The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aaggjg]

I need to know what you are feeding. What medications she has had in her whole life. How she is housed. How old. If she is in good weight. If this is her first full moult.
It sounds neurological or chemical from your description. Any chance you changed feed?

I feed them FF ...Non GMO Organic Scratch & Peck Layer ... I also sprout organic grains & Boss.... and they get unwanted greens from the farmers market.
She is 2 years old and this is her first molt .... she stopped laying a week or so ago and starting dropping feathers a few days ago. She is not as active and comes out to eat but does a lot of standing around feeling sorry for herself Today is the first day that she has done this dragging her chest on the ground. It does almost seem like she is trying to clean it or remove feathers ... I'm not really sure.... Here is a video I took of her.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Some people need to have someone to look down on. It makes them feel good about themselves.
...
As dysfunctional as that bunch is, I still could never be perfect enough to meet their prerequisites. Go figure.

Exactamente! I'm not so egocentric I actually believe this is "just" about me. Or that any interest I show in improving myself means I think I'm "not good enough." It isn't "personal," but it sure is frustrating!

 

[Sally8]

I wasn't going to comment but.....WORMS. Yes, We've had them . August of 2012, I noticed poop just crawling with lots of Roundworms. I posted a plea on BYC and someone by the name of Dawg responded. He recommended a couple of wormers, one being water soluable and it worked. I've never wormed again. But I'll have to admit I've thought about it recently. We don't have a fowl vet anywhere near here. I could drive a couple hours to Cornell University but I don't think so.
I'm pretty sure the worms came with the 6 adult chickens I bought at that time. I haven't done any of the preventative measures but am going to tonight. I'm not a poop watcher but for some reason, I have an uneasy feeling about it. (Even before it was discussed here)

Has anyone else been having excessive problems with ticks? I'm sure my chickens are keeping my yard down in numbers but my grand beagle, Millie, went for a run with my son on Sunday and came back with 10 ticks on her. They weren't all the same. Last week our neighbor came out of the woods from getting firewood and had 2 on him. One was partly embedded.

 

[delisha]

Quote: I personally think it is and I cull for any signs of weakness. If you are doing all the right things they simply are not the chicken for your flock. They need to be removed. It might not feel like it is the right thing to do, but, decisions to cull the weak is always the right thing to do for the good of your flock.

Quote: I usually do not have any worms when I take it in. This last time I did. Two things happened just before i brought it in. I took about 50 birds to a *bird* camp out with about 100 people from BYC. When I returned I had some birds left that did not sell and they were sick birds in about 10 days. Four other people had sick birds and two of the four others purchased birds from me. I took samples in to the vet. Some of the people were treating already. My samples showed normal levels of worms and it showed cocci. I added powdered milk to feed and added electrolytes and just encouraged them to drink water. I culled two of the sickest and let it run it course. I never introduced them back into my flock. I fed them out and butchered them all after I took another sample in to make sure they were clear. I was sure they were, but wanted to make sure. I have not used that space and probably will not for a few years. I took the fence down so I am not tempted. I will cull before I risk my flock. For me it is not worth it. My birds were healthy and they probably would have all survived if I had given them more drugs, but, to me they were weak and did not fight the exposure. They should not have gotten sick. I did not want that in my flock. Once a bird get ill it is always ill. It is almost impossible to get a bird to full recovery from an illness or weakness.

I do not add herbs to my feed bucket, but I do add garlic. The plants are there for the birds to eat and rub against. I do pick them and offer them in bowls to birds that are in breeding pens and to chicks in brooders.

The time I treated the sick chickens from that event I did add it to feed since I knew I was butchering and wanted to butcher out fast.
That event taught me a few things...By birds are not indestructible. They do not travel well for long distance. Stress can cause cocci in young birds. Cocci leaves them vulnerable to worms. Treating them for cocci leaves them vulnerable to neuralgic problems. They were only about 12 weeks old and too young for a 6 hour drive in an open trailer in the heat. I expected too much from them .i have done it with older show birds, but that was the first time with young chicks. On the other hand I had brand new chicks that just hatched (12) that traveled inside the truck and they did great. I never let anyone handle them except the people who ordered them.. and kept them away from other people. I let everyone handle the other birds. It never occurred to me they would be too stressed from travel. I made a bad decision and was not going to let my bad decision wipe out my flock. I have culled every ill bird I have ever had. I cull new chicks that just don't seem right or cry to much. I know from years of experience it is the right decision for them and the flock. I hate it, but it is necessary.

Quote: check her left eye

 

[RedRidge]

RR - would you do a post here about how you brood your chicks...how you hatch and then rotate them through your different types of pens?

And.. can you also comment on if you have had ANY worm issues?

I have 2 different ways I hatch... I keep a few d'Uccles to use as broodies... that speaks for itself.
They are hatched in the nesting boxes, and I "try" to move them to the ground before they all jump down themselves, but they bounce pretty well.

They stick with the broody after that and are on the ground immediately... never had a problem.


When I hatch in an incubator I hatch in my basement.
Chicks are moved from the bator directly into my raise brooder - it's an old rabbit hutch the former owners left and we enclosed the bottom last year.

The raised brooder is in the barn, the chicks go directly into the left half which has a lower heat lamp.
They stay in the left half for 3 weeks... note they have plenty of room to get out from under the lamp if necessary.
Another comment... I clip towels to the front and end if it supposed to be really cold at night to cut the chill and breeze. I don't cover the top - fire hazard!
All chicks get access to electrolyte water for the first 24 hrs. You can see the small clear waterer on the left side.
The red hanging bucket has chicken nipples on the bottom.... after the first day that is they only way they have to drink... I do fool with messy water.
From day one they get fermented feed. I crack the grains with a finer mesh when I have chicks.
I keep different premixes based on management group and time of year (for instance I add alfalfa meal to my premix in the winter when they can't free range).
I feed BSF (weighed daily after thawed from freezer) to the laying hens... the chicks have fish meal added...
Summer is different as the older birds and those with broodies can free range...
I have a chicken tractor I use to keep meat/cull cockerels in over the summer and free range them at times to "train" young maremma.
They get a lower percentage ration.... I don't feed 20% ff to cull birds who are going to get eaten... they only get 16%

Back to chicks... When they are three weeks old they move to the right side... the heat lamp is set higher and there is more draft on that side since it is only a few feet from the barn door.
Again, I do cover the front and sides at night if it's winter time... the brooder gets sunlight on it (on sunny days) for a few hrs each afternoon.

The lower part of the brooder on the dirt is one of two places they go at 6 weeks of age.
I had never heard of "adding dirt clods" or anything like that... mine simply go from raised brooder directly to dirt.
I've never had a problem... maybe I'm just lucky.
From there... depending on space and age, they move to one of the two "dirt floor coop stalls" which have various sections and various outside access depending on availability of lgd's.
When they get to be about 4-5 months old I divide them by sex... about this time, obvious meat/culls go into a special grow out area/tractor.
I add to that group as I progress into fall.... which is where I am right now.
A week from Sat is slaughter day... I have picked my breeding groups for the SFH and Rhodebars, but not my HRIR yet... I need to do that, having trouble deciding on a few of those...

Breeding pens will house 4 of my six pairs/trios... and I have 2 smaller indoor, dirt floor runs where the other two will go for the winter.


When I recombined all the hens in the spring, they will be housed in adjoining pens for a week before I take them off the roost one night and simply add them to the other pen. The roos will spend the summer in the movable chicken tractor... I have individual cages too, but I don't like to confine them to a cage unless it's temporary. The hens can all free range this way. Even though... most are pretty good about returning to the nesting area to lay as long as they are not too far away from the barn...
Those who are far away are provided portable nesting boxes/tractors.



So... not sure what kind of details you were looking for, but that's my year in a nutshell.

As far as worms... I believe all livestock carry "some" parasites.
I have never wormed any of my chickens... ever... again, maybe I'm just lucky.
Proper nutrition and rotation are what I think are the two key elements to avoiding parasite overload.
I was very worried about cocci this year since we had SO much rain for SO many months.
So I had corid on hand just in case. Thankfully I never had to open the bottle.
They are confined to dirt floor coops for 3-4 months each winter... they free range the remainder of the year.
I know this will make some folks gasp... but I only rake out my dirt floor runs about once a year.
I'm a lazy farmer I guess... but cleaning chicken coops just isn't high on my priority list.
I toss them a new flake of hay to scatter about about once every week or two while they are confined.
I'm a big believer in the KISS method... I feed my baby chicks twice a day, but once the last batch of chicks for the year gets to be about 60 days old I switch all the chicks to once a day feeding like the adults.
I do toss ACV into my FF buckets about once a month.
I have never fed medicated feed or added anything to their water.
I empty and clean water buckets once every week or two (or three...

)
Again... you could call me a lazy farmer, or simply say I have too many other head of livestock to take the time... but I simply don't provide anything special for poultry.

I do confess I have a survival of fittest type attitude a little... but that said I did not loose one chick this year who made it out of the bator healthy.
So... if it ain't broke I'm not gonna fix it.

There have been chickens in these coops and barn for more than 15 years... the barn does have the luxury of being on high ground and is very dry inside (thank goodness).

 

[aoxa]

Del, my friend Nina has one of your males, and he is stunning. At least to my untrained eye. So floofy




I would also cull birds like that Lala.. Unless it was a pet.. But I sure would try desperately to do something before worming. I would have done anything for Margaret.. even made her her very own coop to make her happy. I so miss her

 

[tsetse9]

I've been reading the other threads that describe this same issue...looks like most people think its a vitamin deficiency...or at least those that treated it with extra vitamins seem to have "cured" of it.

Here is last comment on the thread from mammat... It is a vitamin problem. I have had alot of silkie chicks do this. I give them pediatric liquid vitamins without iron right in the beak.  It will usually stop within a week and never comes back

 

[aoxa]

I feed them FF ...Non GMO Organic Scratch & Peck Layer ... I also sprout organic grains & Boss.... and they get unwanted greens from the farmers market.
She is 2 years old and this is her first molt .... she stopped laying a week or so ago and starting dropping feathers a few days ago. She is not as active and comes out to eat but does a lot of standing around feeling sorry for herself Today is the first day that she has done this dragging her chest on the ground. It does almost seem like she is trying to clean it or remove feathers ... I'm not really sure.... Here is a video I took of her.

Occasionally doing this?

Margaret did this when she was figuring out how to use her deformed feet. I was scared to death something was wrong with her. She ultimately stopped when she figured out how to walk normally.

She is super cute...

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
my 2c... pick her up and check her over thoroughly... my own bantam cochins pick up burrs all the time, then try to scrape them off on things, but those burdocks are stubborn buggers. I have to de-burr at least 2 a day right now. even the cat's beautiful plume is scraggly looking because of the burrs and the stuffing from the old dog bed that's leaking out some. LOL (a dirty pinkish color, in huge clumps)

 

[iwanaplae2]

I feed them FF ...Non GMO Organic Scratch & Peck Layer ... I also sprout organic grains & Boss.... and they get unwanted greens from the farmers market. She is 2 years old and this is her first molt .... she stopped laying a week or so ago and starting dropping feathers a few days ago. She is not as active and comes out to eat but does a lot of standing around feeling sorry for herself Today is the first day that she has done this dragging her chest on the ground. It does almost seem like she is trying to clean it or remove feathers ... I'm not really sure.... Here is a video I took of her.

What is up with her left eye? Has it always been like that? Or is it enflamed? The red around it just looked odd