The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Gramma Chick]

Quote:
I use my dry grass clippings for the chicken run ...cheaper than straw ..also use dry leaves

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: She is a cutie
If you can figure out how to cover her head she will be quieter ...wrap up her head also maybe just expose the eye to work on it .

 

[MargaretYakoda]

OMG we just had a trick or treater! We NEVER have trick or treaters here! Especially after dark! But a couple weeks ago a little girl was riding her bike with her daddy and they stopped to warn my partner that our Brahma chicken had flown over the fence and was near the road. She insisted that her daddy stop at our house! I was sooo excited to have a trick or treater that I gave her four full handfuls of candy! I also told her she could wave hello to our chickens any time she likes! It was after they left that I thought I should have given dad a half dozen eggs too, LOL.

 

[Jewelwing]

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.

My husband says that if the clippings are in wet clumps, they will kill the grass underneath. But if they're spread pretty evenly, the grass will be fine. He also cuts it high, not sure why - maybe it's healthier for the grass that way?

 

[AletaG]

My husband says that if the clippings are in wet clumps, they will kill the grass underneath. But if they're spread pretty evenly, the grass will be fine. He also cuts it high, not sure why - maybe it's healthier for the grass that way?

#littleknownfact I used to work for a grass seed research facility with the USDA. One thing I learned is that the reason the industry liked you to cut your grass super short is so you are stuck re-seeding to keep it alive. If you cut it over 2" tall, you will rarely cut the growth point. They had my grandpa SO over a barrel... he'd cut his every week or more, and was constantly re-seeding, fertilizing, insecticiding, etc. etc. Cleanup of his garage was, um challenging, 'cause he had all these chemicals from 1952... It's true. But I only shared 'cause it's Halloween, and this is the Natural thread, so should cause a good shudder, eh?

 

[ki4got]

Quote: cutting the grass taller keeps it looking better, healthier, and keeps the weeds in check longer.

cutting it short, the weeds tend to sprout up faster making it look scraggly, and the weeds get more light so they grow faster.

also, according to a friend who works a sod farm, the roots go down only as long as the grass is tall, on average. so keeping it short means shallow root system that needs more water to stay healthy, while taller plants with deeper roots have more access to water under the surface

 

[lazy gardener]

.... but as you can see she seems to be one of those drop all your feathers in a few day molters...

I use my dry grass clippings for the chicken run ...cheaper than straw ..also use dry leaves

 

[Leahs Mom]

Another one of those "things"...
Someone posted this link in response to the problems that Lala is having w/her little girl. I had never heard of this parasite before (spirochetes) and maybe y'all haven't either. Thought I'd post a link here so you could learn about it. Seems to be spread through mites, fowl ticks, possibly lice. There are links in the thread also if you want to see what the Mercks's manual says.

I always feel that having a knowledge of these things is helpful. It often seems that folks think that everything is cocci and treat for it. But I'm always concerned about that because each drug given weakens the bird even more, making it harder to recover. And especially if treating for something that it isn't...you can go down a long path!


Anyhow..take a look:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...in-droppings-but-meds-dont-seem-to-be-working

 

[aoxa]

OMG we just had a trick or treater! We NEVER have trick or treaters here! Especially after dark! But a couple weeks ago a little girl was riding her bike with her daddy and they stopped to warn my partner that our Brahma chicken had flown over the fence and was near the road. She insisted that her daddy stop at our house! I was sooo excited to have a trick or treater that I gave her four full handfuls of candy! I also told her she could wave hello to our chickens any time she likes! It was after they left that I thought I should have given dad a half dozen eggs too, LOL.

Not a single one here. I didn't even buy candy. I would have handed out pop if the rare chance came up that a kid showed up. Nope.. I would have been excited too!

 

[delisha]

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 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.

Another one of those "things"...
Someone posted this link in response to the problems that Lala is having w/her little girl. I had never heard of this parasite before (spirochetes) and maybe y'all haven't either. Thought I'd post a link here so you could learn about it. Seems to be spread through mites, fowl ticks, possibly lice. There are links in the thread also if you want to see what the Mercks's manual says.

I always feel that having a knowledge of these things is helpful. It often seems that folks think that everything is cocci and treat for it. But I'm always concerned about that because each drug given weakens the bird even more, making it harder to recover. And especially if treating for something that it isn't...you can go down a long path!


Anyhow..take a look:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...in-droppings-but-meds-dont-seem-to-be-working

new one for me too..thanks

Quote: x2..we live on a busy highway..I am sure that is why no trick or treaters. I buy really good quality candy bars in hopes they don't come.