The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

Quote: Thank you for the link. While it wasnt the one I had read before it contained the same info.

 

[Pozees]

after watching dozens upon dozens of broodys handle eggs, rolling them all over the place, getting off the nest 30 minutes at a time when it is 40 degrees F out, getting up to eat when they feel the 1st pip I don't worry at ALL about how carefully I handle the eggs.I have even watched broody's roll a zipping egg out from under them, then pull the hatched chick under them. I am gentler than the broody's are and they have better hatch rates than I have ever had.
Enjoy your broody! I had 1 broody hatch 11 of 13 the other day and have 8 more sitting on eggs. And the year is still young

I am The main reason I started getting Silkies was to create a broody flock (none have gone broody yet, but fingers crossed), but I knew the Cochin was inclined to go broody as well, and I have 2 young Cochins I hatched out in the coop I hope turn out to be pullets, at least one anyway, for the same reason - plus there is something hilarious about watching a Cochin run for her share of the apples LOL.

Your success with Sumatras as broodies is the main reason I was asking about how you came to have such a large flock of them, and I think I see some in my future. The other breed I plan to go forward with is Speckled Sussex, they were my favorites when I had chickens years ago, they are beautiful and functional, and are also known to brood, as Karen (3riverschick) can attest. I have 25 beautiful chicks 4 and 5 weeks old that I look forward to raising through the summer and fall and probably winter before I make decisions about which will be put into breeding pens and which will be part of the layer flock or the freezer flock.

The climate here presents issues that some chickens manage better than others. We are on the prairie near the foothills of the Rockies, on 42 acres that was used as cow pasture for who knows how many decades before the highway ran through and cut 60 acres off a cattle ranch which was later divided. The only trees here are the ones we have planted, and with the onset of drought a few years ago they have struggled. The shrubs around the house provide cover, as well as the porches on the house, and we haven't lost one yet to a predator, but I figure it's a matter of time. I've tried to stay away from white birds because we have hawks, owls and eagles here.

The temperatures can be below zero in winter and above 100 in summer. This spring I bought some Egyptian Fayoumis and split them with a fellow Coloradan who is working to create the ideal Colorado Landrace fowl. They are known to resist heat well, forage well, and lay early and often but cold resistance is a question mark. I have not lost any but she has, possibly due to cold. How do you think Sumatras deal with temperature extremes? I am from upstate NY but am not familiar with Canaan.

 

[stonykill]

I am The main reason I started getting Silkies was to create a broody flock (none have gone broody yet, but fingers crossed), but I knew the Cochin was inclined to go broody as well, and I have 2 young Cochins I hatched out in the coop I hope turn out to be pullets, at least one anyway, for the same reason - plus there is something hilarious about watching a Cochin run for her share of the apples LOL.

Your success with Sumatras as broodies is the main reason I was asking about how you came to have such a large flock of them, and I think I see some in my future. The other breed I plan to go forward with is Speckled Sussex, they were my favorites when I had chickens years ago, they are beautiful and functional, and are also known to brood, as Karen (3riverschick) can attest. I have 25 beautiful chicks 4 and 5 weeks old that I look forward to raising through the summer and fall and probably winter before I make decisions about which will be put into breeding pens and which will be part of the layer flock or the freezer flock.

The climate here presents issues that some chickens manage better than others. We are on the prairie near the foothills of the Rockies, on 42 acres that was used as cow pasture for who knows how many decades before the highway ran through and cut 60 acres off a cattle ranch which was later divided. The only trees here are the ones we have planted, and with the onset of drought a few years ago they have struggled. The shrubs around the house provide cover, as well as the porches on the house, and we haven't lost one yet to a predator, but I figure it's a matter of time. I've tried to stay away from white birds because we have hawks, owls and eagles here.

The temperatures can be below zero in winter and above 100 in summer. This spring I bought some Egyptian Fayoumis and split them with a fellow Coloradan who is working to create the ideal Colorado Landrace fowl. They are known to resist heat well, forage well, and lay early and often but cold resistance is a question mark. I have not lost any but she has, possibly due to cold. How do you think Sumatras deal with temperature extremes? I am from upstate NY but am not familiar with Canaan.

I came to have a large flock of Sumatra's because they like to brood

If you beleive the hatcheries who sell Sumatra's they will tell you they can't tollerate cold. But then almost everything a hatchery says about them is wrong. Mine do fine at 20 below zero F or at 90 and HUMID. Sumatra's will be outside doing their thing when it is really cold and windy and the RIR's who were bred for the weather will all be hunkered ontop of one another. I personally find they do well hot or cold as do others who raise them.
We have hawks owls and eagles as well. Never lost any of my white birds to them but have lost colored birds to them. i don't believe the white birds are more suseptable to predatation thing.

Forgive my spelling...to tired to correct it

Canaan is 5 miles from the Mass border. 30 miles south east of Albany.

Where in NY are you from?

 

[stonykill]

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

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.

I had that happen yesterday. BCM 5 week old cockerel was squished dead in the tractor under the lamp. It got into the 30's so i had it on the timer.

 

[CoopChick719]

No pink bow, you have yourself a lovely festive rooster baby lint ball there.

P. S. Me too: seven of each kind of clean animal, and pairs of all others.

LMAO!

My first thought was... a hairball that the cat warfed up (I have a pure White cat).

Sorry CoopChick, too young for me to risk a guess on. Gonna have to keep it 'tll it crows or it grows streamers (to find out if it's a Roo), lol.

My Mum found a feather covered styrofoam ball in the craft aisle added a felt beak and a gator clip to make my Silkie Christmas ornament that I posted.

I was afraid they were roosters!!

Would have liked some white Silkie hens.

On another note, I have 2 broody mamas in the coop right now. They are sitting on some of my sister's hens' eggs which we gave them tonight. Unfortunately, they are also my only layers right now. Guess I will have to rely on my sister for eggs for the next 21 days.

 

[BlueMouse]

I love Mama and her fuzzy butts! I can't wait to have a hen go broody. I have a marans, an orpington, and a (bantam) cochin, I'm hoping one of the three will be a consistant broody and a good mother.
I should go to bed. I have garden beds to build in the morning. Which means more digging, and hauling dirt in wheelbarrow, and digging, and

Did you know that a 2 year old can dig the dirt OUT of a garden bed almost as fast as you can dig it in? Also pretty funny is any time I even so much as pick up a shovel WHAM there are all the chickens. Particularly Mary the Cuckoo marans, they swarm my feet and give me the beady chicken eye "Hi, you haz worms?" I was peeling sod off what will be flower beds this afternoon and was sure that I was going to accidentally lop off a chicken toe or two. It is pretty amusing to watch my 8 week olds run around with a six to eight inch nightcrawler though!

I turned all the corners in my deep litter, and lo, it has ceased to smell. so thank you everyone for the advice! Hoping to get the roof vents built soon now that the ground is drying up! Nights should be warm enough to leave the window open soon too.

I've started saving eggs from my BO hen to put in the incubator with my Cream Legbar eggs which should be here in a week! Super duper excited!! Hoping to get at least a 50% hatch even with the shipped eggs. I really want at least two cream legbar hens!

 

[Pozees]

I came to have a large flock of Sumatra's because they like to brood

If you beleive the hatcheries who sell Sumatra's they will tell you they can't tollerate cold. But then almost everything a hatchery says about them is wrong. Mine do fine at 20 below zero F or at 90 and HUMID. Sumatra's will be outside doing their thing when it is really cold and windy and the RIR's who were bred for the weather will all be hunkered ontop of one another. I personally find they do well hot or cold as do others who raise them.
We have hawks owls and eagles as well. Never lost any of my white birds to them but have lost colored birds to them. i don't believe the white birds are more suseptable to predatation thing.

Forgive my spelling...to tired to correct it

Canaan is 5 miles from the Mass border. 30 miles south east of Albany.

Where in NY are you from?

Oh okay - I'm from Rochester, just south of Lake Ontario, between Buffalo and Syracuse. The lack of humidity here in Colorado is a major difference, as well as the lack of trees where we live, and proximity to the sun (5400+ feet elevation). Oh yeah, the sun - out about 300 days a year, unlike Rochester That has its benefits and disadvantages. I can grow great peppers here, not so much the broccoli and cauliflower.

Interesting about losing colored birds to predation, I've always thought the white birds were easier to spot for aerial predators.

Sounds more and more as if I need to add some Sumatras to my flock.

 

[TipihlowLadies]

Have a ? just saw my 7 week old roo down a 6 inch feather like a sword is this normal

 

[CoopChick719]

What do you think, LeahsMom? Found this pic on the Australorp thread. Mystery solved??