The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Just hatched at midnight

At 7am..


About noon

Now we just need to see his or her companions!

 

[Jewelwing]

So far I've given my chickens kitchen scraps that I think they'll like, and put the rest on the compost pile (which is not very near the coop). But I wonder if it's OK just to have the whole compost pile in the chicken run?

I guess I would put things like banana peels (which they don't like - I tried) and flaky onion skins and grapefruit halves, etc. It seems like this might be OK, but I'm a little worried about having a giant pile of rotting food in the middle of their run. Honestly, I have no idea if that would happen or not because our regular compost pile never has anything in it very long - I think raccoons and opossums get into it and clean it out, so I don't know what a compost pile does if food actually stays in it!

Right now the run is just bare dirt with a little grass on it. It was all grass when I put them in it in September, but it's not doing so well now.

Yesterday I raked up a bunch of leaves and put them in the run so it wouldn't be mud this winter. But the chickens were terrified of it! They had been out free ranging when I did it, and they refused to come back in to get to the coop to roost. I was able to chase some of them in, and catch a few of them and carry them in, but one of them wouldn't let me catch her and wouldn't be herded in. She just kept running around the run looking for another way in that didn't involve the scary leaves, and making her pitiful scared noise "eep eep.....eep eep!"

Finally I opened up one of the nest boxes and she flew in from the outside. Then this morning no one would come out onto the leaves, even when I dropped their food on the leaves! I pushed the leaves and made a path from the coop door to the run door, and sprinkled their food on that. Some of them came and ate the food, but the rest just ran straight out of the run into the yard. Good grief!

So while they were free ranging I scooped the leaves into big bags and carried them out. I only left a few inside, and I guess I'll just put a small pile in one end of the run to get them used to it instead of covering the whole run with those scary, noisy leaves.

Anyway, my point is that I will hopefully be having leaves in the run along with the food to compost.

 

[Gramma Chick]

So far I've given my chickens kitchen scraps that I think they'll like, and put the rest on the compost pile (which is not very near the coop). But I wonder if it's OK just to have the whole compost pile in the chicken run?

I wouldnt if critters get into it ...you dont want to draw them into the coop . Also stuff not eaten could mold & cause Respiratory problems for them .
I cut my banana peels into smaller pieces & mix them with bread cubes , fruit + or veggies & other stuff..top it with a little milk & yogurt . mix it well ...It all disappears

Right now the run is just bare dirt with a little grass on it. It was all grass when I put them in it in September, but it's not doing so well now.

Yesterday I raked up a bunch of leaves and put them in the run so it wouldn't be mud this winter. Good grief!

So while they were free ranging I scooped the leaves into big bags and carried them out. I only left a few inside, and I guess I'll just put a small pile in one end of the run to get them used to it instead of covering the whole run with those scary, noisy leaves.

Anyway, my point is that I will hopefully be having leaves in the run along with the food to compost.

Holy Cow ! they are scaredy cats ...too much of a change I am guessing ...
That sounds like a good plan ..a little at a time ..You could also try dry grass clippings . Or fresh ones long as it isnt very thick
Mine dont mind the leaves , grass clippings longs as they are not in there when I do it ...then they are scaredy cats too .

 

[Leahs Mom]

CR - approximately what size is the run?

My birds have access to the compost all the time but it's not in their run. It's on the outside. We also have a small area that they can't access where I put things that are extremely molded and things I don't want them to have access to...which isn't much. I don't put citrus where in their compost area but if I did, they'd just avoid what they don't want anyway.

I just don't like the idea of having it in the run as we have a good amount of compost and since they don't eat everything in there, I wouldn't want it to be piling up in their run.

However...I know other folks that do make their chicken run the compost area too.

 

[Leahs Mom]

On the deep litter in the run, I don't have experience using all leaves but I think ArmorFireLady uses them inside her hoop house. I'm wondering if you started out with a thin layer. But I think what you did - putting them in one area - will work great. Before you know it, they'll be digging through those and spread them out themselves. Then you can dump some more in and they'll do it all over again until you get it as deep as you want it.

It will give them something to do, save you the work of spreading, and help them get used to it all at once! And the more that happens, but more broken up, aerated and decomposed they'll begin to be. They will eventually be spreading things around and keeping the ground more healthy.

It you can possibly get hold of some wood chips or shavings that will also help keep a healthy balance in there. Also - oak leaves take a long time to break down so if you have oak, it is good to mix them with some other types of material if possible.

 

[RedRidge]

RR - please do look up what percentage you used for the meaties. 

Anyone else that raises meat birds - does anyone add ANY KIND of meat protein for them besides fish meal?  If so, what and what is your source?

oh yes. .. I add other animal proteins also... We time our Marie grow outs in the fall after we harvest the soy beans and corn and slaughter beef and venison...

 

[RedRidge]

for those of you using fish meal, you might want to read this.  im not saying feeding it is wrong - its probably better than GMO soy meal or oil.

http://www.ibiblio.org/london/SoilWiki/message-archives/JoeCummins/msg00628.html

i use bowel's rangebird pellets to raise my protein, a hog pellet is similar. i have also used calf manna.  the best source i have found is non GMO wheat, but its hard to find.  its protein can top 40% if properly grown.

wheat is not animal protein... Just like field peas arent. But they ate protein. .. And I do feed some field peas. To much wheat can cause digestive problems. .. I don't feed wheat at all.
As far as fish meal. .. my supply of beef, lamb and venison. .. And BSF is limited so I do supplement with fish meal. .. especially for chicks. If you look on the Internet you can find all kinds of concerns about almost any kind of food these days. Are they accurate? Well. .. my opinion is that the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
That said. .. We have a very strong philosophy of. .. If you don't raise it or grow it yourself you shouldn't eat it. We don't abide by that 100% of the time. .. But most of the time we do. I am not willing to share all of the meat I raise with the chickens so I have to make the best decisions available with the options I have. My opinion is that animal protein is a necessity and must be provided. Fish meal is the lesser of many evils I have found. .. And the only reason I use the tag "evil" is because we don't raise the fish ourselves. ;-)

 

[RedRidge]

So far I've given my chickens kitchen scraps that I think they'll like, and put the rest on the compost pile (which is not very near the coop).  But I wonder if it's OK just to have the whole compost pile in the chicken run?

I guess I would put things like banana peels (which they don't like - I tried) and flaky onion skins and grapefruit halves, etc.  It seems like this might be OK, but I'm a little worried about having a giant pile of rotting food in the middle of their run.  Honestly, I have no idea if that would happen or not because our regular compost pile never has anything in it very long - I think raccoons and opossums get into it and clean it out, so I don't know what a compost pile does if food actually stays in it!

Right now the run is just bare dirt with a little grass on it.  It was all grass when I put them in it in September, but it's not doing so well now.

Yesterday I raked up a bunch of leaves and put them in the run so it wouldn't be mud this winter.  But the chickens were terrified of it!  They had been out free ranging when I did it, and they refused to come back in to get to the coop to roost.  I was able to chase some of them in, and catch a few of them and carry them in, but one of them wouldn't let me catch her and wouldn't be herded in.  She just kept running around the run looking for another way in that didn't involve the scary leaves, and making her pitiful scared noise "eep eep.....eep eep!"

Finally I opened up one of the nest boxes and she flew in from the outside.  Then this morning no one would come out onto the leaves, even when I dropped their food on the leaves!  I pushed the leaves and made a path from the coop door to the run door, and sprinkled their food on that.  Some of them came and ate the food, but the rest just ran straight out of the run into the yard.  Good grief!

So while they were free ranging I scooped the leaves into big bags and carried them out.  I only left a few inside, and I guess I'll just put a small pile in one end of the run to get them used to it instead of covering the whole run with those scary, noisy leaves.

Anyway, my point is that I will hopefully be having leaves in the run along with the food to compost.

This is an ideal opportunity for raising BSF... I cant understand why more poultry people don't do it

 

[Leahs Mom]

Wish I could do bsf. They don't seem to be in my area...but I'm right on the border of the supposed line. I think I MAY have seen some of the flies, however so... May try next year. (Too bad I'm not a little farther south.)

RR - can you post photos of what you use to raise them and a detailed explanation of how you do it for the folks on the thread here?

 

[RedRidge]

Wish I could do bsf. They don't seem to be in my area...but I'm right on the border of the supposed line. I think I MAY have seen some of the flies, however so... May try next year. (Too bad I'm not a little farther south.)

RR - can you post photos of what you use to raise them and a detailed explanation of how you do it for the folks on the thread here?

You can raise them in anything... I have a friend who raises them in about ten 5 gallon buckets.
I attract mine with five gallon buckets... with fermenting food/corn... in the spring.
I use a wire with pieces of corrugated cardboard hanging from the lid to permit a good place for the BSF to lay their clutches of eggs.
Then I have one bin with a good crawl off ramp, so I transfer the eggs to that bin in the early spring and have crawl off as long as the nighttime temps don't dip below 50 where the bin is. Mine is outside, so I have had no crawl off in a few weeks and dismantled everything last weekend.
If they are not common in your area you can simply order some in the spring from several different places and begin your own colony.
The warmer the better for their location, but not above 110... so don't put them in the sun.

Because my chickens free range in the summer I don't feed any BSF... they have to find their own bugs.
So... I freeze mine in gallon bags and feed them beginning in the fall until spring.
I will get a photo later today of that.

Please note... BSF are way too high in calcium to feed chicks, so I only feed them to the laying hens.
Of course... over the winter I don't usually have chicks until Feb, but... they get strictly FF supplemented with fish meal and/or meat.

Will get a pic later today of the breeding pens also... almost finished... lacking only 1 door and the vinyl. It's bee slow going due to other fall commitments here, but at 3 of the 4 pens are in use holding the Rhodebar cockerels and one of my SFH trios.