large and differnt areas to forage. They will just be in this same patch of land all the time.

I live in a part of the UK where we have wet but relatively mildish winters ( except for this past one where we had about three weeks of sub zero temp and about 4 inches of snow, but that's usually rare). so they will not be necessarily cooped up in their run all the time.

My concern is will the soil have a build up of parasite which will ultimately affect their health?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

As long as you keep your chicken level down you will be fine. You might want to start with two or three chickens and see how that works for you. My daughter has a neighbor with a small back yard and she has 3 chickens that do quite well in that small of an area. The chickens have more than enough room to scratch around.They are very healthy and vibrant chickens. I live in Wisconsin and it is wet and cold here all the time. For us 70 is short weather. I had shorts on all day yesterday and it never got over 60. It is the best weather for chickens. My new chicks are outside in this weather. The only chicks with heat now are the three days olds.

Sally -

I have 2 different scenarios

The dirt I shovel from the garden goes inside the hen house that has a vinyl floor over wood. I did that to get things started in there. Even if it never breaks down well, it is a good thing as they get what's in the dirt including whatever bugs survive until they get them! In there I use mostly wood shavings as bedding.

The wood chips, grass, leaves etc., goes in my outside pen/run (that is dirt). The kiddos just have to be in that pen a few hours in the morning depending on when the sun comes up, but I want it to remain healthy and active with the goal of having it deep enough that it insulates below so they can still access worms in winter. Haven't gotten that deep yet, but working on it!

I might change my back run to DL. I have pop door exit to that run that is closed off from the chickens so just the ducks can use it. I bet I can get some good stuff working in there for winter. It does not get morning sun since it is on the west side of the building. The ducks use it for summer hatches. Not sure.

 

[aoxa]

Del,

This picture to me looks like an internal pip, but I want your input. It's for a friend and it's her first time hatching shipped eggs.

 

[PeepsCA]

aoxa, IMO I'd say that's just a slanted air cell (but close to lock-down time). An internal pip is when you can actually see the shadow of the pointed tip of the beak up against the side of the shell, or the shadow of the beak shape clearly poking up into the air cell area.

 

[NanaLynn]

I do not remember who, but someone did mention string across the top of fence will deter some birds from flying into a pen.
I know Vicki who breeds Orpingtons uses filament to keep hawks and owls out of her pens.

Delisha - Thank you, I could not think of what she used, "filament" that's it! With the OT thread, this thread and others, I am on info overload. Is she "thedragonlady" ? Or another? Might try to PM her to see where she got the "filament" or just search the OT thread. I still have trouble with the search option on threads, doesn't always work for me. Thanks again!

 

[aoxa]

aoxa, IMO I'd say that's just a slanted air cell (but close to lock-down time). An internal pip is when you can actually see the shadow of the pointed tip of the beak up against the side of the shell, or the shadow of the beak shape clearly poking up into the air cell area.

Today is lock down day. This is what mine look like when internally pipped, with the one exception that I can visualize breathing. It does appear that they will very soon to be internally pipped though, don't you think? She's waiting for internal pip to lock down, as per Del's, Yours, and Celtic Oak's advice.

I've been mentoring her with it, as it's her first hatch. She had no idea about anything involving hatching. She bought a genesis based on our advice here.

 

[countrygirl74]

Good night, All!

So, my sister is not really liking raising those cornish x - is there something better to get for meat birds? She just keeps telling me how strange they are - don't even act like a normal chicken. I think it's kind of mean to breed a chicken like that, doesn't seem quite right. What are your thoughts?
Also, my next question for today - what kind of chickens will you get when you have a mixed standard flock and a silkie roo? Will they all be small like silkies? If we had extras from a mix like that, would they even be worth butchering? I know people eat silkies but doesn't seem like there would be much to them, but maybe if they were a mix of a standard hen and silkie roo? We were just wondering if she should have some babies and use those for meat at all...

 

[BlueMouse]

ok. So we haven't gotten our fencing installed yet, and probably won't for another month.... But in the meantime I need to keep the dangeblatted chickens OUT of my planted up garden beds. (I can only imagine their delight ad discovering my peas sprouting. Tasty treats, just for them!) Do you folks think that a 3 foot plastic mesh fence staked around my beds (which would raise it an extra 10 inches) would keep them out?

 

[NanaLynn]

ok. So we haven't gotten our fencing installed yet, and probably won't for another month.... But in the meantime I need to keep the dangeblatted chickens OUT of my planted up garden beds. (I can only imagine their delight ad discovering my peas sprouting. Tasty treats, just for them!) Do you folks think that a 3 foot plastic mesh fence staked around my beds (which would raise it an extra 10 inches) would keep them out?

I use a 2 foot fence (chicken wire) around each of my raised beds with bird netting on top.

 

[Mumsy]

Did you get him?

Unfortunately, no. I did corner it with the Silkie flock. They were very upset to have a black cat running around in their midst. I am not coordinated or quick enough with a net to catch a frightened cat. It escaped. Husband set a trap and no luck with that either. Today I am working on plugging the holes it can fit under. I'm worried about how hungry this cat may get as it gets older. Saw it eating the FF!

 

[aoxa]

Unfortunately, no. I did corner it with the Silkie flock. They were very upset to have a black cat running around in their midst. I am not coordinated or quick enough with a net to catch a frightened cat. It escaped. Husband set a trap and no luck with that either. Today I am working on plugging the holes it can fit under. I'm worried about how hungry this cat may get as it gets older. Saw it eating the FF!

Poor kitty.

I can't even catch my own cat outside, so I'm not sure how you will catch a stray. Have-a-heart trap with some tuna maybe? My cat is too smart for that though.. she wouldn't dare go in anything confined.

Would Animal Control be a good place to contact?