The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[hotrodflash]

What is the earliest age you have put chicks in with hens, assuming there was no broody involved?

I usually wait until the chicks are almost as big as the hens, but this batch seems to be doing so well with the hens. I've been feeding hens and chicks treats side by side, separated by a mesh fence. The hens have been able to check out the chicks at eye level for about 3 weeks, and I've had two escapees who have been unharmed by the hens - I know the hens saw the little chicks being free - alhough I just scooped the chicks up and returned them to their enclosure. The hens have access to three sides of the outdoor enclosure and seem to have lost their curiosity about the chicks.

Now, the chicks are 5-6 weeks old.

I put some in with the rest of my flock at 3 1/2 weeks, the broody raised chicks were only 5 weeks and she had abandoned them at 4 weeks. They mixed right in to the flock as if they had always been there. I think the rest of my chickens were afraid that if they messed with the younger chicks that the ninja broody would come get them.

 

[lalaland]

I am not too worried about minks/weasels in my area. The chicken wire is the smallest you can get (1 inch), and a chick can not fit out through it (even newly hatched). It's secured. Henry has tested it. All 70 pounds of him

A weasel COULD get through I guess. We just don't have the issue in our area *knock on wood*. With this heat, we have to allow that air flow. I guess I'm just risking it, but the risk is very low.

Raccoons: I really don't think they could rip this stuff off. It is not flimsy like the 2 inch chicken wire that is used mainly to keep chickens in.
Susan accidentally left Suitcase in the chick pen all day while we were at work. He was snuggled up with them when we returned home. Not a single feather out of place. These guys were born on a farm with chickens. They are used to it. I would not just get any cat and stick them in a chick pen.

Good. Coons around here will rip thru 1 in chicken wire, just literally pull it apart with their paws, but maybe Canadian stuff is stronger. I would have been a little surprised if Henry could go thru it since it seems framed into the pens, I would think he would bounce off it. I know you need the air flow.

I've been wondering how I could attach a hardware cloth screen to the trailer coop doorway so I could leave that open at night - but I haven't figured it out yet. There are windows on 4 sides, but it would still be nice to have that much more ventilation! I definitely have both coons and weasels, and worse yet, no dog,

 

[armorfirelady]

Leahs Mom- THANK YOU for suggesting the biopsy punch. I used it today on Green and SO MUCH EASIER than an exacto knife. Cut right thru the scab easily. Lots more blood BUT I can honestly say I got some of the core out. FINALLY Her foot that had the smaller wound I def got most of it out. The worse foot I did get more core but def not all. But there was definitely a hole in her foot where the biopsy punch cut through & I didnt have that using the exacto knife.

Its hot & humid here again tonight. She was very stressed with the heat especially wrapped in a towel to try & keep her still. But I successfully got the scabs off this time. I packed the wounds with as much iodine/sugar that I could and wrapped them well. My plan is for the next couple days just to do bandage changes and put more iodine/sugar in the wound.

And Saturday evening try to get more core out. The weather is suppose to be hot/humid through the weekend. And I think trying to work every day getting more core out will just stress her to much. A few things I did learn (notice) today. When her feet were soaking I could watch as her ears then face went from red to white and back to red. I guessing thats from the stress. She never has white ears or around her eyes. And panting horribly. I did giver some yogurt when I was done tho.

I took some more pictures. If they are to many I apologize now. I know as a newbie I like to see what others do. It helps me learn, Plus I saw a few things I have never seen before & curious on the OT's opinions.



Her feet after taking the bandages off and soaking them. Her scales are raised. The bandages had been on since last Friday. I worked so much since then I honestly didnt have time to change them. I did wrap them with a little more wrap because I knew my schedule was busy. After soaking her legs I used a baby wipe and removed dirt from under the scales. They laid back down almost flat. It rained off and on since Friday so the dirt just worked its way up under the scales. Her feet themselves where the scabs are were clean though.

This is the foot with smaller scab July 1st

The foot with the smallest scab today. The biopsy punch easily removed it & I did get a lot of the core out.


Worse foot July 1st after I attempted to get scab off

1st pic is the foot today before using the biopsy punch & 2nd pic after. I tried to get a pic of the hole it left but it would fill with blood before I could grab camera.

To me the exacto knife did nothing to get any of the scab off or infection out. I believe that with using the biopsy punch I will have better results.

Here she is with her fresh booties & socks. Because of the lifted scales with dirt under them I nustocked up her legs & chose to cover them for tonight. Tomorrow when I do a bandage change I may do it again depending on how the scales look. I really believe that the raised scales were from dirt that got under them from having the bandages on so long.

Oh and to lighten the mood.......I thought I would share my Moms observation today. I told her it was my favorite quote of the day. We were putting vaseline on the tots legs. As I was doing it I was checking vents. When I got to George and was checking his back end my Mom said "Well you can certainly tell he is a boy since he doesnt have an egg hole "

Ever try to work on a chicken when your laughing so hard the tears run down your face? My Mom is def my entertainment when she is around. She also has great conversations with Green when she is holding her for surgery

As for the possible vent lice. I scouried pics for hours. I even pulled off a few covered vent feathers. I really believe they are pop encrusted feathers. I meant to take a few to the vet today when I took the puppy but forgot. But regardless I nustocked up Black & Greens butt. They both have leaky butts normally. I have been trimming their fluffy butt feathers to try & stop the dirty butts. It has helped some but the short ones still have them on it. And the only feathers with the stuff on them are below the vent where she leaks not above the vent area. I also checked under wings and other areas & didnt see anything.

Sorry for the long post. If anyone has some suggestions, opinions, etc please let me know. Fingers crossed this starts to clear up

 

[armorfirelady]

.

I've been wondering how I could attach a hardware cloth screen to the trailer coop doorway so I could leave that open at night - but I haven't figured it out yet. There are windows on 4 sides, but it would still be nice to have that much more ventilation! I definitely have both coons and weasels, and worse yet, no dog,

Maybe take an old metal screen door, remove the screen & replace it with hardware cloth fastened with metal screw with washers to hold the hardware cloth to the frame?

 

[Mumsy]

Mumsy, I am fairly new so please bear with me. You talked about feeding your family with this chicken. How do you tell if it is safe to eat? My husband and I culled one of my sussex a couple of weeks ago because (we think) she was egg bound. He asked me if I wanted to eat her. I didn't trust my judgement and said 'no'.
Good question! I had just asked about the bachelor pad on the 'Texas' thread. I think I have 4 roos out of 7 chicks.

The chicks are 7 weeks old. Not sure what to do with 4 roosters. Never dealt with roosters except for one time and they were monsters. For sure I have 7 adult hens and maybe 3 female chicks. Why do people have bachelor pads? Why have more than one rooster? I am not into breeding, just egg laying and meat. My flock free ranges, if this makes a difference. I am not sure what to do at this point. I know eventually they will start fighting each other and 4 roosters with 10 girls is a bit much. If I do have a bachelor pad, what do I need for them. Advice greatly appreciated.

Lisa

I'm asked this fairly regularly. I wouldn't eat a bird with clear disease symptoms. Cooking at high temperatures may kill the pathogen but I'm not hurting for meat so much that I would chance it. Sometimes if a bird drops dead in the coop or yard and lays out there for unknown amount of time. I won't eat those either. I certainly wouldn't eat a bird mangled by a predator and left on the ground.

When I cull/kill a bird to end suffering from injury or infirmity, that bird is getting processed. I take the breast meat of very young birds. Make stock or soup from very old birds. We roast or fry the prime ones. I feed the organ meat to the flock raw because I don't like to eat that. That's just me. I boil the back, neck, and carcass and feed it back to the flock too. I don't feed the flock raw meat from diseased birds.
The feathers, bones, and offal go into a deep hole in my potager garden. Usually along the raspberry row or next to young fruit trees. My raspberries are huge this year and I have to pick them every day! Nothing goes to waste on my property.

The affected pullet found a way to make her own nest today on the ground and protected from the flock. She laid a beautiful egg with hard shell. Then she hung out with the Silkie flock. Even went in their pen tonight. They are only mildly interested in her and she seems comfortable with them. They let her eat with them from their dish. She has earned a reprieve for the day. It is ironic that this pullet used to be a holy terror to the Silkies and would chase them and peck them any time they were in reach. She is now at the mercy of those she used to bully.

 

[uglychickens]

I know this isn't a chicken but isn't he just so cute?!?!

 

[aoxa]

I sold all the pet quality..I have one white..one porcelain. I am going to show the brat in September. I am really stumped about this brat. I almot do not want to handle him in fear it will inforce the biting. If he was bigger I would kick his butt.
Quit candling..do not handle at all. I think they are too sensitive.
It puts weight on pretty good.
I actually have no idea about feeding larger food. I think your bird was temporary stuck with a long blade of grass and it worked its way out.
He was not pecking..He bit me hard enough to leave a bruse. My broody with 8 chicks pecks me when I mess with her chicks, it does not hurt. This little **it, hurt me.
Hope you find her. I do not use seperate quarters for naughty boys, I use a sharp knife. However i do have three Orpington Cockerels. Two of them are kept seperate. They fight threw the fence.


Good for you..many people are supporting from the sidelines with thoughts and prayers..

You make a good point. I had just candled on Saturday at the 7 day mark. I didn't even touch the eggs. Just shined a light to the air cell in the turner to check fertility. Any that were not clear I handled. Any I handled were infertile, one was an early quitter.

I wonder why they are so sensitive. Kind of missing the ease of my previous silkie flock. They were much easier to hatch from. I do have a nice blue daughter from them.. She started laying at 24 weeks old. Definitely something I hope she passes on!

What is the earliest age you have put chicks in with hens, assuming there was no broody involved?

I usually wait until the chicks are almost as big as the hens, but this batch seems to be doing so well with the hens. I've been feeding hens and chicks treats side by side, separated by a mesh fence. The hens have been able to check out the chicks at eye level for about 3 weeks, and I've had two escapees who have been unharmed by the hens - I know the hens saw the little chicks being free - alhough I just scooped the chicks up and returned them to their enclosure. The hens have access to three sides of the outdoor enclosure and seem to have lost their curiosity about the chicks.

Now, the chicks are 5-6 weeks old.

The earliest.. I'd say 2 weeks. It depends on the tolerance of the adults. My 4 week olds free range and hang with the adults no problem, but at bed time they sleep separately.

 

[zinia8]

there are lots of county fairs going on this month in Indiana.  Maybe everyone is spending the day at their fair.
if the rooster can see the girl, he will begin to try to get to the girl in my experience.   The longer he can see the girl and not get to her, the more he takes it out on her when or if he does get to her.
You might want a boy pen for when the boys get to week 12 or when they begin to try to crow.  Too many teenage roos can kill the young pellets.  Why keep more than what you need to breed?  Well it is hard to pick a breeder quality roo until they are past the teenager stage.  Also things happen and you might lose a roo.  We did and others on here have too.  Sickness, animals, even car accidents can take away that perfect roo.  It is nice to have an extra.

For meat it is nice to have roos at different ages if you want to butcher in small numbers. 

Hatching eggs to maintain your flock even if not specifically setting up breeding pens, is a fun thing to learn.  You can't hatch without a rooster.  A rooster can only mate so many hens.  Some people on here have lots of hens and need multiple rooster to get lots of fertile eggs. 

If your flock is free ranging together having a boy pen won't accomplish the goal of keeping the peace unless you confine either the hens or the roos to their own run.

My plan was to keep just one of the cockerals and my sister is taking one. Her birds are younger than mine by about a month and not laying. I have 5 pullets that are around 20 wks. and just beginning to lay. And 4 that are 2yrs old and the two randy teenage boys. They were all penned together without to much of a problem until today. Boys stayed away from the 2yr olds until they jumped the one at the same time and terrified her. I trapped the boys in one side of the run cause I didn't know what to do with her .she was ready to fly the coop everytime the got near. Anyways this evening when I did let them out they were much nicer to the pullets not chasing them around and having their way with them. But the two yr old was gone took off into the woods. She came back at dark but would not get on the roost. She went into the nest box to hide.

 

[TexasLisa]

I'm asked this fairly regularly. I wouldn't eat a bird with clear disease symptoms. Cooking at high temperatures may kill the pathogen but I'm not hurting for meat so much that I would chance it. Sometimes if a bird drops dead in the coop or yard and lays out there for unknown amount of time. I won't eat those either. I certainly wouldn't eat a bird mangled by a predator and left on the ground.

When I cull/kill a bird to end suffering from injury or infirmity, that bird is getting processed. I take the breast meat of very young birds. Make stock or soup from very old birds. We roast or fry the prime ones. I feed the organ meat to the flock raw because I don't like to eat that. That's just me. I boil the back, neck, and carcass and feed it back to the flock too. I don't feed the flock raw meat from diseased birds.
The feathers, bones, and offal go into a deep hole in my potager garden. Usually along the raspberry row or next to young fruit trees. My raspberries are huge this year and I have to pick them every day! Nothing goes to waste on my property.

The affected pullet found a way to make her own nest today on the ground and protected from the flock. She laid a beautiful egg with hard shell. Then she hung out with the Silkie flock. Even went in their pen tonight. They are only mildly interested in her and she seems comfortable with them. They let her eat with them from their dish. She has earned a reprieve for the day. It is ironic that this pullet used to be a holy terror to the Silkies and would chase them and peck them any time they were in reach. She is now at the mercy of those she used to bully.

Thanks Mumsy for replying. Good news on your sick pullet. I hope she can pull through.

Thanks for the advice everyone on the bachelor pad for the roos. Hopefully by the time I figure out for sure how many roos I do have, I will have figured out what I am going to do.

Lisa

 

[delisha]

Quote:

Quote: Make a wood frame to fit your door, tack the hard wire to the frame. One of the doors to the coop has an aluminum door. I removed the screen and made a screen with hard wire. It does not fit the door, but fits the door frame.It lifts on and off with 4 corner locks. A pain to use the door, but, the birds are safe.

I know this isn't a chicken but isn't he just so cute?!?!

Very cute


Mumsy,

I missed the post with your bird being ill..sorry. I looked and did not find it.
I had a bird I put down today. I usually do not treat birds, however I had birds get ill after taking them to an event. I treated for cocci. I probably should not have. They might have just been stressed and it would have resolved. I think I poisoned them with the treatment. It has taken a long time for them to recover from the treatment. This one simply was not recovering. She was eating and drinking, however the whole flock was beating her up constantly. I could not take it anymore. I know how you feel.