The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[zinia8]

Deer netting
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Deer-X-7-f...=202871745&ci_kw=&ci_gpa=pla&ci_src=298346236

 

[armorfirelady]

O

Shepherd hooks. That's a great idea!

Or if you have stakes around you can use those. Just put buckets on top of them to give more surface area to hold them up, I know their plastic but they aren't near food lol. Maybe old tennis balls on the stakes would work to it just depends on the size of the holes of the netting Eta... Fixed iPad autocorrects :/

 

[zinia8]

I posted this on FB, but figured I'd share here as well, since it cracks me up

GARGOYLE

 

[Jewelwing]

Have you guys seen this? It's super sweet.

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/what-a-blind-chicken-can-teach-us-about-humanity/

 

[MumsyII]

This is my first bird dropping dead off the roost over night. I would be interested on learning Stony's theory. That blood clot in his heart was the size of my thumb nail.

For hawk deterrent I cut down dozens of long bamboo canes out of my garden. I used long mylar ribbon and streamers from the dollar store and tied them to the ends of the poles. I then used zip ties to attach the poles to fencing and have them all through the orchard, potager garden and in every corner of every outside run. The slightest breeze gets them moving and the they reflect light and sparkle. Especially the ribbon that is silver.

I have posted this video before. This was June. All of the streamers, flags, and whirly gigs are still flying and doing a great job.

 

[delisha]

Mumsy,

Well it sure is baffling when you have one that simply drops off. It sounds like heart weakness of some sort. I have never done a biopsy of a heart and I am pretty lost when it comes to why it clots. Doing those autopsy are so important. You know it was not environmental and it was hereditary. Sorry of your loss..

Good to see you..!!

Thank you for the picture..I need to do a bit more around here to help with the darn hawks..I lost so many chicks this year it makes me sick.

Vicki

 

[mlowen]

First brown egg this morning!! Yay, Margarite. Yesterday, she was "nesting" where I found the egg this morning. 3 out of 5 laying, now. I don't know if the Rocks will really start before spring. One is pretty red in the comb but the other is still pale pink.

ETA: that's her in my avatar picture.

 

[lalaland]

First brown egg this morning!! Yay, Margarite. Yesterday, she was "nesting" where I found the egg this morning. 3 out of 5 laying, now. I don't know if the Rocks will really start before spring. One is pretty red in the comb but the other is still pale pink.

ETA: that's her in my avatar picture.

Hooray! first eggs are so wonderful. Here's to many many more!

 

[lalaland]

Nothing like a sick chicken to send you to read everything you can about all the zillions of kinds of ailments that can take a chicken down.

I am really liking the new hampshire extension fact sheets - very simple and clear, and no hysteria/doomsday predictions. for example, here is the one on internal parasites: http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000811_Rep844.pdf

They must have someone like Delisha on staff or maybe Vicki has a twin. After reading this one, I feel much better about my earlier decision not to worm the rest of my flock even though mrs murphy had a worm overload.

They clearly state that chickens have both worms and cocci and that these are only a problem when something else happens: too much stress, another kind of illness, etc - and even say they could be a positive factor in the chicken's health.

 

[mlowen]

A friend killed a deer on Saturday and gave me the heart & liver for "the girls." I cut the heart into chunks & threw it into my food processor. Did the same with the liver. But OMG so much blood!!! I'm guessing it's because the deer wasn't "bled" like butchered animals are. The heart ground up like hamburger but the liver turned into liquid. I poured it all into containers and froze them. I was wondering about feeding it, later on. Should I mix it with fermented feed, dry grains, scratch, or just give them little bowls of puréed liver?