The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

That's what it feels like when we put all that stuff up. When my husband put up the flags, I ran over to the neighbors to apologize for them! I didn't want him to think we joined a cult or something

 

[iwanaplae2]

Sorry to hear about Ms Grey

 

[armorfirelady]

LM so sorry about the loss. ((Hugs)) hawks have def been busy lately. I never thought of Christmas lights either. I might try that as well. Was thinking of stopping by dollar store and seeing what I could find to hang around to deter the hawk. I have a spinner that's flower shaped I put up by coop but don't know if it will deter them or not. Need to do something for when I am not home since dogs aren't out while I am gone. I know hawks are still around. Friend stopped by earlier and said all the girls in coop super quiet. Hawk was back I am sure :/

 

[lalaland]

LABS

I bought a bag of organic rice 16 oz.
soaked it for an hour in 2 cups of hot water
I drained off the liquid and added 4 cups raw milk, covered it in a glass 2 qt canning jar with cheese cloth. I set it on the counter out of the light until there was a clump of cheese in the jar(60 hours).
I drained off that liquid and what was left inside the jar I fed to the chickens and the liquid is my LABS.
I keep it in the fridge covered.
I make a qt up at a time.
1 tbs of the liquid the rest water ratio 1-20 one part liquid to 20 parts water

I found this and it is different than what i do, but, close enough



http://gilcarandang.com/recipes/lactobacillus-serum/

now if I could just find raw milk!

Just lost my first bird to a predator. Hawk.


1.5 years without a predator loss. Until today.


Sorry I was too late.

Miss Gray

I'm sorry, Sue, that is hearbreaking.

After losing hens each fall to hawks and owls, 2 years ago I finally made a hawk enclosure.

It is just wire fencing laid on top as a roof - it you think of a table with the legs being 8 foot 2x4's, and the table top being the fence. It has worked great. The fencing lets snow and leaves fall through. With doubling the flock, I added on to it just a few weeks ago. so it is now 28 feet by 28 feet, and I have a side area that is just netting on posts. It has to be cleaned off from falling leaves, and I know it will hit the ground with the first snow.

 

[Myrth]

Just lost my first bird to a predator. Hawk. I've been going out quite frequently because the littles are out there and I wanted to keep a "surprise presence" at various times to change things up a bit. Went out and a bunch of the girls were standing by the dog house looking and acting strange and I heard a strange calling from inside the hen house over on the other side. I knew something was wrong and sprinted over to the house. It was the rooster carrying on loudly and there was one girl in there with him on one side and another hiding quietly under the nest boxes. Went back out and only saw 2 babies and the gray sfh was nowhere to be seen so I assumed she was gone. Convinced the others to come over with me to the hen house and they all piled in and haven't come out yet. Then I started counting. Found Miss black hunkered down inside the dog house and had to tip it up to get her to slide out then herded her back to the house. On the way through I found Miss Gray (the bio-mom of the baby sfh) dead on the ground. Still no site of the gray baby and I knew that she was small enough to be picked up and carried away, but I also know those kiddos are good at getting into small places and being very still. I walked around for about 10 min. calling what I usually call when I go out and listening for peeps. I was afraid that if she was hiding she'd probably die of cold as she's only 6 wks and hasn't been without momma on the floor at night. If it were a missing older one I would have assumed it would fare okay if it was only the night. Finally heard some peeping and saw her up against the side of the pole building laying low and tight in a little trench. She must have finally relaxed enough to peep (good thing I have good hearing). I was able to get her into the house with the others so at least Miss Gray's baby is okay. Hawk tried to come back to feed on the body while I was in the hen house giving them a bit of food! All hell broke loose in there and I knew something must be wrong. Looked out and sure enough, there was the hawk eating. Tried to pick her up and fly away but dropped her. 1.5 years without a predator loss. Until today. Sorry I was too late. Miss Gray

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I do have hawk cover over the run. Just not out on the range. Hate to keep them locked in there long term, though.

Here's the run from the side. There is netting over the whole top; just can't see it in the photo.

 

[armorfirelady]

LM do think little hawk huts would help? I have several but yesterday when the hawk went into the electric netting they all ran straight to the coop.........and where he attacked was at the farthest point from the coop. They ran past both halves of the dog crate and the longer hut I made. No idea why. During the day when they venture out they stay right along the compost bin. It's like they know they blend right in with the compost or the bin which is made out of pallets. Heck even I have to look hard they blend in so well with the compost. Well except Edie since she is white. :/

 

[Kassaundra]

@lalaland You don't need raw milk, or organic rice. Any rice any store bought milk will work. I made mine w/ cheap rice and pasturized milk.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

rumors my butt... and no, it'll raise the prices of everything. including the insurance I am paying for. 4 years ago, before the obummercare thing came about, my insurance (copay style) was costing me $100 a month for myself and hubby. then obummercare came along and my rates doubled within months. last year they increased again by 30%. this year they're going up even more. I'm paying twice what I was at that time, now on the high deductible plan with a 5k deductible and everything under 5k is straight out of my own pocket. so i'm not getting ANY benefit of even having insurance, unless i'm critically injured or need surgery basically. the same plan I was on 4 years ago at $100 a month is now costing about 350 for myself and hubby both. half a mind to go ahead and pay for the higher plan, and get all my ailments fixed asap. (back and neck issues) because in another couple years I probably won't be able to afford even the basic insurance that i'll be required to keep.

My income is below the poverty level, so when obamacare hits I will be forced to buy insurance but with NO subsidies (because income is BELOW poverty level). Tell me what kind of sense THAT makes?!?!?!? Since obamacare is nothing more than a tax, I figure that I'll eventually lose all my possessions, including my house, over it.... because I can't afford to buy insurance and the IRS will levy penalties against me which I also can't pay, so they will file tax liens against me and take everything I own... thank you, low-information voters!!! And for all of you who think that subsidies mean you won't have to pay anything out-of-pocket for your insurance, you are WRONG! The subsidy will come as a tax credit at the end of the year, in the meantime you get to pull that money out of your *** somehow to pay your new inflated insurance premiums. The folks where I work who are lucky enough to be full time and have insurance have seen their premiums nearly double and had their spouses kicked off their plans, directly due to obamacare according to employer. Anytime the government gets it's fingers in anything, it turns into a fiasco, when will people realize that?

 

[Leahs Mom]

LM do think little hawk huts would help? I have several but yesterday when the hawk went into the electric netting they all ran straight to the coop.........and where he attacked was at the farthest point from the coop. They ran past both halves of the dog crate and the longer hut I made. No idea why. During the day when they venture out they stay right along the compost bin. It's like they know they blend right in with the compost or the bin which is made out of pallets. Heck even I have to look hard they blend in so well with the compost. Well except Edie since she is white.

I do have some things they can duck under. The girls that were outside were all gathered around the plastic dog house that is one of the covers. And Miss Black was actually inside it quiet as a mouse. Not sure if they may all have been in it at one point or not. I didn't realize she was in there until I got all the others into the coop and went looking for others.


The other covers I have are not very adequate. My husband got the dog house free that someone was giving away so it was a great deal. It sat for a long time and no one would go in it - even if I threw sunflower seeds in it! But when "Mister" got older, he started going in and the girls must have figured out that it was okay and started going in and out of it at leisure too.

I wouldn't mind having several of those out there.

I had always wondered if it would end up being a death trap as I figured that a hawk could follow them right in.

You can see the dog house in this photo.


It's currently sitting just to the right of the garden just outside the photo. That's where they were all congregated. The hawk got Miss Gray way behind that area of trees you see behind the garden.