The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Jewelwing]

Quote:

So I looked at her closely this morning and I don't see any kind of worm in her eye.... I "soaked" her eye swabbed her with VetRx as I read that helps expel eyeworm if that is what she has.... She doesn't seem to be scratching it ..... She is still walking crouched I haven't seen her walking backwards today but she spent most of the time under a shrub hiding from me after I "soaked" her eye

Silliy chicken... I even bribed her with some salmon when I was done..... She takes off running when she sees me approaching. I can't blame her I bet all those feathers coming in are tender.... I had her wrapped in a towel and she fought to no end while I was treating her! For a tiny little girl she is strong!

I feel so sorry for her! And sad that she is afraid you'll do more yucky things to her. I'm sure she'll get over that once the eye is healed up and the treats still come from you!

How's her other eye?

 

[aaggjg]

Quote:

I feel so sorry for her! And sad that she is afraid you'll do more yucky things to her. I'm sure she'll get over that once the eye is healed up and the treats still come from you!

How's her other eye?

Her other eye seems to be fine.... Although when I was cleaning her eye today I decided to swab her other one with VetRx and there was a piece of debris wedged in the eyelid!! Here is a picture of her today .... after shedding another 50 feathers while trying to free herself from my clutches!

Bad eye:




Good Side ... Sad sad sad appearance minus morning feathers

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm trying Kassandra's burlap bag sprouting to see if I want to use it for the winter. I've made a few bags, had lots of input from K, and doing a trial or 2 right now. I have a smaller flock so I made a few smaller bags to see if they're big enough.

I love the idea of just turning it inside out on a pole in the run for them to pick clean during the winter!

My first bags are barley and oats half and half. Sunflower will still be done on the kitchen counter as K says they mold in the bags and I don't have a prob. with them molding in the simple countertop sprouting method.

Here's Kassandra's bag sprouting for those that haven't seen it.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: She is such a pretty little thing!

Hoping the best for that eye

 

[aaggjg]

I'm trying Kassandra's burlap bag sprouting to see if I want to use it for the winter. I've made a few bags, had lots of input from K, and doing a trial or 2 right now. I have a smaller flock so I made a few smaller bags to see if they're big enough.

I love the idea of just turning it inside out on a pole in the run for them to pick clean during the winter!

My first bags are barley and oats half and half. Sunflower will still be done on the kitchen counter as K says they mold in the bags and I don't have a prob. with them molding in the simple countertop sprouting method.

Here's Kassandra's bag sprouting for those that haven't seen it.

I use paint strainer bags (I have no burlap & well NO sewing skills) .... Yep I had no idea that was a thing either!! You can buy them at any hardware store for those that do not know .... and they come in small & large. I hadn't thought about putting them out for the girls to pick clean!!! DUH!!!

I stopped using them as I hated pulling all the roots out ....

 

[aaggjg]

She is such a pretty little thing!

Hoping the best for that eye

The sad thing is she is usually a super friendly chicken who comes over to say hello and squats and always lets me pick her up ... NEVER runs .... but as you can see she seems to be one of those drop all your feathers in a few day molters... It was CRAZY how many were on the group after I treated her eye. Looked like I had a pillow fight in the yard... and from such a teeney wee chicken

 

[lalaland]

feeling a bit like pigpen, with a big cloud of bad things following me.

Jezebel, who had the hawk attack saturday, is doing fine.
mrs murphy is still ailing, but fighting for survival.

the expensive bag of organic mash has so much flax in it that the hens are refusing to eat it. at least, that is what I am attributing this to.

The interior hawk enclosure in the run seems to be no barrier at all to the chickens as they keep escaping into the larger run. I keep finding and correcting possible escape routes. Came home tonight in the rain to find one of the sulmtalers missing. did the search, in the rain, and by the light of my phone, no dice. went in the house, got a flashlight, and came back. rechecked the danged coop. recounted. its hard to miss the sulmtalers, they are big fluffy light colored girls.

went back out in the run in the rain. scanned each of the danged pine trees to see if she was roosting up in them. walked around the outside of the run. checked nearby pine trees, in the raspberry bushes, in the blackberry brambles.

went back to the coop and searched again.

back to the run. wait, I'm hearing something......well there she is, on top of the coop! had to haul the extension ladder out, manueover it around the fences and trees, and get it up and I got her. Learned something about sulmtalers, when you grab them, they scream so loudly that you think they must have a bullhorn in them.

happy I found her unhurt. I considered leaving her out as I'm sure she would fly down in the morning, but....I have owls, and she is so light colored and prominently roosting on the roof, and it was raining. She was pretty danged ungrateful.

 

[tsetse9]

Leslie--these are not silly questions!! For years I tried to impress upon members of my "team" to leave grass clippings on the lawn as it was better for the lawn. I, too, got arguments and/or condescending/pitying looks or blank stares. So I did my research and worked it into the conversations..."I read an article or saw a program about the uses for leaves, yard debris, etc...." After a few years, it FINALLY sunk in!

So funny, I have this same argument with my husband and he just will not buy it. He's so convincing though that even though I know better, I start to believe him. His point is that maybe a tiny bit would be good but more than that won't break down and will kill off our grass/weeds lol. I think I will never convince him.

 

[Gramma Chick]

back to the run. wait, I'm hearing something......well there she is, on top of the coop! had to haul the extension ladder out, manueover it around the fences and trees, and get it up and I got her. Learned something about sulmtalers, when you grab them, they scream so loudly that you think they must have a bullhorn in them.

happy I found her unhurt. I considered leaving her out as I'm sure she would fly down in the morning, but....I have owls, and she is so light colored and prominently roosting on the roof, and it was raining. She was pretty danged ungrateful.

she was probably asleep ...and you scared her .I had a baby roo do the same thing it was under our deck ...
crawled on my hands & knees to get him ...when I did get him he screamed in my ear for about 5 min ..then of course all the other 20 chickens went off .

ALLS well that ends WELL !

 

[AletaG]

feeling a bit like pigpen, with a big cloud of bad things following me.happy I found her unhurt. I considered leaving her out as I'm sure she would fly down in the morning, but....I have owls, and she is so light colored and prominently roosting on the roof, and it was raining. She was pretty danged ungrateful.

Stuff happens.

So funny, I have this same argument with my husband and he just will not buy it. He's so convincing though that even though I know better, I start to believe him. His point is that maybe a tiny bit would be good but more than that won't break down and will kill off our grass/weeds lol. I think I will never convince him.

I just said, well, if you WANT to PAY for nitrogen, fine, seems like a waste of the money you work so hard to make not to mention all your TIME, and your health carting those bags about. <eyelid flutter>...