The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[BlueMouse]

I have never in somewhere around 2000 keets hatched had a keet with an impacted crop from just over eating on starter feed (dry, not even fermented)... are there whole grains or scratch in your FF mix? Are they on shavings for bedding? Keets cannot digest/pass grains or shavings, but will readily gorge on both... so either could cause an impaction. It may be lower down, than being just the crop, and could be backed up all the way to the crop. I'd keep up the EVO, with some molasses mixed in, light/gentle crop massages and plenty of water... I'd also separate him into a small shoebox or another similar small box on the edge of the heat lamp light glow with a stuffed animal to snuggle up to/under, and a mirror. I'd withhold food for a while until the crop empties, and if they are on shavings... get them ALL off ASAP, and back on paper towels or shelf liner immediately. Keets are bad about eating shavings.

crop has gone down some this AM so that's a good sign. He's been pooping well over the past 12 hourse, and I firts noticed the crop to watch 24 hours ago, so I doubt that he's too backed up. I have him seperated so he can't get into anything except water until his crop empties. I will add molasses to his olive oil this AM and give him more gentle massages. They aren't on chips, I figured they aren't old enough yet? I have a piece of sod in there for them, as well as paper towels. everyone else seems ok, so I guess maybe this one just ate too much grass?? they have acess to chick grit and seem to be eating it, I've sprinkled some on their food as well. I grind the FF for the chicks pretty fine myself, it's about the consistancy of the starter feed.

at what age can you put keets on bedding? (I use shavings/chopped leaves in my bigger brooder.) without them eating it? opinions seem to differ.

 

[BlueMouse]

So some actual progress. Road put in to go from the driveway to the barn so that they can bring the heavy machinery in without sinking. Our yard is quite low, so it stays wet longer than most.. even in the summer it is quite soft and if it rains they wouldn't be able to work.

So exciting! I hope that construction is speedy and uneventful!

 

[Mrs.SB]

I don't remember how big your coop is but - [COLOR=FF0000]how 'bout just using a corner instead of 1/2[/COLOR]? Maybe could use something like this to temporarily divide off a corner: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...eeping-thread-ots-welcome/13020#post_11049960

I used these fence pieces from Lowes outside to make them a corner to escape. http://www.lowes.com/pd_260261-1641...e&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=black+fence&facetInfo=

That's a good idea, I may try this! Thanks

 

[holderh]

MF: thanks for posting that picture. hope u had fun in NYC!

Bluebirdnanny: no she isn't bald ...she may be missy a few feathers due to rooster tho.

sally8:bless your heart! My sh wants a tom turkey but I don't just for that very reason. i hope you can come up with a solution he is very pretty.

delisha: hope your fil gets to feeling better.

 

[stonykill]

Mama Sumatra and her 11 lil fuzzy butts. Right at the door step of my workshop

 

[aoxa]

Mama Sumatra and her 11 lil fuzzy butts. Right at the door step of my workshop

They are perfect Stony

Question, how do you make sure all your Sumatras are pure? Does Hiardo (I think that's what you called him - the polish mix boy) mate the Sumatras at all?

 

[stonykill]

They are perfect Stony

Question, how do you make sure all your Sumatras are pure? Does Hiardo (I think that's what you called him - the polish mix boy) mate the Sumatras at all?

nope hairdo only mates with LF girls. The roosters have the yard divided into area's where they are allowed to roam. Kinda funny but every year they fight for territory and don't cross the imaginary line.
What I do when a Sumatra goes broody is give her eggs from one of my 3 Sumatra breeding pens. This way I am 100% sure they are pure Sumatra. Same when I sell eggs. From my breeding pens.

Thanks, they are perfect lil fuzzy butts

 

[aoxa]

nope hairdo only mates with LF girls. The roosters have the yard divided into area's where they are allowed to roam. Kinda funny but every year they fight for territory and don't cross the imaginary line.
What I do when a Sumatra goes broody is give her eggs from one of my 3 Sumatra breeding pens. This way I am 100% sure they are pure Sumatra. Same when I sell eggs. From my breeding pens.

Thanks, they are perfect lil fuzzy butts

Interesting!

I can't wait to get broodies again. I miss it.

 

[delisha]

Bumping this up....Anyone with Silkies, are these 2 Roos? Thanks for your help!

Sexing silkies is hard to do. They are to young to sex. Most can't sex until they drop an egg. I never seen silkies like these. Can you take close up of the head?

Quote: Not all keets are the same. I would not put them on shavings for a while. Paper towels or bed protectors for two weeks is average.
Bagged feed contains grit. I do not know if additional grit in it is necessary for them. A dirt plug for them to dig in to find it would entertain them too.

Quote: x2000!!!!!
Justine
It looks so good and the birds will love that pile of grass!!

How exciting for you Justine!

AMF: thanks for posting that picture. hope u had fun in NYC!

Bluebirdnanny: no she isn't bald ...she may be missy a few feathers due to rooster tho.

sally8:bless your heart! My sh wants a tom turkey but I don't just for that very reason. i hope you can come up with a solution he is very pretty.

delisha: hope your fil gets to feeling better.

thank you..

 

[PeepsCA]

crop has gone down some this AM so that's a good sign. He's been pooping well over the past 12 hourse, and I firts noticed the crop to watch 24 hours ago, so I doubt that he's too backed up. I have him seperated so he can't get into anything except water until his crop empties. I will add molasses to his olive oil this AM and give him more gentle massages. They aren't on chips, I figured they aren't old enough yet? I have a piece of sod in there for them, as well as paper towels. everyone else seems ok, so I guess maybe this one just ate too much grass?? they have acess to chick grit and seem to be eating it, I've sprinkled some on their food as well. I grind the FF for the chicks pretty fine myself, it's about the consistancy of the starter feed.

at what age can you put keets on bedding? (I use shavings/chopped leaves in my bigger brooder.) without them eating it? opinions seem to differ.

Glad he is still pooping, that's a good sign. Sounds like he might have overdone it on the grass, dirt and grit. Especially the grass tho... they run around with it like they found the golden worm and wolf it down as fast as they can so the other keets can't take it from them, and then get another piece and do it again and again etc etc.

I usually only feed my keets starter feed and maybe some finely chopped soft veggies up until 10 days old, they just can't seem to handle anything that's unprocessed very well before that, especially grasses or anything fibrous. Their little gizzards and digestive systems are just slow to mature. Which really makes no sense if you think about what they would be eating out in the wild or even if their Momma hatched them outside in the bushes somewhere. But for whatever reason keets are a lot more more fragile and more prone to impaction than chicks are at first. One of the drawbacks of trying to domesticate wild birds I guess... messing with Nature too much.

I do not give my keets free choice access to grit until I start feeding them other feeds/treats (and IMO they don't really need the grit if they have a sod clump anyway). And once I do start giving them grit it is just a sprinkle on top of their food each day for a while. I have had them impact on too much grit before (and from eating the edges of paper towels that were poking out from under the shelf liner too)... I swear some keets are just hatched with a death/suicide wish. So I have learned to just avoid as many of the risks as possible, and error on the side of caution. It's not a good feeling to have to pull a stiff, cold trampled keet body out of the brooder over something that could have been prevented. And all it takes is one not so smart keet to start eating/pecking at something they shouldn't, and the entire brooderful is fighting over it and hoovering it down as fast as they can.

I don't put my keets on shavings until they are about 10 days to 2 wks old. I go from shelf liner over paper towels for the first few days to coarse straw or long stemmed grass hay that has no seeds or leaves that they can eat (and get impacted on). When I finally do put them on shavings, they are the large flake kind... not the fine, soft fluffy stuff.

And yes, opinions differ... but I can tell you, there's a lot of misinformation (and common sense lacking opinions) floating around out there. There's also a lot of people out there freely giving advice that lack the experience needed to give good, sound advice. Just because someone did something once (or they read that someone else did) and their keets lived thru it doesn't mean that it will work for everyone's keets. Every batch of keets and brooder situation is different. Frequent observation of what's going on in your brooder is definitely key tho.

As long as your keet is pooping you can probably skip the molasses since he is not clogged up (molasses just helps keep things moving, plus flushes toxins), but it won't hurt him if you already gave him some with the EVO.