The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Well... the lick test is an alternative

I think it looks a bit "greenish". My husband says that most of the pallets aren't made w/treated, but some are. I had read about some folks making furniture for children's rooms from treated lumber pallets and then later removing it all. So I some of them are treated for sure.

 

[RedRidge]

Quote: We have 7 guineas... they seem quite happy even though we have fewer than 10 (interesting comment hmmm)
They don't go in chicken coop (they have no desire) and are out 24/7 (they do have barn access and roost above the rafters in the hay barn during bad weather if they are so inclined - which they rarely are).
They are much easier on the garden than chickens and cohabitate with the chickens very well... side by side, catching bugs... never had one scuffle... they barely acknowledge each other.

We free range the chickens after they leave the brood box (have about 60) and we simply use electronetting around the garden and it keeps the chickens out fine.
The netting doesn't keep the guineas out and we like it that way. They do no damage to the plants. The only periodic marks we find are on the low hanging tomatos from they pick a bug off a tomato. They are great for the vegetable garden bugs... especially squash bugs and potato bugs.

They also LOVE to help the maremma and roosters with predator control... will chase a fox away right now!


As soon as the bator frees up this weekend I will be setting 8 guinea eggs for a friend.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Here's an interesting article on the pallets. Depressing, however. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/upcycled-wooden-pallets-green-158131

Maybe more of them are treated than my husband thinks???

 

[Shan30]

BEARS!!!

This morning as always my husband opened the pop door at 5 am. I get up at 5:45 and the girls are just starting to come out.

6am they were all out milling around. 6:45 I got out of the shower and looked out the window to see no chickens and lots of feathers. Ran out and one bird came flying out of the brush clearly terrified. Carried her inside and saw another running around the yard.(outside the run). Went to go pick her up, dog went balistic, turned around to face 2 black bears. About 20 feet from me, I was about 30 feet from the coop and 60 from the house.

I raised my arms(yeah right I'm going to look huge with my spindly arms over my 5'2" self), yelled like heck and they did nothing but drool. Needless to say I ran for the coop, slammed my way in and tried to breathe. Waited 15 minutes and they just stared and moved a bit closer.

So I stepped onto the porch of the coop armed with a dull knife and a garbage can lid, threw everything in reach at them. Surprised myself by hitting them a few times but they still did not move.

I ended up waiting them out. Once I could see them through the opposite end of the building I ran to the house, loaded 2 buckshots and a slug and called my husband.

They never came back. Me and my FIL put the fences back up and repaired where we could. Hoping all missing birds will come back but guessing a few met their fate. The others won't let me near them going to have to wait until they are roosting to check everyone out.

A couple things are resulting from this. Firstly, bear hunting tonight (yes they are in season and tags have been bought) these are 3 yr old cubs whose mom used to visit. I hate to kill anything but you killed my livestock and would have had me too. Secondly, we are building gun safes in each of the outbuildings and will be storing loaded shot guns in each. Turns out this is legal even without safes.

Other than removing the threat, there is nothing I can do. Bears can not be stopped by fencing or even walls. If they had decided to come in the coop they would have. I have never felt that kind of adrenaline, these guys were so close I could smell them.

Something has changed with the bears here. They don't run like they used to. I'm wondering whether they are just running out of food and hungrier or if they have gotten used to us.

Sorry for the super long story! Had to share.

 

[loanwizard]

BEARS!!!

This morning as always my husband opened the pop door at 5 am. I get up at 5:45 and the girls are just starting to come out.

6am they were all out milling around. 6:45 I got out of the shower and looked out the window to see no chickens and lots of feathers. Ran out and one bird came flying out of the brush clearly terrified. Carried her inside and saw another running around the yard.(outside the run). Went to go pick her up, dog went balistic, turned around to face 2 black bears. About 20 feet from me, I was about 30 feet from the coop and 60 from the house.

I raised my arms(yeah right I'm going to look huge with my spindly arms over my 5'2" self), yelled like heck and they did nothing but drool. Needless to say I ran for the coop, slammed my way in and tried to breathe. Waited 15 minutes and they just stared and moved a bit closer.

So I stepped onto the porch of the coop armed with a dull knife and a garbage can lid, threw everything in reach at them. Surprised myself by hitting them a few times but they still did not move.

I ended up waiting them out. Once I could see them through the opposite end of the building I ran to the house, loaded 2 buckshots and a slug and called my husband.

They never came back. Me and my FIL put the fences back up and repaired where we could. Hoping all missing birds will come back but guessing a few met their fate. The others won't let me near them

going to have to wait until they are roosting to check everyone out.

A couple things are resulting from this. Firstly, bear hunting tonight (yes they are in season and tags have been bought) these are 3 yr old cubs whose mom used to visit. I hate to kill anything but you killed my livestock and would have had me too. Secondly, we are building gun safes in each of the outbuildings and will be storing loaded shot guns in each. Turns out this is legal even without safes.

Other than removing the threat, there is nothing I can do. Bears can not be stopped by fencing or even walls. If they had decided to come in the coop they would have. I have never felt that kind of adrenaline, these guys were so close I could smell them.

Something has changed with the bears here. They don't run like they used to. I'm wondering whether they are just running out of food and hungrier or if they have gotten used to us.

Sorry for the super long story! Had to share.

Holy Cow!

That's all I gotta say.... although keep the knife and if attacked, go for the nose.... I read that somewhere.... Bet you were angry, terrified, enraged, all at once.... a typical woman....

 

[Leahs Mom]

Whoa! Glad you're okay!

 

[loanwizard]

Here's an interesting article on the pallets. Depressing, however. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/upcycled-wooden-pallets-green-158131

Maybe more of them are treated than my husband thinks???

Yes, I have read that before. Want to become famous? Take something popular and talk bad about it, scare people..... another way to be an "expert"..... Just sayin....

 

[Leahs Mom]

Good possibility. I think the writer on that is coming up with all kinds of things to support and I probably wouldn't worry about the wood in general. There are resins in the wood that are anti-bacterial that should be doing their job. I am concerned about the metals and arsenic and formaldehyde in treated though. If I knew I was getting untreated, I wouldn't worry about the other stuff.

 

[NanaLynn]

The dry vs wet was a joke. For 100 years we were told to keep feed dry, lest it mold and kill the livestock. Today we are encouraged to let it "ferment"... I know it is 2 totally different things, but I can see the confusion as well.

CUTS? I will take pics, but I am picturing 4 total cuts. Cut triangles off 2x4's = 2 cuts. Cut end off slat equal to width of 2 slats side by side... oops, need 4 of those.... sorry, picturing it as I type.....So 6 total cuts..... OK.... I will send pics lol!

Thanks, the pics would help. Oh, I know how good the fermented feed is for the chickens I followed Bee's Road Thread and everyone on here too. I'm just lazy and new at this too, one step at a time, in the future I may go that route. Right now ACV in the water, free ranging and any of the other ideas I have been picking up here.

 

[Star Flock]

My flock walks across the poop board to get to the roost (which I think helps keep their little feet clean too) but they don't roost on it. Around the edge of the poop board is board 1" wide (may 3" high) to keep the pdz on the board and so they don't roost on the edge. I've never seen them sitting on the poop board, doesn't mean they don't, I don't have a chicken cam yet, lol.

Haha! A chicken cam, lol!

You say walking on the poop board helps keep their feet clean?? I'm not understanding about the board for pdz... Don't want to ask too much but if anyone has pictures of their poop board and how you keep pdz on it that'd be awesome.