The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Myrth]

I grew up Mennonite, please no offense is given by this but they will not give you respect as an englisher if you don't follow their rules! And women are beneath men! They are not to have their own minds... The father speaks for the daughter until she marries then her husbands mind is her mind!

I do business with Amish. Since I am a woman, and since that pretty much automatically means that I must deal directly with men, I have to say that my experience has not been so negative. I have never been treated badly due to my gender. Perhaps it is different in Illinois than in some places, but the Amish here are used to doing business with women. I would certainly not give anyone my repeat business if I was treated like an inferior person.

 

[Kassaundra]

Can chickens have okra? It's not on the good chart or the bad chart. I'm frying up a bunch and I'm wondering if they can have the tops and ends. Thanks.

The can, I have never got mine to eat it, if they will eat it it is actually good for them high in B vitamins.

 

[Mekare]

The can, I have never got mine to eat it, if they will eat it it is actually good for them high in B vitamins.

Thanks! I'll offer it to them tomorrow and see what they think. I'm noticing that treats they turn their nose up at in the yard usually get devored by the next day in I put it in their coop.

 

[delisha]

rooster questions, don't laugh at me!

ok. you know I have 8 roosters growing up. I would to keep one or two, and there are 9 pullets and 9 hens 2-5 years old.

Question # 1: some of these pullets are from very small breeds (legbar, icelandic, and unknown but small!) Some of the roosters are large (lav orp) and some are small (icelandic). Should I be worried about a big rooster and a small hen? is that a reason to choose smaller roosters?

Question # 2: One of the roosters, who is maybe 14 weeks old and who started to crow at about 5 weeks or something, dances for the little tiny pullets who are no where near laying. Now this rooster also dances for my shoes, other, and hens.....do I need to be worried for the pullets? So far, based on limited observation, he dances, the pullet shys away and that is that.

Question # 3: ok this is maybe more of a breeding question - there were chicks that were pure araucana, and chicks that were araucana x leghorn. A chick grew up into a roo, with a good tail, a beard, and a muff. Any way to guess whether it is an auracana or a cross?

Question # 4: the rooster in question # 2 seems to have taken a dislike to the auraucana pullets - chases them, definitely not dancing for them. Is this likely going to continue?

1. They are chickens..they don't care what size they are. I have a 12 lb cockerel and most of my layers are 5-7lbs. I also have a silkie cockerel who tries to breed a 10 lb hen..now that is funny. She just goes about her day and does not notice him on her back.

2. I have a 5 week old cockerel who tries to breed every thing..some males are just filled with too much testosterone. If i have a male who is going after young chicks(my silkie male) I toss them in a breeding pen with a rooster to teach some manners. it takes about an hour

3. Araucana's are very rare..I have never seen one

4. I would like to see these birds.post pictures please.

Can chickens have okra? It's not on the good chart or the bad chart. I'm frying up a bunch and I'm wondering if they can have the tops and ends. Thanks.

Forgive me for a second while I joke about this..it is all in fun ..

My chickens can't read so i threw out that list

 

[aaggjg]

We had a beautiful day. Both days were more than we could have ever asked for.

My best friend Kyle took many pictures. He's coming over sometime soon so I can load them to my computer and post.

So happy to hear it!!! Can't wait to see the pictures!

 

[beccasev]

I have flax and I have used it..but I would freak out at using the quantities that are in bagged feeds...I do not like the extra estrogens either.

So how much flax would you guys consider as too much in a feed? I do use some in my feed. I think it is at 5% but would have to check to be sure.

 

[jockeyeba]

...

  I also have a silkie cockerel who tries to breed a 10 lb hen..now that is funny. She just goes about her day and does not notice him on her back.

 

[Jewelwing]

Delish so do you feed Grower with a side of oyster shell???

This is what I was thinking might work best for me. I do want to free range my chickens as much as I can, but I'm afraid that won't be as much as I want because my dog needs time outside too, and I think she would try to eat them. I really don't know what's going to happen, so I'll just have to see. I'm building an 8' x 17' run (not including the space under the coop), but I don't think that's very big for foraging for 9 chickens.

I do know that I really don't have the time to make my own food for them. Fermenting the bagged food is plenty for me! Ideally, I love the idea, but what you guys are doing sounds overwhelming. Maybe I'm just feeling stressed about the inconceivably long to-do lists I have, but I'm thinking that taking care of the chickens can't be a huge part of my day.

I agree with what some have said about avoinding estrogenic compounds, and I'm sad to realize that it seems like every day I learn about something else I should be avoiding (didn't know about flax - I thought it was a recommended food because of the omega fatty acids). Sigh.

I plan to feed them kitchen scraps, but only as a supplement, not as something I think about and try to balance.

Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, EVOO means Extra Virgin Olive Oil. lol

Today is not one of my brighter days.

Thank you for spelling that out for me - I'll admit I didn't get it until your post!

Yeah ... that's just one of the problems with Canola.

I consider Canola one of the most avoidable of the things on the list of the things I want to eliminate from my diet. Most of those things are easy to eliminate by cooking from scratch, BTW. Though some of the "eliminations" also come from not feeding those things to the food-producing animals, a "leveling-up" in the game of taking control of my food.

But ... Every once in a while I cave and buy food-industry mayonnaise, which always has Canola. I'm SO weak. I consider mayonnaise a beverage. And I'm just too ... lots of things ... to organize myself around lining up the materials necessary to make great-tasting mayonnaise at home. I've done it, but not the last time I was craving mayo ... I'm bad ... I have a Costco-sized (plastic!) jar of mayo in my fridge right now. I'm binging on mayo and blueberry-rhubarb sandwiches lately. Bad, right?

I just find it VERY interesting that what people are often stepping into when they go "No Corn/No Soy" with their chicken feed is Canola.

I LOVE mayonnaise!! I'll eat it straight with a spoon when no one's looking. In the summer, warm fresh-picked tomatoes, cheese, and mayo make a terrific sandwich! Or just the tomato in slices that you dip in mayo. My weird daughter doesn't like mayonnaise - I just can't fathom that.

 

[Jewelwing]

I do business with Amish. Since I am a woman, and since that pretty much automatically means that I must deal directly with men, I have to say that my experience has not been so negative. I have never been treated badly due to my gender. Perhaps it is different in Illinois than in some places, but the Amish here are used to doing business with women. I would certainly not give anyone my repeat business if I was treated like an inferior person.

I do too. We had our kitchen cabinets made by Helmuth Custom Kitchens in Arcola (I'm assuming you know where that is if you're in East Central IL like me!), and I had no problems at all. I did feel self-conscious going into the shop wearing shorts in the summer, but I figured I probably wasn't the first woman in shorts they'd ever seen. I never felt like they treated me any differently than my husband. They very well might have thought I was inferior due to my gender, but if so, they hid it well. And they did a fantastic job on the cabinets!

 

[Sally8]

...

  I also have a silkie cockerel who tries to breed a 10 lb hen..now that is funny. She just goes about her day and does not notice him on her back.

That's very funny!