The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[countrygirl74]

OKAY - so first of all... Delisha - You had me laughing out loud tonight for sure!! The blue cochin is too ugly for my flock...

Quote:

I do not feed them BOSS.(I have it for my ducks for winter)

Why is it good for the ducks in winter? I tried giving mine some and they didn't seem impressed. They are completely stuck on anything green, especially peas, but also watermelon. My white Pekins turn pink after eating watermelon - they just fling the juice all over - silly ducks.


Also, to whoever was talking about their 3-week-olds going outside with their 5-week-olds... I just put all 13 of mine out a couple weeks ago and they ranged in age from 3 weeks to 6 weeks - no added heat to our coops or anything and the temps were about 40 at night. The younger ones just bury themselves under the older ones. All I did was provide them with a bed of pine shavings.

 

[countrygirl74]

For those of you that have hot summers - got this idea from someone on the Arizona thread, and it looks like the chickens really like it!

 

[amberr]

Happy to report all my peeps are in the house! The week plus chicks (12) are growing so fast, just found breeder of Silkies in our area and got my kids their pet chickens (4) 2 day olds. And the 10 Guinea keets came today so below is my brooder room lol, the silkies are separated for a bit from older ones and keets in playpen. Realized my back up heat lamp is plastic no ceramic so back to the feed store tomorrow for another light. Plus my poor Dachshound old man just hurt his back again so have to take him to vet to get meds in AM. Poor baby been crying all night breaking my heart :'(

 

[Leahs Mom]

Now how do I steal (uh acquire) that soapbox smiley???? I love it!

http://www.sherv.net/politician-emoticon-1875.html

I like this site for smileys.

 

[Jrthompson]

Not sure if this belongs here but I'm in Australia and feel very strong about the "natural" keeping of animals! On Monday I was give a pair of ducks, I kept them secure and locked away in a coop and run for three days and today I decided to let them free range in my yard! So I came home today to find they have joined the local colony out the back. I have a lot of land and dams behind me no houses just cows! So I'm happy for them to b there! They have plenty of water and may just b able to have a sence of freedom with the securities of "home" here that I can provide them with! Just would feel bad of they fall victim! Anyways tomorro we have a local event that is celebrating 30 years " tocal field days" it will be my first time there and I'm hoping to get my first flock of laying hens there! I hope I wake up to my ducks in my yard and find the australorps I want at the field days!

 

[Leahs Mom]

For those of you that have hot summers - got this idea from someone on the Arizona thread, and it looks like the chickens really like it!

Thanks for posting that - Excellent!

I actually put out pans of water just yesterday w/a brick in them to hold down the pan so they don't tip it over. Never occurred to me about the brick doing double duty - stabilizing the pan AND soaking up the water and keeping them cool.

He states in the notes to be sure it's in the SHADE or the water will heat up with the sun hand have the opposite effect.

(Like this so much I wanted to embed it here!)

 

[gevshiba]

I had my first casualty last night. One of my SS chicks was dead this morning. I haven't been putting the heat lamp on at night, since it's been in the 50-60's at night. But it got down in the low 30's last night so I had the light on. I think this chick was squished or suffocated. It was half buried in shavings and right under the light. That chick was doing great yesterday. They do have mites and I dusted them with ash and DE a couple days ago. I added DE yesterday morning to the shavings. Since they won't be staying in this pen too long, I didn't think the DE would hurt anything. Hate losing that chick. I'm pretty sure it was a rooster.

 

[BlueMouse]

Good news here! My guinea keet's crop has emptied, and none of the others have any symptoms of impaction! I'll be keeping them off shaving for sure until two weeks afterthis event though, I don't trust the little buggers. If they can give themselves an impacted crop with a piece of sod, I shudder to think what they would manage with a brooder full of shavings!

I posted over on the "what breed or sex" forum with two of my little kids of uncertain gender, I would be happy if anyone from here would like to weigh in, but figured I wouldn't bog down the thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/776461/unknown-gender-questionable-breed-7-9-weeks#post_11101447

they are best right now. They get bitter as the year progresses.

dandelion, violet leaves and flowers, red clover blossoms,mustard grass leaves, fresh scrambled eggs, a little wild onion grass and a dash of dressing. Good spring breakfast.

Boiled up 1st year burdock stalk with a little butter and garlic...mmmmmmmm, a tasty part of lunch.

dandelion leaf and violet leaf sun tea. Gives me lots of energy and tastes great.

We had violet leaf in a mixed salad topped with grapfruit sections, avacado, and voilet flowers, dressed with the grapfruit juce and olive oil and a little salt and pepper. sure was tasty. I'm waiting for my fiddleheads to get up high enough to pick. I'm hoping to try making dandelion (flower) jelly and maybe dandelion wine. I'm going to have to try that sun tea for sure, and hunt up some burdock stalk. It won't be up here yet.

frugal chef maybe

we also make wild grape jam, spagetti sauce etc. I'm all about cheap

there were 4 or 5 very lean years in the mid to late 90's that we didn't eat any meat that I didn't kill. Deer, rabbits, squirrel, ducks, geese, turkeys, fish. And salads were always wild or from the garden. I so want that simple life again. Doing my best to get back to that.

You know, simple, whether because the wallet is skinny or by choice is a good thing. I grew up where we never turned the tv on, and didn't even have a computer until I was in high school. I want that for my kids. It was a good life. Lots of fresh air and sunshine, dirt, and being a kid. My husband hunts and fishes, and i garden, can, preserve, and dry. I'm hoping this year that more than 50% of what goes on our table will come from the garden or the woods or the chickens. I need to learn more about wild harvesting for sure.

I had my first casualty last night. One of my SS chicks was dead this morning. I haven't been putting the heat lamp on at night, since it's been in the 50-60's at night. But it got down in the low 30's last night so I had the light on. I think this chick was squished or suffocated. It was half buried in shavings and right under the light. That chick was doing great yesterday. They do have mites and I dusted them with ash and DE a couple days ago. I added DE yesterday morning to the shavings. Since they won't be staying in this pen too long, I didn't think the DE would hurt anything. Hate losing that chick. I'm pretty sure it was a rooster.

sorry to hear this.

 

[stonykill]

.
You know, simple, whether because the wallet is skinny or by choice is a good thing. I grew up where we never turned the tv on, and didn't even have a computer until I was in high school. I want that for my kids. It was a good life. Lots of fresh air and sunshine, dirt, and being a kid. My husband hunts and fishes, and i garden, can, preserve, and dry. I'm hoping this year that more than 50% of what goes on our table will come from the garden or the woods or the chickens. I need to learn more about wild harvesting for sure.

the simple life isn't simple but it is far more rewarding

 

[countrygirl74]

Not sure if this belongs here but I'm in Australia and feel very strong about the "natural" keeping of animals! On Monday I was give a pair of ducks, I kept them secure and locked away in a coop and run for three days and today I decided to let them free range in my yard! So I came home today to find they have joined the local colony out the back. I have a lot of land and dams behind me no houses just cows! So I'm happy for them to b there! They have plenty of water and may just b able to have a sence of freedom with the securities of "home" here that I can provide them with! Just would feel bad of they fall victim! Anyways tomorro we have a local event that is celebrating 30 years " tocal field days" it will be my first time there and I'm hoping to get my first flock of laying hens there! I hope I wake up to my ducks in my yard and find the australorps I want at the field days!

Welcome!!!!

Thanks for posting that - Excellent!

I actually put out pans of water just yesterday w/a brick in them to hold down the pan so they don't tip it over. Never occurred to me about the brick doing double duty - stabilizing the pan AND soaking up the water and keeping them cool.

He states in the notes to be sure it's in the SHADE or the water will heat up with the sun hand have the opposite effect.

(Like this so much I wanted to embed it here!)

I think it's best to use terra cotta bricks as they actually soak up the water just like the terra cotta pots - I am not sure just any brick will work as efficiently...