The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Rachel'sFlock]

Can I ask a question to get the run down from newbies and OTs alike?

Give me a walk through on your morning, and nightly routine.

• How much time does it take you to complete each task?
• Do you have shortcuts to make chores go by quicker?
• How much more time does it take you in the winter VS the summer?

Morning routine:
7:30am wake up, let chickens out of coop to free range. Scatter feed or scratch in yard. Time- less than 5 minutes.

Evening routine:
Aprox. 1 hour before dusk Feed FF- pen flock Time- about 15 minutes.
Add more feed and water to the FF bucket. Time-5 minutes
Egg gathering- no additional time.

edited to include: after dark I shut them up in the coop.Time-Under 5 minutes also, filling waterers- Time- 10 minutes

Daily observation- probably around 2-4 hours, depending on my schedule. I can see them from the house, out the window next to my desk.

Weekly- lay fresh bedding on top of old, clean out nesting boxes and add fresh straw. Time- 15 minutes.

I find no difference in the time it takes to care for my flock in summer vs winter.
As to shortcuts, I find being prepared the night before, makes the next day go more smoothly.

 

[Mumsy]

This is some good stuff from everyone on the chores, free ranging, and your natural chicken keeping lists.

Keep it coming!

It's been fun filling out the questionnaires and reading every-one's response. Great idea. The thread has been a real joy to read through today.

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

Questions for ALL FREE RANGERS - No Matter How Much Acreage You Have

1. How long have you free ranged?
2. Describe your free-range area and practices.
3. How is that different in spring, summer, fall, winter?
4. Do you use a guardian dog or any other guard animal?
5. With or without guard animal - what has your experience been with predators? What about hawks?

1- 2 years
2- half pasture, half forest over 3 acres. I let them out in the morning at dawn and pen them an hour before dusk
3- we live in a temperate climate, so not much difference at all. When the winds are extreme, I leave them in their pen (perhaps 2 days a month in winter)
4- no LGD
5- we have been swooped on by hawks and eagles, but there has been no successful predation from the sky. I watched a coyote come snatch one of my hens from the yard, but she escaped and survived. It has not been seen since that day, tho my closest neighbor has lost numerous chickens to predators when she can't get them penned at night. I lost a hen last Fall to a predator because of unsecure coop. This has been corrected. My flock has become excellent at predator evasion through the experience of having been attacked, and surviving.

 

[aoxa]

It's been fun filling out the questionnaires and reading every-one's response. Great idea. The thread has been a real joy to read through today.

I agree So nice to see you back and so involved Mumsy

 

[jlynnet]

My schedule is a tad different. I get up early(6:15) but that's to get my boys off to school. By the time I'm done with everyone at school, it's now 9am. If I'm lucky I take a nap for an hour before picking up my little guy at preschool. While he's eating his lunch and watching Mickey Mouse, I fill up two jugs of water with up/acv. I bundle up and head outside. I feed, water and pick up eggs in both coops. I use heated dog bowls for water. I check out the girls and see how they're doing. I have one EE that talks non-stop. If I'm home for the day, they get let out unless the hawk is stalking them. If I know they won't be going out, I chop up greens for them and toss it out in their enclosed run. That gives them something to do, even if the snow is on the ground. I get ready and leave for work. When my boys get home, the 10yr old goes out and checks on them. I go to bed around 1am and it starts all over!
In the summer when school's out, they were out all day everyday. My 10yr old went outside with them most of the day. I don't do FF yet. I will try to start that in the spring.
It doesn't take any more time in the winter. In fact it's faster for me. They go through less water, so gallon jugs work great. In the summer we have to clean the 5gallon water every other day.

 

[delisha]

Quote: http://www.eggcartonsonline.com/ecom-prodshow/EGG-1000.html
someone showed me these. I just ordered a batch.

 

[aoxa]

http://www.eggcartonsonline.com/ecom-prodshow/EGG-1000.html
someone showed me these. I just ordered a batch.

Don't you wish you would have found this sooner?

I can never get free shipping, otherwise I'd get them too. .33 cents still seems like a lot to me. I'm always running out of cartons, and have sent eggs to my parents in baskets.. like easter baskets..

 

[Sally8]

delisha-you commented a while back that you knew what eggs each hen laid. How did you know? Can anyone else tell? I wish that I could without separating them. Thanks. Sue

 

[stonykill]

wow busy day here. Back to the hoop coop for a second and why I would never use or recomend one. Last year I lost 9 chickens to a weasel in one night. killed that entire coop. It got in a 1"x1" hole to kill them all. My recent duck attack that killed a drake and nearly killed the 3 girls.... the mink found a hole roughly 2 inches in diameter to sneak in and kill. Hoop coops are just a pen to keep all of the birds in one place to allow the predator to kill imho. A good daytime shelter to give the birds somewhere to get out of the rain...sure. Sleeping quarters... only if you are waiting to wake up to dead birds. Dogs sleep, electricity goes out, mechanical things fail. Predators are smart, cunning and all they want to do is kill. Ask my friend who lost 45 hens in one night to weasels. In a hoop coop.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

My schedule is different than most. I work nights(truck driver, local) so either myself or my DW let the birds out around 7am to free range. Once I get up in the afternoon, I go out to get eggs, fill auto-feeders if needed. Fill waterers every other day, with ACV. If weather is cooperating, I will stay out and talk to them and give treats. The birds coop themselves just before dark. After dark I go out and do a head count and lock them in for the night.