The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

I see no pasty butt today..so the FF must be working on the fella. A few more days of watching close to make sure everyone is eating and drinking.
The shipped eggs seemed to be a bit more delayed. They sleep so much and do so much more falling over. maybe all that time in the egg made them a bit slow.

Anyone else hatch out shipped eggs?

 

[jockeyeba]

Oh my heck... seriously people....92 posts since this morning!  


Going to brew a cup of coffee....

I'm a nervous wreck, sent my oldest back to University for winter session, he just called from the dr. office... he has Mono....grrrrrrrr


I told him 3 hours a sleep a night isnot going to cut it... but what do I know?

Crazy isn't it, everytime I check my computer there's a ton more Hope your son gets well soon

 

[Bulldogma]

Remember the great score we found with the free chicken coop? Well, we brought it home today.

Hooray for the new coop! Looks like it has some good potential!!

I'm a nervous wreck, sent my oldest back to University for winter session, he just called from the dr. office... he has Mono....grrrrrrrr
I told him 3 hours a sleep a night isnot going to cut it... but what do I know?

Oh no! Poor guy - - and poor you. Is he going to wait it out at school or come home to recover??

My barnyard cockerel got the job done in less than 5 minutes including the wine and dinner before the special moment, reminded me of my X.

Dang it! There go the tears down my leg again!

 

[Kacey's Krazee's]

KK that is just so cool, Congrats and living in Texas at least you won't freeze your bottoms off while working on it.

Weather is relative to where you have been living. I am originally a Michigan girl, lived there for 45 years. Moved to Texas, and have been here almost 13 years. When I first moved here, that first winter.... I bragged again and again to folks back home, how I was sitting at the computer, window open, in shorts, tshirt and barefoot and it was November. Now, my blood has thinned out, and I don't do as much bragging at all. This 40 degree weather is just as cold as the 20 degree weather in Michigan. But, it certianly doesn't last nearly as long. I love the fact that I can be planting my 1st garden the end of Feb. In Mich, I was just getting my seed catalogs.. LOL

The coop, wrapped in a blue tarp, is my original coop, and we are either going to place these end to end, or side by side. All the fencing will be moved around, added to, including some tops to further protect them in the runs. My DH, now that we are more knowledgeable about what we need/want in our coop ( note the we !) hates the original one, due to size, and it's too short for him. He built it for me, and I don't have any issues with the height, even with DLM. I wanted a dirt floor, and still happy with that choice. The new coop has a floor, and is also really short. His imagination is going overboard on what to do with this. Feed storage, shelves, water, sink, table to handle the birds if first aid is needed.....

what a wonderful man he is..... most of the time!

Delisha... finally Congrats on the new babies. They are really so much fun to watch. I moved my broody back into the orignal coop, which we had already separated for a broody in the past, and it includes a separate run for them as well, so everyone can get themselves introduced to each other again.

 

[jockeyeba]

I sometimes laugh so hard tears run down my leg too..funny stuff.. It is even funnier in a store and you are a long way from the bathroom and can't stop laughing on the way. You feel like a 4 year old holding it and laughing as you run, purse swinging off your arm..reticules.. OK guys..last posting for a while.. I know you are sick of me bragging about the chicks..I mean showing the chicks. This is my first brooder set up..It is a cheap greenhouse I bought at a rummage sale for .50. It is old as dirt and it still works. I usually keep them in here for three days. These sable delights make my RIR chicks look almost yellow.

Oh my goodness they are so cute..

x2

 

[jendodd79]

Does anyone hatch chicks for fun to sell? I don't think where I live, it would be feasible - but I'm dying to! We can't keep any more hens and our town is just warming up to the idea of chickens. Everyone here who farms, raises their own. I miss the little fluffy butts

 

[Bulldogma]

Silly anecdote of the day...

I was watching out the front window for the school bus, and as it came down the road, I saw a reddish-brown flash from the corner of my eye.

My 9-year-old's bantam cochin rooster heard the bus coming and had run out to meet her right at the road as she got off the bus!

See, folks? This is why you don't want to let your kids baby their chickens... it apparently turns them into dogs! (The chickens - not the kids.)

 

[Kacey's Krazee's]

Does anyone hatch chicks for fun to sell? I don't think where I live, it would be feasible - but I'm dying to! We can't keep any more hens and our town is just warming up to the idea of chickens. Everyone here who farms, raises their own. I miss the little fluffy butts

Jendodd,
I would check on Craigslist, and see if you see how many others are listing chicks, eggs, pullets etc. The listings would cover more than just your town, and possibly surrounding areas

 

[armorfirelady]

Also.. I'm ashamed to say I've switched back to dry in this cold wave. At least for the birds that don't have heated bowls. I don't have the energy and time to scrape out the frozen bits, and it freezes in no time at all. My birds are really angry at me. They don't like it at all. No fights over the feeding station. 

Hopefully this -20F weather does not last. It's really hard on us humans doing the chores.

I'm not talking solely about the feed in their feeders, my buckets are freezing. Even in my heated closet

Aida have you thought of using the large heated buckets they have ? I have seen them at the feed store I go to. You could use the heated bucket as the bottom bucket for the FF?
https://www.google.com/search?q=lar...UoAQ&biw=768&bih=928#biv=i|3;d|rDMGaPxPVD4DKM:

 

[Mumsy]

I see no pasty butt today..so the FF must be working on the fella. A few more days of watching close to make sure everyone is eating and drinking.
The shipped eggs seemed to be a bit more delayed. They sleep so much and do so much more falling over. maybe all that time in the egg made them a bit slow.

Anyone else hatch out shipped eggs?

Yes. My BRIR eggs. The three babies were also slow to hatch but were more active than the Silkie chicks even though the Silkies were three days older. Now it's the opposite. The Silkie chicks are little wild things. Chasing, hopping,playing 'mine mine mine', and are chest bumping, little maniacs! The three brir are laid back, want to spend their time eating, and exploring the chick house inch by inch. The two groups are completely different in activity level at three weeks old. Totally opposite from three days old.