The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[salt and pepper]

Some pictures from today. Henry enjoying the water. Makes me want to build a pond so he can swim with the geese and ducks

How adorable!! I also have a Bernese mountain dog, except he's a little over a year, they are such big babies =)

 

[delisha]

Justine,

Definitely build a pond!

OK as far as your eggs go..those are fertile. You have a roo!!..post us your pictures of your chickens. We can tell you what one it is.
After and attack..do not expect your chickens to just bounce back. It takes a while..sometimes months for them to get back to laying. Who knows how much damage has been done by those dogs.

 

[TexasLisa]

I say wait until they internally pip. That has been my very best luck with hatching so far, thanks to Delisha, PeepsCA and CelticOaks. I think a few others recommended it as well. I've had close to 100% since doing it!

Aoxa............

........please explain what you are talking about. Are you saying you don't 'lockdown' until you see them pipping? What if it is in the middle of the night?

Some pictures from today. Henry enjoying the water. Makes me want to build a pond so he can swim with the geese and ducks

Lady you are missing your calling as a photographer.

I still think you can make megabucks on your pictures.

Lisa

 

[armorfirelady]

I go away for a few days of camping & you were all busy!!!

WIsh I would of known about the banana boat 50 before camping........I have so many mosquito & spider bites I look like I have chicken pox

I did remove all the hay I put in the coop about a month or so ago. It just wouldnt dry out no many how many times I turned it.........very little hay in there now and I just drag the rake across it into a pile & the girls happily move it around so it dries out. The 8 garbage cans full I removed is in the new compost pile. It will be great for the garden next spring. And once they are back in their winter digs I plan on opening the compost so the hens can get in there all winter.

Someone asked how long till FF goes bad? Mine is in a bucket in their coop and I keep it thick like oatmeal cookie dough and a friend stopped while I was gone to feed the hens. No water added and it was just fine. Temps have been in the mid 70s all weekend. My girls like it thicker so thats the way it is. Whatever is left in the trough gets scrapped out and dumped outside. They think its something new & eat it up.

Today when I got home they spent an hour yelling at me & I thought they were out of FF. Nope still as full as it was when filled yesterday. Apparently they were voicing their displeasure that I was gone or that their watermelon chunks I left them were just rind lol Guessing they must be filling themselves up on bugs & other goodies since they didnt eat much FF. Im ok with that

Glad to see al the info on what everyone does for their chickens. My girls only have grass but enough spots without that they love to dig up & dust bathe in. From the full crops I see at night I am guessing they find plenty to eat.

Shawn I agree......My girls will be out foraging and freeze like statues & I always look up and see the hawk far away......thank goodness they always have an eye on the sky. I do know I feel better about the hens safety from the coyote we saw a few months ago with the electro netting up. I scored some cheap hardware cloth at a neighbors estate sale so that will go on the ends of the coop where the cattle panels & other fencing i put up left to large of hole to keep predators out. I haven't had any predators yet but that end is not protected by the electric netting.

Well off to the waterfront to check on my geocaches and let the pups cool off in the lake

 

[ajlynco]

Hi folks, I need some advise. I have 5 Easter Eggers that are 10 weeks old and I'm wanting to integrate them with the 11 older girls (15 months) I have. My questions are : how do I keep each group from eating each others designated food (unmedicated chick starter and Layena)? And, I know they'll have to work their pecking order out but, short of kiling them, what's too rough for the older girls to be to the younger ones? What's the easiest way to introduce them to each other? The babies have been in a grow out pen seperated from the girl's main run by a fence for 6 weeks.

 

[Mrs.SB]

Justine,

Definitely build a pond!

OK as far as your eggs go..those are fertile. You have a roo!!..post us your pictures of your chickens. We can tell you what one it is.
After and attack..do not expect your chickens to just bounce back. It takes a while..sometimes months for them to get back to laying. Who knows how much damage has been done by those dogs.

Let me guess this one?

I don't understand though before the dogs attacked I got 5 eggs pretty much everyday. I had 5 chickens. How was I getting 5 if one is a roo?

And I've never seem 'him' mount the other 2 and we've never ever heard 'him' crow

 

[Leahs Mom]

Hi folks, I need some advise. I have 5 Easter Eggers that are 10 weeks old and I'm wanting to integrate them with the 11 older girls (15 months) I have. My questions are : how do I keep each group from eating each others designated food (unmedicated chick starter and Layena)? And, I know they'll have to work their pecking order out but, short of kiling them, what's too rough for the older girls to be to the younger ones? What's the easiest way to introduce them to each other? The babies have been in a grow out pen seperated from the girl's main run by a fence for 6 weeks.

Here are a couple of ideas... You could still give them a place of refuge where they can get away. Take a look at these posts:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...eeping-thread-ots-welcome/13360#post_11092078

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...eeping-thread-ots-welcome/13860#post_11149792

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa............

........please explain what you are talking about. Are you saying you don't 'lockdown' until you see them pipping? What if it is in the middle of the night?
Lady you are missing your calling as a photographer.

I still think you can make megabucks on your pictures.

Lisa

Internally pipped, not externally.

Around day 17 I candle twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. On day 18 same thing. On day 19, morning, supper and bedtime. I haven't had to go past day 19 for an internal pip.

Internal pip is where the chick breaks into the air cell and starts breathing air. Between internal pip and external pip it can be anywhere from 8-24 hours (in my experience) before you see external pip. I had some ducks that went 36 hours between the two.

Thank you for the compliments Lisa! I'm thinking of doing something with it eventually. Maybe a picture book about chicken keeping or something. I've always loved taking photos, but never of people.

Let me guess this one?



I don't understand though before the dogs attacked I got 5 eggs pretty much everyday. I had 5 chickens. How was I getting 5 if one is a roo?

And I've never seem 'him' mount the other 2 and we've never ever heard 'him' crow

I'm going to disagree with everyone here and say the eggs look infertile to me. I don't see any bullseye until the last picture, and it isn't even clear in the last one.

That one above is 100% a girl.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Okay...I may be WAY WRONG 'cuz I'm new at this but...

I didn't think the eggs looked fertile. Before I had a roo, I had some that looked similar to that but no roo. After I got a roo, I see a big difference and the bullseye is very clearly pronounced.

Could you possibly post a couple more photos of the eggs? When I look at those photos you had, it just looked like a kind-of shadow rather than a really clear bullseye around the "spot"...


But that one does look quite "roo-like"....

 

[Mrs.SB]

Okay...I may be WAY WRONG 'cuz I'm new at this but...

I didn't think the eggs looked fertile.  Before I had a roo, I had some that looked similar to that but no roo.  After I got a roo, I see a big difference and the bullseye is very clearly pronounced.

Could you possibly post a couple more photos of the eggs?  When I look at those photos you had, it just looked like a kind-of shadow rather than a really clear bullseye around the "spot"...


But that one does look quite "roo-like"....

So the egg is supposed to have a spot? It a circle around the spot I'm looking for?

I've had lots of people ask it that one is a rooster.

Here are a few other pics if the chickens. I'll take pictures of the eggs again in a little bit. I'll have to crack more