The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

1. Number in your flock (if you don't know for sure, just as close an estimate as possible).
right now I have 10 adults that free range. It can change next month to 30 or more. I do not free range incubator chicks until they are 16 weeks old or more.
2. Do you have a livestock guardian with your flock?
I do not. I have a very good cockerel. He even warns the chicks to stay away from the fire pit.
3. What is the average number of birds that you lose to predation in a month's time (average over the number of mos. they can be outside). And - what type of predators do you deal with most often?
I deal with them all. This time of year is flying. Hawk and Owl. Earlier it was possum and raccoon. In a little while it will be coyotes and fox. Than it will change again as the birds feed cycles change. I lost two-four birds last year to coyotes. I use tennis balls soaked in ammonia to keep raccoons and possums away.
4. Is the property primarily open pasture, wooded, or mix?



Nice shade and in the far back is the swamp where the wild geese lay eggs and nest. It is filled with preds of all kinds. They should be hatching heavy now and preds will get thick. My birds stay away from that area. I have never seen them beyond that tree.

I have planted all kinds of herbs along this path on the edges..they take what they need.

That back patch is fenced off. It is DH's collection pile..ugh

I plant squash and pumpkins for them here. They live here in the fall.

This is the worm bed. All kinds of critters live here. They can spend hours digging daily.

I have variety. In each area there are different things growing. They love the wooded areas to find bugs. This little patch is wild strawberries and they live here when they ripe. The back is no no land.

5. The amount of property they range approximately (Stony estimated his use about 3 acres, for example.)
2 acres
6. Compare the amount of feed you have to give them during a typical June or July vs. the amount of feed given in a typical January.
January I usually have few birds. By June and July I have hundreds. I do not feed my Free range flock at all usually in June and July. They are stuffed on bugs and can barely wattle back to the coop.

 

[midnightroo]

  trust me it is not abnormal. Not even for him. You just haven't seen it or he is just coming of age. 

   yes if you don't like this behavior you shouldn't have a roo as this is as natural as it gets

He's not coming of age, he is about a year or so. I don't mind natural, they have been mating for months. His behavior just seems to have become more aggressive in the past few weeks. Why would he go after 8 wk old chicks when they have been in the same enclosure with him for over a week! ? Did it last night and this morning. I understand what you are saying, I am not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand an situation that I can't because he is a chicken I guess. I would truly love to have a gentle roo and I thought he was so I am disappointed.

 

[RedRidge]

Delisha... love the worm bed idea... does it require anything to maintain it after you initially "seed' it?
Can you post how you got it started and maintain it (if at all).

 

[stonykill]

He's not coming of age, he is about a year or so. I don't mind natural, they have been mating for months. His behavior just seems to have become more aggressive in the past few weeks. Why would he go after 8 wk old chicks when they have been in the same enclosure with him for over a week! ? Did it last night and this morning. I understand what you are saying, I am not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand an situation that I can't because he is a chicken I guess. I would truly love to have a gentle roo and I thought he was so I am disappointed.

you answered your own question. He has only been with them for a week.

as for gentle roo. Here is how I define a gentile roo. He is good around humans and does not attack or challenge us. The rest you describe is simply natural rooster behavior.


My sister was over one day and she is watching a roo and his 7 girls. She is watching how he finds food for them while not eating for himself. Just standing guard. She says "he is such a gentleman" . I say, "He is a good rooster". No sooner do I say that he grabs one, jumps on her back, has his way, then goes back to standing guard. She says' " he isn't a gentleman.I say " There is no such thing as a gentleman rooster. Just a good rooster for his girls".

If you find the behavior you describe as a non gentle rooster then you are correct you should not have one. Attacking humans.... I won't stand for it. The rest you describe, especially the picking on the 8 week olds he has only been penned with for a week is beyond normal and natural. Hens can be MUCH worse to newbies than a rooster will EVER be.

 

[RedRidge]

My husband posted this on his facebook page the other day... I think it's fitting for this conversation...

 

[stonykill]

My husband posted this on his facebook page the other day... I think it's fitting for this conversation...

I was looking for that image as I thought of it as SOON as the 1st question was asked.

 

[midnightroo]

  you answered your own question. He has only been with them for a week. 

   as for gentle roo. Here is how I define a gentile roo. He is good around humans and does not attack or challenge us. The rest you describe is simply natural rooster behavior. 


   My sister was over one day and she is watching a roo and his 7 girls. She is watching how he finds food for them while not eating for himself. Just standing guard. She says "he is such a gentleman" . I say, "He is a good rooster". No sooner do I say that he grabs one, jumps on her back, has his way, then goes back to standing guard. She says' " he isn't a gentleman.I say " There is no such thing as a gentleman rooster. Just a good rooster for his girls". 

    If you find the behavior you describe as a non gentle rooster then you are correct you should not have one. Attacking humans.... I won't stand for it. The rest you describe, especially the picking on the 8 week olds he has only been penned with for a week is beyond normal and natural. Hens can be MUCH worse to newbies than a rooster will EVER be. 

Ok, see he does do all the good roo things and I can deal with the running after hens and what he does with the chicks, but not attacking us. So he's a good for the girls, but not us. I have let them all back out together and we are going out for a play date. I guess what will happen will happen. Thanks Stony, for your help.

 

[cywiar merch]

Having other things in the ferment would be fine... I add ACV and frequently feed clabber or whey also...
But I don't want to cross-contamination the other way around... I'm careful about what is out when... and actually there is a balance between rotating also.
When I made cheese for living I was careful to use different starters each day and never the same exact lot number two days in a row (even if I was making the same cheese) - this avoids bloom... will ruin the cheese.
So... everything has a "home" and no two things that "grow" are out at the same time.

Thanks for clarifying. I will be careful when I start FF as I bake sourdough and also recently started making cheese.

 

[Mumsy]

For those of you with any size flock that free range any size property:

Could you tell us:

-What kind of feed you give.

Purina bagged mixed with various additives, whole grains, herbs, protein, ect.


1. Number in your flock.

Sixty

2. About how much area do they have to range?

1/3 acre

3. How long do they get to range each day?

Eight hours

4. What is your experience with predation?

Past years, dogs, birds of prey. This year no predation. Much better fences.

5. Is the property primarily open pasture, wooded, or mix?

No pasture. Lawn, gardens, orchard, wooded shrubbery.

6. Compare the amount of feed you have to give them during a typical June or July vs. the amount of feed given in a typical January.

This is the first June and July I've been feeding my current mixes with the largest flock I've run in decades. Nothing is typical yet. I'd roughly estimate I feed two or three gallons of fermented mash a day. Fifty plus birds in my flock are five months old and younger. As they grow, the amount is going up. I predict they will be getting closer to four gallons a day soon.

 

[echosrevenge]

Oh, dear lord...i dont generally post to bookmark, but I *just* finished reading the Fermenting Feed thread...take pity on me! Looking forward to slogging through this one when the black flies are too bad to work outside over the next...however long.