The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aaggjg]

I have 3 silkie crosses: 2 silkie x ameraucanas and 1 sizzle. I think those 3 birds are the broodiest of my flock. The 2 ameraucanas silkies are never not broody.... I swear even when they are laying they are somehow sitting on a nest. The funny thing is their mom is 2 1/2 years old and never gone broody.

I've been thinking about the birds I hatched before I rehomed my boys.... I had 4 hens at the time so it was easy to ID chicks. Well, I just realized that my GLW who recently died, not one of her eggs hatched. She also used to often lay huge double Yolkers ....I wonder if these signs were due to a weaker genetic makeup?? She is also the one who started wheezing when I put the lavender in the coop!! Hmmmmm...

The other interesting thing I noticed, is that nugget, my bantam Cochin, hatched all boys. Every last one of them!! With 2 different roosters... So this got me to thinking is gender in chickens determined by the hen??? I need LM's thinking emoji

Has anyone noticed the same in their flocks???

 

[delisha]

I think this is the thread for my question, but I'm still not sure there isn't a better thread.

I just started keeping chickens this year and, in keeping with my endeavor to be as crunchy as my DH will let me be lol, I have been trying to keep things as natural as possible for them. I started out free ranging, but they didn't like the original coop, so I had to tempt them in there with "peep treats" every evening and then catch a few to put them in. When they got to be about six months old, I was told they should have already started laying, so I started cooping them for a few days at a time and letting them free range for a day. Then I had to change their feed. Then I built them a hen house (with roost and ground access, which the coop lacked). I cooped them there for a week and I got more eggs than I had been in the coop (I assume b/c of the increased light). I free ranged them one day and they didn't go into the hen house, so I grounded them for five days. Those five days was up this past Sunday (11-17-13); I've been free ranging them since and I've got them all going into the hen house.
Complaint: I'm not getting any eggs from my Jersey Giant, Bantam Cochin frizzle, and four gold Comets, and I'm getting one egg a day from my three white Leghorns.
Question: Is all the changing the reason I'm not getting eggs from my brown egg birds? Or do I need to go on an egg hunt?

The question I can't find a thread for is this:
I plan on my Jersey (at least) and hopefully my Cochin going broody this spring. I'll keep the hens and eat the cockrels.
Question: Is it okay for my to incorporate my new hens into the old flock with their dad? Or do I have to eat my rooster every year?

Chicken do not like change..they will be fine and as soon as they relax in the the new place and understand it is home they will get back to laying...It can take a month or more for some chickens. It is a defense.

Post some pictures of your set up and I might be able to give you more information..what type of nest boxes do you use?..how far are they off the ground?
No need to incorporate chicks. Let the hens hatch in the coop with all the rest of the birds..the baby's will have *flock* immunities and be part of the family.

Quote: All chickens stop laying when they are broody and during moult.
Father daughter and son mother breedings are good. Chickens are not the same as humans. Roosters are good to use for a few years. They start loose fertility after two years and it drops yearly after that. I replace roosters at two years and have coq au vin. Here is a good recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/coq-au-vin-recipe/index.html

Quote: Chickens do not have the same makeup in breeding that other animals have. If the birds carry the 5 toe gene, they could get it..not because of a birth defect of close breeding. Some genes need both parents to carry a copy for it to be generated and some only need one copy. Like combs for instance. If one parent is pea and one is straight, the chicks will carry both genes. They might all have straight combs, but carry the pea gene. It works the same for toes.

ok, keep in mind that I was a vegetarian for more than a decade. I still hardly ever purchase meat, maybe cook meat a few times a year.

I butchered 20 week old roosters last month.

I have a carcass in the freezer. It sat in the frig for a day and then went into the freezer. Now what?

Anyone have a sure fire simple way to cook the danged thing? I am hoping it will taste so good that I will want to do meaties next spring, but.....if I mess this up I possibly won't want to ever eat one of my chickens again. and if you are willing to make a suggestion, ummm....please don't assume I have a clue!

I have a simple good way to cook it.
Thaw it out
Toss it in a crock pot..add one can of beer and one teaspoon of salt. Cook for 6 hours on low. De bone it and laddle over vegetables.

(I always brine my birds in sour/butter/milk at least over night) unless I am crock potting.

Del, that is why I'm not incubating her eggs HAH! Imagine the hilarity that would be their chicks

lol..that looks like George on my Orpington ...

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I have 3 silkie crosses: 2 silkie x ameraucanas and 1 sizzle. I think those 3 birds are the broodiest of my flock. The 2 ameraucanas silkies are never not broody.... I swear even when they are laying they are somehow sitting on a nest. The funny thing is their mom is 2 1/2 years old and never gone broody.

I've been thinking about the birds I hatched before I rehomed my boys.... I had 4 hens at the time so it was easy to ID chicks. Well, I just realized that my GLW who recently died, not one of her eggs hatched. She also used to often lay huge double Yolkers ....I wonder if these signs were due to a weaker genetic makeup?? She is also the one who started wheezing when I put the lavender in the coop!! Hmmmmm...

The other interesting thing I noticed, is that nugget, my bantam Cochin, hatched all boys. Every last one of them!! With 2 different roosters... So this got me to thinking is gender in chickens determined by the hen??? I need LM's thinking emoji

Has anyone noticed the same in their flocks???

I have heard that the diet for a human can impact the gender of her baby. More the female diet but some tiny things in the male diet. Calcium overload is supposed to favor female babies while potassium in large amounts is supposed to favor male babies. Maybe the same works on chickens? Time to invent calcium treats for hens only, just to test the idea.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I have heard that the diet for a human can impact the gender of her baby. More the female diet but some tiny things in the male diet. Calcium overload is supposed to favor female babies while potassium in large amounts is supposed to favor male babies. Maybe the same works on chickens? Time to invent calcium treats for hens only, just to test the idea.

I've read ACV in the drinking water produces more females ...

 

[mlowen]

One of my leghorns has lost a bunch of feathers above and to the left side of her tail and has a wound. My first thought was "someone grabbed her by the tail." My coop/run is the one that's (literally) wrapped in 1/2 inch hardware cloth, so I really don't think anything got in there. I noticed her "sister," the other leghorn chasing the Barred Rocks & plucking out their downy rear feathers. They are on the bottom of the pecking order, but she seemed more interested in eating feathers than in showing who's boss. I give them animal protein (most recently deer liver) but not every day and not a whole lot. The leghorns are definitely the MOST interested in meat! Could she have hurt the other leghorn and need more protein? I'm adding pictures. I did bring her in and clean & Nustock the wound before I thought about pictures, so that adds to the "eww" of the pictures. She is acting just fine, eating, scratching. I also got some BlueKote and am going to spray her later this afternoon.


Chicken on top is the plucked one. Lower chicken is the other leghorn, to compare how feathered she was and where they came from.



Her vent seems to have no damage at all.

Opinions?

 

[Allysha1990]

Do you have any roosters? They could be trying to grab hold of her to mate her? Maybe give that a wash with some warm water to clear it up and look for bite marks?

 

[delisha]

One of my leghorns has lost a bunch of feathers above and to the left side of her tail and has a wound. My first thought was "someone grabbed her by the tail." My coop/run is the one that's (literally) wrapped in 1/2 inch hardware cloth, so I really don't think anything got in there. I noticed her "sister," the other leghorn chasing the Barred Rocks & plucking out their downy rear feathers. They are on the bottom of the pecking order, but she seemed more interested in eating feathers than in showing who's boss. I give them animal protein (most recently deer liver) but not every day and not a whole lot. The leghorns are definitely the MOST interested in meat! Could she have hurt the other leghorn and need more protein? I'm adding pictures. I did bring her in and clean & Nustock the wound before I thought about pictures, so that adds to the "eww" of the pictures. She is acting just fine, eating, scratching. I also got some BlueKote and am going to spray her later this afternoon.


Chicken on top is the plucked one. Lower chicken is the other leghorn, to compare how feathered she was and where they came from.



Her vent seems to have no damage at all.

Opinions?

Looks like northern fowl mite or feather problems..the other birds might be seeing crawling things and trying to help get them off.
NuStock it thick for a 10 days and reevaluate.

 

[TeaChick]

Try here for LF first https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/400344/heritage-large-fowl-thread for your Jersey Giants -
Bantam Cochins go https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/195235/cochin-thread - it seems very active.
It looks like BYC needs help with it's breed discussion "sticky note page" - Of course, since anyone can start a new thread, same topic any time, I think it is probably a windmill chase LOL.
Browse here for other possibilites...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/14/breeds-genetics-showing

You don't have to trade roos every year, just once they start being infertile. You really should sit your breeder friend down, ply him or her with good coffee, set a tape recorder nearby and pump them for information! It's more efficient, really! That's why I'm so excited to have made such a connection with a gentleman south of me that has been breeding single comb heritage, SOP bred RIR's. He's going to help me with pairings, working on traits such as laying and meat production, etc.
Have fun!

I don't remember if I replied to this; I may have done it on my phone, in which case I might not have quoted.
Anyway...
Thank you. I'll look at those threads; I have a JG and a BC, and they're the two hens I expect to go broody in the spring.

When do the become infertile? I guess that and life span goes by breed (and care, etc)
I appreciate the advice; my friend has been helping me all along. She talked me through getting one of my new hens better. We figure she caught (or got into) something that my original flock was immune to b/c they were raised here and the roos from her weren't laying, so the two laying hens were the only ones who got sick (I lost one of them, the other she taught me how to get better and she's my brood hen).
Thanks! You have fun too!

 

[TeaChick]

If they stop feeding them the coons will become better of hunters before starving. I vote for the trap and dispose method. If you are good at it, you can make those hats for children like Boone or Crockett wear in the movies.

I like the hat idea! Make money off those egg thieves!!!

 

[TeaChick]

ok, keep in mind that I was a vegetarian for more than a decade. I still hardly ever purchase meat, maybe cook meat a few times a year.

I butchered 20 week old roosters last month.

I have a carcass in the freezer. It sat in the frig for a day and then went into the freezer. Now what?

Anyone have a sure fire simple way to cook the danged thing? I am hoping it will taste so good that I will want to do meaties next spring, but.....if I mess this up I possibly won't want to ever eat one of my chickens again. and if you are willing to make a suggestion, ummm....please don't assume I have a clue!

We usually roast whole chickens {coat outside with oil, season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, sage, paprika, etc.; roast at about 350` for 20 min per pound}
You can cut them up and make
Chicken Catchatori (sp) {chicken pieces in spaghetti sauce, served over "stick" pasta, top with Parmasan cheese if you want}.
Country Captain {Middle Eastern chicken pieces in tomato based sauce with cumin, cinnamon, other spices, salt/pepper, onions, garlic, and raisins; serve over rice or noodles}

If you have a Joy of Cooking, check that out; if not, I recommend getting one. The more recent editions are better than the older ones.