The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

Everyone, this is Gatsby. He is my pick cockerel for the breeding pen. I think he is gorgeous. He has the rock type that I so need.

He is incredibly gorgeous, and all your hens look so healthy and beautiful!

 

[Kassaundra]

On the banding thing, I found something purely by accident. I had a foot bandaged up on one of my hens, she ripped her toenail off somehow and wouldn't let it heal she kept pecking at it (her own toe) Anyway I secured the dressing to her leg w/ duct tape, the dressing has long since fallen off (not needed anymore) anyway the duct tape formed a band that is there still, it has been in place for over 6 months (just never remembered to take the scissors down to the coop after dark to cut it off. Duct tape comes in all kind of fancy colors and patterns if you needed different ones for ID, and a role would last forever, if I had to band that is what I would do.

 

[aoxa]

He is incredibly gorgeous, and all your hens look so healthy and beautiful!

Thanks guys

Here are some pictures of the other birds in my flock, though the last photo shoot contained mostly pictures of Gatsby. I found him very easy to photograph

 

[TeaChick]

Oh, duct tape sounds good too.
I'll have to see which works better for me between duct tape and zip ties.

I like the speckled chickens and the Malays drake pics!

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
those flat metal ones are the wing bands... there are a few types, some you just push thru the skin others you use a tool to crimp them. but they go on chicks anywhere from a day old and up.

I tend to wing band my own chicks when they're a couple weeks old, because I can see where it needs to go much easier then.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Quote: :/

 

[TeaChick]

those flat metal ones are the wing bands...  there are a few types, some you just push thru the skin others you use a tool to crimp them. but they go on chicks anywhere from a day old and up. 

I tend to wing band my own chicks when they're a couple weeks old, because I can see where it needs to go much easier then.

That makes sense. I'll have to keep the wing bands in mind if my flock gets large enough for a lot of banding.

:/

Yeah, that's how I feel. I had to buy eggs this week.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Quote: Its painful to buy eggs when you should be getting the eggs from your own chickens, isn't it? I have been eating store bought eggs too.

 

[TeaChick]

yeah, I hate it!

 

[Jewelwing]

Its painful to buy eggs when you should be getting the eggs from your own chickens, isn't it? I have been eating store bought eggs too.

Luckily, I get my eggs from a woman who raises chickens (not free range in the sense that mine are, but still better than store bought - they have a coop and a run), but I'd sure like to just be eating the eggs my own chickens lay! So far, I've had four of those. One a day, so once all nine chickens start to lay, I should have plenty. Here are the ones I've gotten so far (besides the one "practice egg"), in the cool spiral egg holder I got for Christmas. I'm pretty sure they're all from Dina, one of my Welsummers.



These pictures are a bit misleading (OK, a LOT misleading) about the cleanliness of my kitchen counters. Actually, every square inch is taken up with clutter - I had to move stuff to clear off a space to take the pictures. I backed up and took a picture of the whole kitchen, but my husband begged me not to post it. Lets just say that if I did, you all would understand my username!