The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[CoopChick719]

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 DH tried to tell me the same thing...it would kill the grass. He now mows 1 day then runs over it the next day after it has dried. Our lawn was just a field that DH's grandfather had tilled then threw down grass seed. Years ago, DH decided he would level the lawn by having his friend who sweeps the streets dump all the sweepings at our house then till it up & rake it out. Holy Moly did that stuff stink!! Yes, we picked glass & other various & sundry things out of it but it finally looks good.

He also cuts it high, not sure why - maybe it's healthier for the grass that way?

Chaos--It is healthier for the lawn. BTW Love the coop! It's wicked cute!!

I'm also trying to talk hubby into letting me turn part of our back lawn into a wild flower meadow, (perhaps put in a bee hive or 2) and part of the west lawn into an edible landscape planting, want to grow Siberian pea shrubs, bush cherries, and the like for chicken forage, and people snacking. It may take a few more years of subtle prodding to have my way here!!

Hey all does anyone have a chicken with a fear of concrete.

most years my dad did eat the majority of my candy. I got over it. LOL (and hoarded the pieces I wanted before I took it home. LOL)

My mother used to make us give her our candy bags before we went to bed. We realized why as we got older--our bags always felt a little lighter in the morning. We started hiding them under our pillows.

 

[delisha]

cement fear...sprinkle shavings on it.chicken fear change and they have no idea what it is..toss some BOSS or a treat they love into the shavings.


I am not sure what that boil is. I think it is an ingrown hair/feather that got infected. You need to ware gloves and scrub that out.It could make you ill too..so be careful. The blood will be good and help to clean it.. Pack it with NuStock and stick the bandage back on. You might have to do it a few times. If you see a feather inside that spot, pull it out, sometimes they curl in and cause that to happen. I am not positive that is what it is.
If this was my bird, I would bring her in the house, scrub her neck with a nail brush (with gloves on) and look at the spot. Try to determine where it came from and what it is. See if it is an infection or an injury or ingrown feather. I would remove any dead skin, remove any infection, pack the wound and stitch it closed.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Time to put the chickens away, just came home and I'm so tired.

 

[Jewelwing]

I'm also trying to talk hubby into letting me turn part of our back lawn into a wild flower meadow, (perhaps put in a bee hive or 2) and part of the west lawn into an edible landscape planting, want to grow Siberian pea shrubs, bush cherries, and the like for chicken forage, and people snacking. It may take a few more years of subtle prodding to have my way here!!

That's funny! When we lived in town, my DH spent years planting our front yard so that he would have to mow as little as possible! You can see the front lawn across the street in the first photo. Everyone else for blocks around had plain lawns with neatly trimmed bushes up by the house, with maybe some tulips in a little bed in the spring. People walking by would all assume I was responsible for all our flowers! I had nothing to do with it, except to tell DH I loved what he was doing. Everyone thought it must be a lot of work to maintain, but he said it took less time than mowing would have. The only reason there aren't dandelions in the pictures is that the lawn was just mowed - we didn't use chemicals of any kind in our yard.

Now that we live in the country, my DH is trying to plant lots of stuff like this, and we also have an area that we've dedicated to native Illinois prairie plants, so it's grasses and wildflowers and totally not cultivated. The chickens just found it recently, and now they love to forage in the tall dead grasses! Must be tons of seeds there, and bugs to find still, even though it's been cold.

We're thinking about doing bees too! I don't want them too near the house, though...

Chaos--It is healthier for the lawn. BTW Love the coop! It's wicked cute!!

My mother used to make us give her our candy bags before we went to bed. We realized why as we got older--our bags always felt a little lighter in the morning. We started hiding them under our pillows.

Thanks!

And I've always sneaked a bit of the kids' candy after they've gone to bed, but not so much that they'd notice. Plus, I got all the extra candy we didn't hand out!

One year when I was a kid, our dog (a Great Dane/St. Bernard X) ate my brother's and my candy while we were sleeping. That was horrible! She was big enough that the amount of chocolate didn't phase her, and apparently neither did the wrappers she ate. We were devastated. And she wasn't just kidding.

 

[chicalot]

My husband pulled this lil guy out of the bushes tonight after my lil dog cornered it. I was going to bring the dog in for bed but she was in hunt mode over this opossum. Didnt want to shoot at 10:30 at night so its caged in the back of the pickup and my lil dog decided to stay out all night to babysit it. Glad it was in the bushes and not the hen house! I'm pretty sure it was after my daughters luonhead bunny that I had caged on the porch after cleaning its big cage today.

I've made it to July of this thread..think of all the extra time I'll have when I get it read. It's only been a month or 2 from starting it. Lol

 

[Jewelwing]

No, but I have a dog that has a fear of linoleum or very shiny floors. It is legitimate--she fell on the kitchen floor when she was a puppy and hurt her eye (vet appt. & medicine required). She is so fearful that we have a carpet runner in the kitchen so she can get to the family room. If the carpet is not there, she walks halfway across then turns around & walks backwards until she reaches the carpet in the family room. It's the funniest thing to watch. We do tease her by making a beeping sound as she's backing up.

That sounds hilarious! Our dog fell down a friend's short flight of stairs when she was a puppy. She went dashing into their house and ran around like crazy and couldn't stop herself in time when she came to the stairs off the kitchen. Luckily there were only about 5 steps, so she didn't hurt herself. But now she won't do the stairs in our house, which is great because it gives the cats a way to escape from her! She will go up and down the 3 front steps (whew, or she'd never get out to potty!).

 

[Jewelwing]

My husband pulled this lil guy out of the bushes tonight after my lil dog cornered it. I was going to bring the dog in for bed but she was in hunt mode over this opossum. Didnt want to shoot at 10:30 at night so its caged in the back of the pickup and my lil dog decided to stay out all night to babysit it. Glad it was in the bushes and not the hen house! I'm pretty sure it was after my daughters luonhead bunny that I had caged on the porch after cleaning its big cage today.

I've made it to July of this thread..think of all the extra time I'll have when I get it read. It's only been a month or 2 from starting it. Lol

Awww! It's so cute!

Actually I really do like opossums, but I've never had one go after my animals so I'd probably feel differently about them then. My daughter thinks the markings on their faces makes them look like hearts. I think it's cool that they're North America's only marsupial. Years ago, I raised one up when its momma was killed by a car and a few of the babies survived. I was at the animal shelter when they were brought in, and this one had a broken leg so they were going to put it down. Instead, I took it home, wrapped the leg, gave it penicillin injections (the break was open), and gave it kitten milk replacer. It never, ever got used to me. Hissed at me every time I came close to bottle feed it. I just ignored the hissing, and as soon as it started drinking, it would settle down. And its leg healed!

But they better not get into the chicken coop!

 

[aaggjg]

cement fear...sprinkle shavings on it.chicken fear change and they have no idea what it is..toss some BOSS or a treat they love into the shavings.


I am not sure what that boil is. I think it is an ingrown hair/feather that got infected. You need to ware gloves and scrub that out.It could make you ill too..so be careful.  The blood will be good and help to clean it.. Pack it with NuStock and stick the bandage back on. You might have to do it a few times. If you see a feather inside that spot, pull it out, sometimes they curl in and cause that to happen. I am not positive that is what it is.
If this was my bird, I would bring her in the house, scrub her neck with a nail brush (with gloves on) and look at the spot. Try to determine where it came from and what it is. See if it is an infection or an injury or ingrown feather. I would remove any dead skin, remove any infection, pack the wound and stitch it closed.

I tried to do multi quote but I'm on my phone and it doesn't seem to like it.... So I'll just respond to all here

Thanks for all of the thoughts on the weird boil like thing. I asked what it felt like and she said she was so focused on getting it to stop bleeding thst she hadnt felt it. She said it appeared so quickly she wasn't sure it was an ingrown feather, but she didnt hear any commotion in the yard so she didnt think it was an attack .... It could be some kind of bite or sting that the chicken pecked at I guess?? It's not a wound from a roo as this is a small flock of urban chickens and there is no rooster. I'll pass on the suggestions and keep you posted on the hens progress. Thanks again for the help!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

How much weeding do you have to do in those? If you don't weed, is there a ground cover of some kind?

I've made it to July of this thread..think of all the extra time I'll have when I get it read. It's only been a month or 2 from starting it. Lol

Hello

You'll probably be done just in time to start working on the holidays!

In 2012 when I first had chickens here, I set out a trap in the spring. I caught 15 raccoons, 3 raccoon babies, and 3 possums! I figured it was going to be like that every year since they move back in when the territory is cleared. But so far, not a single critter this season.

When there was snow on the ground I watched for prints but none. I usually keep the trap out and bated with meat most of the spring/summer/fall just to be sure!

That's a good little dog you have! Glad he found the possum before he visited your chickens!

 

[ki4got]

cement fear...sprinkle shavings on it.chicken fear change and they have no idea what it is..toss some BOSS or a treat they love into the shavings.


I am not sure what that boil is. I think it is an ingrown hair/feather that got infected. You need to ware gloves and scrub that out.It could make you ill too..so be careful. The blood will be good and help to clean it.. Pack it with NuStock and stick the bandage back on. You might have to do it a few times. If you see a feather inside that spot, pull it out, sometimes they curl in and cause that to happen. I am not positive that is what it is.
If this was my bird, I would bring her in the house, scrub her neck with a nail brush (with gloves on) and look at the spot. Try to determine where it came from and what it is. See if it is an infection or an injury or ingrown feather. I would remove any dead skin, remove any infection, pack the wound and stitch it closed.

to make it easier to get to, you could also trim some of the feathers around it (snip, don't pluck) but that might encourage other birds to pick it more maybe.