The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[stonykill]

Is this where she hatched them?

yup! I saw her depositing her eggs there and knew it was a good safe spot for her so I let her have at it.

. I've had them hatch in drawers , on shelves, in cabinets, under everything you can imagine

. Yeah and inside random cardboard boxes.

 

[Leahs Mom]

On the wasted feed under the litter:

The feed I use is very powdery (mixed at the feed mill) rather than pellets or what-not. Before I started feeding it wet, they also dumped A LOT of it into the litter (now my Senior moment... I don't remember who was saying they were cleaning it out of the corner and it stunk).

Anyhow, ended up rigging up all kinds of things to keep from losing it when I was feeding dry. I was able to keep a big catch pan under the feeder to keep it from going onto the ground. At the time I would take the powders from the catch pan and mix it with some liquid (whey or water or lard or soured raw milk, etc.) and feed it to keep from losing it.

Now I know that isn't an issue for those who feed the pellet type feeds. (Stony - and LW - I think you use the pellets that hold together that can just be thrown on the ground and they stay in-tact so that they can pick them up....right?)

But it IS a HUGE waste for those of us that feed the kind I feed. It can't be thrown on the ground anywhere...it is like throwing cornmeal or flour with some coarser chunks in it. They get the chunks, but all the ground stuff, mineral pre-mix, fish meal, etc. are lost. So I know exactly what you're talking about by having lost all that feed to waste.

It's a real "plus" to feed the mill-formulated feed (mash) as fermented - or at least with some kind of liquid added - to keep from losing so much. After going to 100% ff on the mash, I don't have to rig anything to catch the stuff that's a total loss. It's a wonderful win-win situation.... They get the benefit of fermentation and the extra nutrient availability, and I save lots of money and time.

 

[Sally8]

After incubating several doz eggs this year, both chicken (different breeds) and turkey I can honestly say that I won't candle again unless I feel there is a real problem. Every batch that I candled, using a regular flashlight and a toilet paper or paper towel tube, I think the eggs died at that time. Not all but maybe half. I handled them with clean hands, very carefully, in the same room where there were incubated. In previous years, I've had either 100% or nearly that. The shipped eggs, I really can't count as they were pretty scrambled. I used several different flashlights thinking they were getting too hot. Maybe it's just me.

I probably already know this answer but I moved 2 chicks and 2 poults to the porch brooder, giving them more room. After 3 days, one of the poults acts like he might have a broken leg. But if it were broken it would be in an odd angle or dangle. It started out twitching and it's foot/toes were together (as opposed to stretched out in a walking position). He uses his wings to balance and get around. I put him in a plastic pot (4x4) with pine chips under him to keep him upright and safe away from the other nosy ones. He's very content in there. Every 2 hours or so I get him out and place him near food and water. He's drinking and eating very well. Very chipper, eyes open and bright. His elbow (where the fleshish part means the fuzzy featherish of his leg) appears to be swollen, compared to the other one. This morning, it wasn't as swollen and his foot appeared more normal(but still not). He's hobbling around. The other 3 are always on a crash course and knock him all over if I don't try to protect him. Should I just put him down? Could it be a bad sprain? I couldn't find much on the internet about it. Thanks. sue

Sadly, I had to put the poult down. He spent last night chirping and shivering inspite of the heat. I thought he was probably in pain. After really looking at his leg/foot, it wasn't just a sprain. His whole foot was sideways and he wasn't able to use it. He also started to feel bony even though I'd see him eat and drink.
The others were starting to peck at him. I feel so very bad about this one.

I feel a huge waste in feed even when feeding crumbles when it is dry. When I feed ff, I slap it right on the ground. they love scratching through it. Not much difference than when they are free ranging.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Yah...I can even throw my mash feed on the ground when it's fermented. Just not dry

 

[Shan30]

I will be making my own nu-stockish substance tonight. Found the pine tar (will check that it is creosote free), and tons of different types of sulfur. Is there any wrong type to use?

Also thinking of using coconut oil as the base instead and maybe adding a tiny bit of teatree oil. Any thoughts?

For those who were wanting to make your own UPACV. As an experiment I simply put UPACV mixed with plain ACV in a jar. Covered with plastic wrap with holes poked in it. Left in the cupboard for a month or so and voila! Have a huge mother in my cupboard (that's sounds weird doesn't it?)

 

[Quailsong]

I'm pretty sure with or without a watermark BYC owns the photo's you post here. Once it is on the net it is no longer yours

That is simply not true. The internet does not mean Public Domain. As an artist I find it saddening people believe stuff like this. ):

If it were true, any pics of your children I posted online would be 'fair game' for marketing, right? See the flaw there?

To add: As for BYC's policies. They do have rights on your image if posted on BYC, this lets them spread information/pics, etc to the community in a positive way. Hence why it's good to watermark images & show only lower resolution.

They cannot however sell the full non-watermarked image to someone else as if they own it. For instance, my avatar is a crop of a larger photo. Even if they manage to find that full photo, they cannot claim it as theirs. It is mine, based off the copyright/left I may have put on it.

 

[brandislee]

pretty sure it's hydrated lime.

Thanks! I thought so.

 

[stonykill]

That is simply not true. The internet does not mean Public Domain. As an artist I find it saddening people believe stuff like this. ):

If it were true, any pics of your children I posted online would be 'fair game' for marketing, right? See the flaw there?

To add: As for BYC's policies. They do have rights on your image if posted on BYC, this lets them spread information/pics, etc to the community in a positive way. Hence why it's good to watermark images & show only lower resolution.

They cannot however sell the full non-watermarked image to someone else as if they own it. For instance, my avatar is a crop of a larger photo. Even if they manage to find that full photo, they cannot claim it as theirs. It is mine, based off the copyright/left I may have put on it.

That is simply not true. The internet does not mean Public Domain. As an artist I find it saddening people believe stuff like this. ):

If it were true, any pics of your children I posted online would be 'fair game' for marketing, right? See the flaw there?

To add: As for BYC's policies. They do have rights on your image if posted on BYC, this lets them spread information/pics, etc to the community in a positive way. Hence why it's good to watermark images & show only lower resolution.

They cannot however sell the full non-watermarked image to someone else as if they own it. For instance, my avatar is a crop of a larger photo. Even if they manage to find that full photo, they cannot claim it as theirs. It is mine, based off the copyright/left I may have put on it.

yup, what I was talking about. Put it here, it is theirs to do with as they please.

 

[Quailsong]

yup, what I was talking about. Put it here, it is theirs to do with as they please.

"Once it is on the net it is no longer yours"

Not exactly, there are still rights we own. Unfortunately, you side-stepped your other sentence, which is what I initially bolded. Again, please don't spread misinfo. There's a lot of people out there who think the internet is PD, and your quote is what encourages that. So they feel they are free to steal anything they want without issue.

Not trying to pick a fight with you, I just don't want people to think stealing is okay. Whether it's a poem, painting of some duck, or pics of someone's kids. In NA and many other countries, you own the copyright the moment you created it.

 

[lalaland]

I'll quote a friend of mine who raises 300 chickens a year and refuses to feed cracked corn, only whole corn. " If a chick is too stupid to choke on a piece of corn it was too stupid to live". Yes he said that when he had a FB chicken page.

I would be more concerned why a 3 week old chick is that frail. I have hd a few broody's by choice and sometimes not release their young at 3.5 weeks old and the chicks did just fine on their own and thrived.

Out of hundred upon hundreds of chicks I have had 2 or 3 drown.

yeah, I'm not sure why the sfh chicks are so frail. I know the woman who hatched them said she was having a terrible hatch rate with them compared to the other 18 different kinds she was hatching out.

Not sure if that suggests frailer chicks or not - but they were pricey, and I want them, and I'll baby the frail ones I have to see if I can get them to point of lay (assuming they are girls, fingers crossed).

The other chicks (icelandics, a lav orp, a fc maran, a couple of pure auracana (yeah I know I am not spelling it right) cream legbars and a couple of "super blue layers" ) are rambunctious, happy, larger - look like tanks next to a vwbug compared to the swedish flower hen chicks. Icelandics are smaller, closer to swf but also raring to go.

I havent' had any drown or choke, but it definitely happens.

Love the stage when they learn they can fly!