The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[SallyinIndiana]

The only thing that worked for my dogs was heart worm pills. But it is expensive. On a different subject does anyone use a Little Giant Incubator my wife got one given to her with egg turner.

I have used the still air little giant with a turner and it is good as long as the room temp is steady. I also have a genesis 1588 with a turner and it is much better at controlling the temps when the seasons start to flux and I don't have air or heat on. So cool mornings and warm afternoons.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I was also going to say that sand is bad. Harbors mites.

If you're not against using borax, you sprinkle it in the carpets, let it set, then vacuum it up. Supposed to kill the eggs.

 

[TipihlowLadies]

How can I make hen's lay in the coop.I have two hen's that refuse to lay in the egg boxes. They lay in the dog house driving my dog nuts. when I hear her howling I know egg's are ready for pick up she wont go in till we get the egg or egg's.I kept them up only to come home to two wore out birds that were still running the fence cackling like no tomorrow all night until I let them out to shut them up right to the dog house. I definitely found out why they call these birds Easter eggers not the color of egg at all its because if you want all your egg's you must be a good hunter!

 

[JennyRed]

Sand harbors mites??? Read a lot of things about using sand but not this. What is best then. I use pine shavings.

Wanted to made a dust bath area, was going to use bought organic top soil, it has some sand in it. I have wood ash to put in too. So what dirt is best. My area is red clay.

 

[Jewelwing]

Surely this has been brought up before, and I just don't know the rules. But it seems like with over 2,000 pages and over 21,000 posts, this shouldn't be a thread anymore - it should be a whole section (whatever they're called). Like "managing your flock" or "raising baby chicks" or "coop and run - design, construction & maintenance." We could have "natural chicken keeping" along with those others in the drop-down menu.

That way we could have threads within this natural chicken keeping subject. It seems like it would be a lot easier to have the conversations that people have been having on here, and easier to catch up (you could skip the threads that don't interest you as much), and just a lot easier to follow in general.

Is there a reason why this hasn't been done already?

 

[newbie32]

Surely this has been brought up before, and I just don't know the rules. But it seems like with over 2,000 pages and over 21,000 posts, this shouldn't be a thread anymore - it should be a whole section (whatever they're called). Like "managing your flock" or "raising baby chicks" or "coop and run - design, construction & maintenance." We could have "natural chicken keeping" along with those others in the drop-down menu.

That way we could have threads within this natural chicken keeping subject. It seems like it would be a lot easier to have the conversations that people have been having on here, and easier to catch up (you could skip the threads that don't interest you as much), and just a lot easier to follow in general.

Is there a reason why this hasn't been done already?

I agree and probably because not enough people have asked

 

[AletaG]

The mites live and thrive in sand..one of there favorite places to live.

Sand harbors mites??? Read a lot of things about using sand but not this. What is best then. I use pine shavings.
Wanted to made a dust bath area, was going to use bought organic top soil, it has some sand in it. I have wood ash to put in too. So what dirt is best. My area is red clay.

Exactly! My entire LOT is sand. I'm slowing bringing in chippings from my tree trimmer. Goal for me is to have 6-inches over the entire outdoor run as well as the attached runs. But sounds like my friend is dooooomed! DOOOMED! Would wood ash help somewhat? I need to ask if she's tried that.
Thanks Delisha!

 

[mlowen]

Sally8, sorry about your cats. I agree that quality of life is the determiner. I heard a anthro-biologist (studies human-animal interaction) interviewed and he said since animals always and only live "here and now" they don't want to live "forever" they want to live well and comfortably "now."
I've been wondering...how is Cecelia? The babies?

 

[MargaretYakoda]

I'm too new to say whether or not borax is OK to use around chickens, but I know when using it to control dog and cat fleas it works best inside the house when dusted into cracks between couch cushions, under couches, into the carpet, etc and is just left there. Dust it in after vacuuming. Borax works on the flea eggs by drying them out, so it has to be in contact with the eggs to work. You don't need much of it, just a sprinkle, worked well down into the fibers and such. The eggs can lay dormant for as long as a year, and flea meds like Frontline only work on the adult fleas. We've had excellent luck using a combination of the two here.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Hey all... found a few references to mites on this thread, DE, wood ash, neem oil... wondering if anyone has been using marigold - seeds, flower heads, leaves in any form? Have a friend who wants to try the "feather fixer"/mite control feed, but thinking for the price, if it's the Marigold in the ingredients.... Thoughts?

Mine will eat the seedheads of my Phlox and the Beebalm plants. Others they browse on but not enough to do any damage. When I clean the coop or stir it up I spray with poultry protector which is a herbal natural liquid.

Until I got the rooster I have had no signs of mites or problems. Not sure yet for him either but one leg is larger. Have not caught him yet. He saw my girls at woods edge and bolted from the cage and ran to them.... so much for isolating. He won one girls attention but the other still rebuffs him.