The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[SallyinIndiana]

Standing up, not favoring either leg. He was chasing bugs when I went to find him. He might have some discomfort but it is not stopping him from anything other than roosting.


both legs look about the same but it is easier to see when his weight is not on the leg.


Feet look swollen but not like bumble foot pictures


The other foot.

 

[Bulldogma]

BDM-at what age would the crest become apparent on the chicks? The CLs are crested as well, and I'm wondering when it'll show up.
I didn't get an age on our CL chicks, so I was wondering if someone had a guess...under a week right?
A male

The group

I emailed Jenny at GreenFire, to get a hatch date, but she hasn't responded.

I'm not BDM but Phoenix, Gertrude & Tina have crests the size of Cream Legbars (Whenever you guys say CL all I think is Craig's List)
Anyway.. they started around week 4 or 5. My silkies don't even really start really coming up until week 3-4.

I concur. I usually don't see any sign of a crest until week 4+ with the SFH... some sprouting suddenly at week 7+ - LOL! What cute fluffy-butts! I want some CLs someday!!

Standing up, not favoring either leg. He was chasing bugs when I went to find him. He might have some discomfort but it is not stopping him from anything other than roosting.
both legs look about the same but it is easier to see when his weight is not on the leg.
Feet look swollen but not like bumble foot pictures
The other foot.

I PM'd you a link to an article on the thing called, "Calcium: Mixed Flocks vs Mixed Feeds," which would be found by other interested parties on the Index page under "Nutrition." The calcium levels in Layer feeds can pose a problem for some birds, including calcification of the heart and liver.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Standing up, not favoring either leg. He was chasing bugs when I went to find him. He might have some discomfort but it is not stopping him from anything other than roosting.
both legs look about the same but it is easier to see when his weight is not on the leg.
Feet look swollen but not like bumble foot pictures
The other foot.

I PM'd you a link to an article on the thing called, "Calcium: Mixed Flocks vs Mixed Feeds," which would be found by other interested parties on the Index page under "Nutrition." The calcium levels in Layer feeds can pose a problem for some birds, including calcification of the heart and liver.
Thank you, he does do better if I don't let him near the girl's food.

 

[cywiar merch]

Any opinion on giving garlic to cats? I've found conflicting information. Some say garlic is bad for cats, some say it's fine in moderation when given raw and natural. Because of my nature I'm inclined to believe the latter. And btw, I find it really annoying when people recommend against something just because in certain really rare circumstances and in extremely large doses it may cause harm. That's silly. Water is harmful in the wrong circumstances if you drink too much.

Oh, and speaking of which... wormwood. I would like to plant some. So I will probably have to find plants on the internet, but does anyone else grow it? Experiences/things I would need to know about it? I assume it's like any other potentially toxic plants- free range chickens probably won't overconsume it. And are there any other plants recommended for worms, or other herbs beyond the normal (I already have rosemary, sage, peppermint, oregano, thyme, lavender, and lemon balm planted for them) that are good to have around?

Sorry, I'm a bit late in responding to this. Like you, I've read garlic is bad for cats and have also read it is ok as well. There's a "natuaral wormer" here in the UK called Vermex that uses garlic and herbs. They have one for cats, dogs and poulty too. I've never used it for my cats but when I read about it I started looking a bit more about garlic. In the book the Natural Cat, Anitra Frazier recommends garlic quite frequently for various issues. She states "...the question is always raised: how to give it? Cats' mouths are notoriously sensitive, and raw, unadulterated garlic is so strong it can actually feel as if is burning.Some holisitic veternarians and other natural practioners have successfully used mild "deodorised" version of garlic oil capsules. They tell me these capsules work for most things" (The Natural Cat, Anitra Frazier)

She states she she is a purist and does not like to do this and has suggestions on how to use pure garlic. I have never used pure garlic or the Vermex. I use the odorless garlic capsules and they seem to work and so far have had no adverse effects. IMO, I would say in small amounts its ok, but not raw unless you can protect your cats' mouth.

 

[Pozees]

I PM'd you a link to an article on the thing called, "Calcium: Mixed Flocks vs Mixed Feeds," which would be found by other interested parties on the Index page under "Nutrition." The calcium levels in Layer feeds can pose a problem for some birds, including calcification of the heart and liver.

Glad you picked this up. Obviously none of us knows for sure what the problem is, it may just be that it's a production bird that is 3 years old and has begun to fail, but too much calcium can cause the heart not to beat correctly (arrhythmia) which means it is not functioning efficiently. In this boy's case it could be resulting in the edema in the feet and legs you are seeing. I read that in humans, hypercalcemia is treated by hydration combined with increased sodium, as the sodium binds to calcium and the kidneys will then flush it from the system faster, but then follow up treatment with a diuretic is usually done to keep the human from having pulmonary edema (too much water in the lungs), so I guess in the case of the rooster I would switch the flock over to grower or an All Flock formulation of some kind, and offer oyster shell or crushed eggshell so the layers get adequate calcium without force feeding it to the cockbird. It may take a while to see results.

 

[stonykill]

the new mama took her dozen chicks out today.

 

[Pozees]

the new mama took her dozen chicks out today.

 

[homema]

Thank you, he does do better if I don't let him near the girl's food. 

I had the same problem years ago, that's why I quit feeding any type if premixed feeds to all my animals. I buy whole raw wheat, grind it fine and only add A,D&E vitamin. I free choice feed in a separate container the calcium and a selenium mineral. It costs me less than $5.00 a day to feed all the chickens, calves & pigs. Plus everyone is free range year round.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: Atherosclerosis in birds by the sounds of that. Overprocessed feeds and genes developed on those diets doesn't leave the naturally raised offspring as healthy as offspring from naturally reared parents, I've noticed. Ancestors count for a lot. I heard heart cancer is also common in production birds. I've sworn off the poor things. If better strains emerge all good and well but what a lot of suffering seems to be inherent in their lot in life in this current era. I said it on another thread somewhere, but I think perhaps some breeder hatcheries of production layers are breeding self-destructing birds that fail at younger and younger ages because they're not keeping sample adults of random batches long enough to see what exactly they are breeding. Like with ornamental herbs breeding back to medicinal relatives, it's a future blight on the horizon of truly good stock everywhere. Makes sense on the immediate bottom line profits margin and makes a bereaved fool of us all in future. Getting my gene-police hat on... LOL, I'll shush now.

Quote: Aha! Thanks to the person who quoted you. I was going to reply before and got sidetracked and forgot, lol@me. I've found medicating cats not very easy but my cat will of her own accord eat garlic and chilli-'d foods when she knows she's wormy.

Quote: Levy said not to use garlic oil capsules as the pure oil can be an irritant to the stomach, but if people are getting good results, it may be worth trying. Certainly nobody says it's going to burn a hole in their guts. In my experience, garlic being irritating is a sign of low essential oil levels in the creature consuming it. The body protects itself when functioning well. However some humans and animals (Coeliac's sufferers for example) find it very hard to manage maintaining the correct oil levels and their bodies don't distribute the oils as they should, or whatever processing function fails in those cases.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Oh my how exciting!

so cool!

Awww!

Standing up, not favoring either leg. He was chasing bugs when I went to find him. He might have some discomfort but it is not stopping him from anything other than roosting.


both legs look about the same but it is easier to see when his weight is not on the leg.


Feet look swollen but not like bumble foot pictures


The other foot.


Hmmmm does look swollen.