The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

Look who came home tonight!!

goats are cute, love that they went to someone in the video (susan?) for protection when they started getting a bit nervous.
the barn looks fabulous in the background of the pics - just wonderful. You'll have to let us know after you've had time to use it and work in it, what things work as you had hoped, and if there are any things you would have done differently.

 

[lalaland]

Stony alert: this will drive you crazy.

another first for me: spent 15 minutes soaking a poop/shavings cast off the little teeny tiny sfh's foot. was fine last night, but this morning it looked like it was wearing a leg cast, and it was so heavy that the chick could hardly move.

two of the toes were stuck together. This little one isn't growing. some feathering, but size seems to be the same, so the toes were so delicate I could hardly work with them - soaking, pulling gently, soaking, repeat. Didn't help that the legs are a grey the same color as the poop cast.

I've never had to do this with a chick before!

The buddy was super distressed at being alone in the box while I worked with the swf chick.

Going kayaking, and then this afternoon I'm hoping to get pics to see if anyone wants to guess at gender. Am afraid I have 3 out of 4 superblueegglayers that are roo's, and who wants one of those? freezer camp later this summer, I am guess.

 

[Bulldogma]

Hi all! I am new to this forum, and haven't started raising chicks yet. Have no chickens but am starting to research. Wanted to get into chats before I started. I have a few questions and who better to answer than you all, who have experience. I hope not to annoy, and will thank you in advance for any and all help. I have been wanting for a while to move to the country and become more self sufficient. One of the things is raising chicks. both for eggs, and meat. My first question, I have noticed that you have to feed laying hens differently than those you are raising for meat. I am confused as to how this works.... am I gonna have to have two coops? one for laying and one for meat chckns? How does that work?

Welcome to the thread and to BYC! As the folks before me said, your coops will depend on if you go with the fast-growing broilers or the slow growing dual-purpose breeds. If you peek at my signature, I recently did an article on my blog about the different meat birds (you can find it in the article index under "breeds." Hope this helps -

Hi all. Just joined up, mostly so I could ask a very non chicken related question == How do I get more posts per page to read? I am so totally hooked on the ot thread, the gnarly bunch and this one but my oh my, the pages to read. And I certainly want to read them ALL!
Thanks to all for the great info I've come across so far. Started my two hens, 5 pullets and 1 cockeral on ACV today, have the feed starting to ferment, all on the basis of the advice from Beekissed and Bulldogmama ( love the natural chicken keeping blog too).

Welcome! We love to see so many new folks joining us! I wish I knew what to tell you about getting more posts per page, but unfortunately I don't think that's an option on BYC yet.

Garlic is proven to be a great antibacterial for food poisoning bacteria as well as a general antibiotic.

Chooks - you are so full of great information! I'm so happy you have become part of this thread!! Please PM me if you might be interested in doing an article for the thing. It would be a great thing to share your knowledge with more people!

 

[NanaLynn]

If the RIR is squatting, I would say in the next 2-3 weeks, maybe sooner as it is warmer now than when my pullets reached POL.
No idea for the others.

The RIR's are acting different lately and squatting more, so I guess it will be any day now, Thanks! I realize it will be in the next 2 to 10 weeks, I was just wondering the same as the other poster if the combs and wattles looked like a hen that will lay soon. I guess waiting for the first one to lay is a big newbie thing. I am really enjoying having chickens and I appreciate everyone's help!

My almost 6 week old chicks are integrating with the 17 week old chicks and doing great. I used that great advice on here and that other place. I plan on taking out the inside brooder from the coop this weekend, they are roosting with the big girls now. They are not side by side, the big girls would not share their roost so I added another for the little ones.

Aoxa: Congrats on the goats, they are sooo adorable! I wish I had the space to get a couple of those. Your barn is going to be awesome, I have barn envy too!

Congratulations to CoopChick on your daughter's high school graduation! I was so emotional when each one of my 3 kids graduated. My 1st son already graduated college, my 2nd son graduates college soon and my daughter is in her junior year of college now. When they're little it seems like there is so much to do and keep up with, then they grow up too fast and they're graduating and starting they're lives. My next additions here should be grandkids in a year or two!

 

[loanwizard]

Back to feed waste- I don't feed pelleted feed. It is ground at the mill, more like cornmeal than flour. Served on hard dry dirt floor not in the mud or in the deep litter. Hogs, in a dry area.

How many eggs can a standard broody sit? I have one that I stuck a dozen under and she is spread out like an afghan. I have another barred rock going broody and I may as well introduce her to motherhood as well. I need a 100 layers by October and haven't even plugged in the incubator..... Ugggh!

 

[stonykill]

Back to feed waste- I don't feed pelleted feed. It is ground at the mill, more like cornmeal than flour. Served on hard dry dirt floor not in the mud or in the deep litter. Hogs, in a dry area.

How many eggs can a standard broody sit? I have one that I stuck a dozen under and she is spread out like an afghan. I have another barred rock going broody and I may as well introduce her to motherhood as well. I need a 100 layers by October and haven't even plugged in the incubator..... Ugggh!

a full size layer who has broody experience will do well with 12. On the same note any size chicken can sit on 12 of her own eggs and do well if she knows what she is doing. I just had a Sumatra hen sit on 12 of her own eggs and hatch all 12. That was rare, usually they hatch 10 or 11 if they sit on 12.

yup, all fit under a 3 lb hen

 

[loanwizard]

a full size layer who has broody experience will do well with 12. On the same note any size chicken can sit on 12 of her own eggs and do well if she knows what she is doing. I just had a Sumatra hen sit on 12 of her own eggs and hatch all 12. That was rare, usually they hatch 10 or 11 if they sit on 12.

yup, all fit under a 3 lb hen

Thanks, had asked before but you were too busy servicing these women to talk to me.....

 

[stonykill]

Thanks, had asked before but you were too busy servicing these women to talk to me.....

with all of the posts per day I skim BIG TIME and don't really read. Call it adult ADD if you will. When I leave the computer and 6 hours later there are 6 pages to read..... well I don't . I skim then jump to the end

 

[aoxa]

How adorable!! Are they Nubians?

Yes they are Thanks!

goats are cute, love that they went to someone in the video (susan?) for protection when they started getting a bit nervous.
the barn looks fabulous in the background of the pics - just wonderful. You'll have to let us know after you've had time to use it and work in it, what things work as you had hoped, and if there are any things you would have done differently.

So far I'm wishing I had of asked for something other than OSB to be put on the interior walls. Just not a fan of the look of it.

Also, need more shaving blockers in the brooders and hallway breeding pens!

 

[Bulldogma]

Thanks, had asked before but you were too busy servicing these women to talk to me.....