The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[salt and pepper]

Also if they are free ranging more ...they may be eating less layer ...Have you changed anything ?
Why eat feed when you can have yummy bugs & grass & stuff ..LOL
We went to Dumor brand feed ...TSC brand ...They laid less with that ..even though it was layer ..
They did great with Purina Layena ..Okay with Agway

They free range ALL day. I feed layena flock raiser FF, and only the odd time throw out oyster shell. All seem healthy, FAT, shiny feathers, etc.

 

[aoxa]

Bugs from squirrels do not alarm me but I have seen a squirrel kill and eat a sparrow. Twice! Couldn't believe my eyes! One squirrel with a taste for bird would take a chick no problem. Also squirrels carry tape worm and can also get Rabies. I consider them vermin and don't want them around my flock. I have squirrel proofed my feed with metal garbage cans with tight fitting lids. They can chew right into Rubber maid garbage can lids. My feeling about squirrels is the same as predators. I don't make it easy for them to take up residence. My property is surrounded with forest and large fir trees. There is plenty for them to eat out there. This year they've taken the hint.

edited to add: Do a google search of Squirrels eating birds and eating eggs out of bird nests. It will give you second thoughts about welcoming them into your yard. I consider them tree rats with better PR.

Exactly why we just got two barn cats Hopefully they will keep it under control. I know my mother's cat regularly catches, kills and half consumes squirrels and chipmunks. She has such a terrible problem there.. they get into the office and chew cords. They can cause fires! So I would never encourage them.

 

[delisha]

A bit of humor

http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=EADC17C55558EC771C29B1DCA1C1EC92

 

[aoxa]

Del, not arguing with fleas and that sort of thing. Fleas bite mammals, but coccidia.. I am bad at explaining these things, so here is a post I found on it:

Chin up, coccidia is rarely (in my experience anyway) severe enough in cats to cause fatal complications. If both of these cats are adults with a healthy immune system, then you simply need to keep treating the coccidia. I work for a vet, and the first thing we tell people when we find coccidia on fecals is that it can be very difficult to treat. If repeated treatments with albon have not worked, you might ask your vet about treating with fenbendazole (panacur). We will switch to fenbendazole in cases where repeated treatments have not been effective. Coccidia can cause a bacterial overgrowth which may be contributing to the diarrhea, so it may be worth having a gram stain done to be sure that you don't need antibiotics or probiotics for that. For that matter, probiotics may not be a bad move in general with so much going on in the GI on these kitties.

On a side note, coccidia is species specific. Cats, dogs, and birds can all get coccidia. But dogs can not get coccidia from cats, cats can't get it from birds, etc. For a while we were having issues with some odd looking coccidia repeatedly showing up in canine fecal floats even after treatment. We finally sent the fecals to an outside lab, which confirmed that they were not from a coccidia infestation in the dogs but a pass-through coccidia from rabbits. The dogs were eating rabbit poop and the rabbit coccidia was showing up on the dog's fecals.

I had recently asked the owner of a cat/kitten rescue group if coccida can be spread to the chickens from kittens, and she advised me the coccidia is species specific. She was not worried about it transferring to her dogs, but she was about it with her other cats/kittens.

http://www.salecreekvet.com/725659.html
backup info.

 

[countrygirl74]

A bit of humor

http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=EADC17C55558EC771C29B1DCA1C1EC92

I love it!!! I am sooo sharing this on my facebook...

 

[Mumsy]

I was waiting on some pullets to start laying this month. July was my point month. They did not disappoint. Two Silkies, two BRIR, and now four barnyard layers. A few more are getting curious about the nest boxes and reddening up in the face. Two bantam eggs = a large egg in a recipe. All these eggs are from pullets today. Nice hard shells. Most of them started laying at six months old. The Silkies about eight months.

 

[Bulldogma]

I love it!!! I am sooo sharing this on my facebook...

I love it! I posted it on the Natural Chicken Keeping page on FaceBook yesterday.

 

[aoxa]

I was waiting on some pullets to start laying this month. July was my point month. They did not disappoint. Two Silkies, two BRIR, and now four barnyard layers. A few more are getting curious about the nest boxes and reddening up in the face. Two bantam eggs = a large egg in a recipe. All these eggs are from pullets today. Nice hard shells. Most of them started laying at six months old. The Silkies about eight months.

Congrats!!

You're going to have a lot of eggs soon!

 

[salt and pepper]

congrats on the eggs Mumsy !!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Exactly why we just got two barn cats Hopefully they will keep it under control. I know my mother's cat regularly catches, kills and half consumes squirrels and chipmunks. She has such a terrible problem there.. they get into the office and chew cords. They can cause fires! So I would never encourage them.

I''m in agreement re: squirrels and chipmunks. They're very destructive. BTW, I once watched a chipmunk sit on top of my wood pile and eat a frog.