The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

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

Beautiful picture Stony......I don't know how you get any work done with all that wonderful chicken tv right outside your door. I know I would be pulling up a chair spending my day watching Mama & her babies

Aoxa- glad to see they are starting the build on your new barn.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
Ron Fogle and his friend Paulletta from AR. Paulletta drove them to me too. Super nice and friendly. And the chicks were treated way better than the USPS would have for the trip. They had food, water and space to move around. Also the weather was perfect, not to cold and not overly hot. My children already love them.

 

[aoxa]

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

How exciting for you Justine!

They already love the pile of dirt Vicki I just need it moved so the grass under it can grow back.

The chickens seem to like mountains of things.. I have a compost mountain that is 20 years old at least.. this property was used as a horse carriage trail 20 years ago, and it's a mountain of composted horse manure. It's very rich in worms, but the trees have rooted in it, so it's hard to dig up in places. We just got a tiller, so I'm going to attempt to. The soil looks amazing.

We also just ordered our dump truck of screened organic topsoil for our garden beds. We are building the raised boxes tonight. Tomorrow I took the day off work so we can finish it up and add the soil/compost. I have a bunch of perennials I bought to give the rock garden some colour. Perennials are okay planted before last chance of frost right? I think so..

 

[countrygirl74]

Beautiful picture Stony......I don't know how you get any work done with all that wonderful chicken tv right outside your door. I know I would be pulling up a chair spending my day watching Mama & her babies

Aoxa- glad to see they are starting the build on your new barn.

X2!!!

 

[camilleathome]

They already love the pile of dirt Vicki I just need it moved so the grass under it can grow back.

The chickens seem to like mountains of things.. I have a compost mountain that is 20 years old at least.. this property was used as a horse carriage trail 20 years ago, and it's a mountain of composted horse manure. It's very rich in worms, but the trees have rooted in it, so it's hard to dig up in places. We just got a tiller, so I'm going to attempt to. The soil looks amazing.

We also just ordered our dump truck of screened organic topsoil for our garden beds. We are building the raised boxes tonight. Tomorrow I took the day off work so we can finish it up and add the soil/compost. I have a bunch of perennials I bought to give the rock garden some colour. Perennials are okay planted before last chance of frost right? I think so..

I still have flower seeds here for you for your memory garden also!

 

[countrygirl74]

Okay, so I am having trouble making a decision... hopefully some of you can take some time to read this and weigh in your opinions.

What would you do and why??

I have to re-home at least 2 of my roosters as is appears I am soon to have 4, which I think is going to be too many. No, I can't cull any of them because I'm too attached now, which is making it very difficult to decide who to keep.

Stories:

Roo 1 - "Chubby Cheeks" (28 week old EE)
Description: Has tried to do some "little" attacks, nothing major - no flying up, just little pecking attacks at our feet and extremely rare - usually only if I change shoes. We have pulled his feathers and hasn't really done it again. I can walk into the yard with no problems. He's a wonderful protector and lets the hens eat right from his beak when he finds something. He's beautiful! He has some sharp claws that did rip open one of my BR girls sides but now that they have saddles, I haven't had it happen again and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure it was him, but just assume because the other two roos are silkies. He crows a lot, but not sure if he would continue to do so if he didn't have the other two going back and forth with him. All in all, I think he is a very good rooster, so far...

Roo 2 - "Snuffleupagus" or "Snuffy" (28 week old red silkie)
Description: Definitely the most ornery! If my daughter is squatting down, he likes to fly up and attack her backside. He doesn't mess with me at all anymore as I started tugging his back feathers weeks ago when he started being a little biter - he would not just peck, he would grab on and not let go! He cracks me up with his scruffy cuteness though - he has become my husband's favorite because he is a little scrapper and never gives up. He doesn't really get any of the girls but he sure does keep trying. He occasionally scuffles with the blue silkie roo but our EE always steps in and breaks it up. I think we love him because he's the underdog. Also crows a lot.

Roo 3 - "Disco" (28 week old blue silkie)
Description: He reminds me of a proud little king. He has never flown up or attacked. He just dances all the time. We try to tug his feathers when he dances but boy does he got some moves and can dodge your hand too fast to get to him. I am beginning to think that he finds himself pretty funny that he can get away. He is pretty good all around. Doesn't seem to be too hard on the girls; he only seems to scuffle because Snuffy starts it. I think he crows the least but still gets going back and forth with the other two.

Roo 4 - "Monsoon" (8 week old blue cochin)
Description: Too young to really tell about how he'll be but I am pretty certain the blue cochin hen I wanted was improperly sexed. "She's" got a decent-sized comb and wattles developing and yesterday when I let all the little ones out to free-range, I could have sworn he/she was trying to do a kind of a warning/egg song sounding call due to a fence that was moving around a lot. He/She's absolutely beautiful and I am so disappointed that it seems to be a cockerel. He does like to peck a lot more than the other babies do - not sure if that's a bad sign as I don't want a huge blue cochin roo pecking me all the time someday. But I've also heard that cochin roos are the sweetest??

So, questions to consider... Which two are most likely to get along? Which two would be best for my flock as listed in my sig? I do have one white silkie hen. My EE has mounted her with no issues before but don't know if a cochin would be too much for her? They are in a big run most of the time - they get supervised free-ranging. They are not really let out without supervision so I don't necessarily need a protector. I should also mention that all the older roos have been great with the babies - it's the hens that pick on them. I do not have plans for breeding silkies or any other chickens at this time. I guess if I did want to in the future, it would only be for future egg-layers and we'd eat the future roos we would get. I do have my white silkie laying on some duck eggs for me right now for my sister.
I am trying to do what's best for my flock and also cut down on the incessant crowing they all do with each other - (at least the 3 older ones - the cochin hasn't crowed yet).

Here are some photos of all them... It's been at least 2-3 weeks since some of these were taken, some longer.

 

[Mumsy]

Mumsy, congrats on your new Turkey Babies, so SO cute. I want to be added to your hatching egg waiting list, whenever/if you eventually sell eggs next season.

I've been hatching poults from my own Turkeys the past couple days... 10 poults have hatched so far and there are 2 pipped eggs left in the hatcher, so hopefully they'll hatch overnight. No Blue Slates, but there are 5 Black poults and 4 Narraganset looking poults so far, plus 1 White (or almost completely White/yellow) poult that just hatched out a couple hours ago. I am scratching my head as to where the genes came from to produce a poult that color, lol but I am so NOT complaining (parents are a Narragansett Tom, covering a Narragansett Hen and 2 Black Mottled Hens).

Thank you Peeps. I will keep the best tom and hen from these six and would love to trade eggs with you next season! I've never gotten poults to live beyond three or four weeks. This is my goal. Breeding Blue Slates.

 

[aoxa]

Okay, so I am having trouble making a decision... hopefully some of you can take some time to read this and weigh in your opinions.

What would you do and why??

I have to re-home at least 2 of my roosters as is appears I am soon to have 4, which I think is going to be too many. No, I can't cull any of them because I'm too attached now, which is making it very difficult to decide who to keep.

Stories:

Roo 1 - "Chubby Cheeks" (28 week old EE)
Description: Has tried to do some "little" attacks, nothing major - no flying up, just little pecking attacks at our feet and extremely rare - usually only if I change shoes. We have pulled his feathers and hasn't really done it again. I can walk into the yard with no problems. He's a wonderful protector and lets the hens eat right from his beak when he finds something. He's beautiful! He has some sharp claws that did rip open one of my BR girls sides but now that they have saddles, I haven't had it happen again and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure it was him, but just assume because the other two roos are silkies. He crows a lot, but not sure if he would continue to do so if he didn't have the other two going back and forth with him. All in all, I think he is a very good rooster, so far...

Roo 2 - "Snuffleupagus" or "Snuffy" (28 week old red silkie)
Description: Definitely the most ornery! If my daughter is squatting down, he likes to fly up and attack her backside. He doesn't mess with me at all anymore as I started tugging his back feathers weeks ago when he started being a little biter - he would not just peck, he would grab on and not let go! He cracks me up with his scruffy cuteness though - he has become my husband's favorite because he is a little scrapper and never gives up. He doesn't really get any of the girls but he sure does keep trying. He occasionally scuffles with the blue silkie roo but our EE always steps in and breaks it up. I think we love him because he's the underdog. Also crows a lot.

Roo 3 - "Disco" (28 week old blue silkie)
Description: He reminds me of a proud little king. He has never flown up or attacked. He just dances all the time. We try to tug his feathers when he dances but boy does he got some moves and can dodge your hand too fast to get to him. I am beginning to think that he finds himself pretty funny that he can get away. He is pretty good all around. Doesn't seem to be too hard on the girls; he only seems to scuffle because Snuffy starts it. I think he crows the least but still gets going back and forth with the other two.

Roo 4 - "Monsoon" (8 week old blue cochin)
Description: Too young to really tell about how he'll be but I am pretty certain the blue cochin hen I wanted was improperly sexed. "She's" got a decent-sized comb and wattles developing and yesterday when I let all the little ones out to free-range, I could have sworn he/she was trying to do a kind of a warning/egg song sounding call due to a fence that was moving around a lot. He/She's absolutely beautiful and I am so disappointed that it seems to be a cockerel. He does like to peck a lot more than the other babies do - not sure if that's a bad sign as I don't want a huge blue cochin roo pecking me all the time someday. But I've also heard that cochin roos are the sweetest??

So, questions to consider... Which two are most likely to get along? Which two would be best for my flock as listed in my sig? I do have one white silkie hen. My EE has mounted her with no issues before but don't know if a cochin would be too much for her? They are in a big run most of the time - they get supervised free-ranging. They are not really let out without supervision so I don't necessarily need a protector. I should also mention that all the older roos have been great with the babies - it's the hens that pick on them. I do not have plans for breeding silkies or any other chickens at this time. I guess if I did want to in the future, it would only be for future egg-layers and we'd eat the future roos we would get. I do have my white silkie laying on some duck eggs for me right now for my sister.
I am trying to do what's best for my flock and also cut down on the incessant crowing they all do with each other - (at least the 3 older ones - the cochin hasn't crowed yet).

Here are some photos of all them... It's been at least 2-3 weeks since some of these were taken, some longer.

Get rid of the buff silkie.

Definitely keep the little cochin. Oh my he is so adorable, and the best foot feathering I've ever seen on a cochin of that age.

I just don't like your buff silkie. He's not a good boy, and he's not particularly good quality. It would be hard to decide between the two older boys. Both show mild assertive behaviour, but they are young. I think it's up to you guys. Have a family vote between those two, and get rid of the buff boy.

 

[lalaland]

Justine,
It can be too early to plant perenials, it depends on what they look like. I

If you got your perennials from a friend or neighbor, i.e. just dug them up, no problem to plant now.

If they came from a local nursery, and look about the same as plants in your yard in terms of presence of leaves, buds, or flowers - thats fine too. Some keep their perennials outdoors all winter, and they will be in sync with your area.

It is just the ones that have been shipped from warmer areas, or have been raised in a greenhouse and look like summer- leafed out, in bloom, now that will have problems. (assuming it is not some kind of early spring perennial like primroses). I can buy blackeyed susans and even foxglove in bloom right now, but if I planted them they would die back and have to start over. If the ones you have are way ahead of the season, hold them indoors til frost passes, and you won't have to wait for them to recover.

 

[lalaland]

LAB NECROPSY RESULTS FINALLY!!!

vet finally called me with the university's path lab results: ecoli periotonitus . System infection in the blood, in other words. Brought on by either production laying or stress - from moving or pecking, etc.

This little hen looked to her sibling for protection, and would run to her and cower under her sister's wing - even at a year old. And she was being pecked and bullied by one hen in the flock. Her sister was the hen that dropped dead overnight - I don't think her sister was under stress quite as much. But with the sister gone, this little one only lasted a few weeks.

The run is huge, and I have multiple water and feed stations, so I am not sure why she was overstressed. From what I saw, the bully didn't seek her out but would go after her if their paths crossed.

I had asked them to check the parasite load, and there were a few roundworms, but not an overload.

I asked about prevention: antibiotics once sick but immediately, and keeping her helathy in the first place.

shoot.