The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

love that you have the emergency "nana crack" for your mom!


be safe if you or Susan have to drive tomorrow....

If it is bad, I'm calling in a snow day.

6 years ago I had an accident in my driveway from similar conditions. I backed out of my garage and put on my brakes so I was going slow, but it was pure ice. I slid right into my landlord's car and did $900 in damages.

I still think it's her fault. She was supposed to shovel and keep up with salt and sand, but I still had to pay out of pocket

 

[chicalot]

Dropped from 55F to -5F lastnight after raining, so several of my hens were still damp during the drop. Most are still in the coop today. My little EE is on the roost visibly shivering. She's also molting. That's theonly one that worries me. I chopped up boiled eggs for them. I know she won't drink today if I don't take water to the coop, so I'll have to make several trips out. There's a heated waterer in the run but she wont go to it. Should I be concerned or is this pretty typical? The wind chill I think is around -28. I think she'd already be a goner in some of y'alls weather!

 

[TeaChick]

Ours stare us into obedience ...

I'm a SAHM too, and right now the emergency at our house is high fevers and strep throat! The weekend after Christmas it was the stomach bug! Not fun!

Oh, no!!! I'm so sorry!!! That's hard when everybody's sick.

Hope you all feel better soon!!! =)

Very true but we get extra chicken watching time in the good weather.

That's true!

My youngest has decided that he is a wildlife specialist (b/c he saw a man rescuing some birds in the Publix sign on day and I let him talk to him.) =)
He really likes helping me take care of the chickens. He's smart, but he'll be more physical help when he's taller and stronger. lol

 

[Leahs Mom]

@chicalot
I know some folks that would bring a bird inside if they were in that condition. I may just be one of them but I've never had to decide that before.

The fact that she's molting and was wet too would weigh a lot to me. Especially if she were by herself shivering. Yep. This hard-stance, no heat in the coop person would probably bring her in and a buddy with her.

The other consideration, however, is that once she's in, you may need to keep her in for a long time depending on when your weather warms up enough to put her back out without total shock to the system. I probably wouldn't re-introduce her out until it was closer to 30 degrees.

Unless...you have some kind of "half-way" area where you could keep the temps warmer but not as warm as indoor temps - say around 25-30 like in a garage or enclosed porch...then it wouldn't be such a shock to the system to re-introduce her (them) to the cold.

All this is just an opinion and should be taken as such

 

[mlowen]

I tried putting out a "dust bath" for my girls. I went to the big box store, and bought one of those multipurpose mixing tubs. I wanted something big enough for several to fit in it together. And heavy enough that it wouldn't tip over when the stepped on it. But they wouldn't use it. I'm wondering if it's because it's black...? (They don't seem to like anything black) They'd rather dig a hole in the run and bathe in it. It's funny to watch them! Gives a whole new meaning to community bathing lol

I have a "clear" under-bed box for my hens' dust bath and I have never seen a single one bathe in it. I see them often bathing in the little "pits" they dig in the coop & run floors. So I just gave up and put wood ash in the depressions as I find them & have ash.

 

[Leahs Mom]

A question for ye that have had way more birds than I have...

Background:
I have 9 adults (8 ladies and 1 rooster)
3 17 week olds

I have the 17 week olds locked on the brooding half of the shed as the olders chase them outside and won't let them back in. I started doing this when the weather was in the teens during the days, but occasionally when it's warmer the door between the sides gets opened when it's not too cold if they get stuck outside.

On the adult side, the 2 youngest birds have trouble getting food and water, but one mainly wants to stay on the roosts and not "fight it out" with the others; the other girl will scrap and eat, although she doesn't get free access to water. Whenever these 2 go to get water, one of the older birds will chase them away from it just for spite. I do make sure they get both food and water in other creative ways.

Now here is what I'm considering. What do you think?
I'm considering moving the girl that doesn't "scrap" over with the 17 week olds. She is usually somewhat civil to them and they just avoid her if needed. But she doesn't usually chase them around and attack them like the other lower girl does.

I'm wondering if moving her over there would be a total "disgrace" in the chicken hierarchy and take away whatever standing she does have with the older flock.

None of this will matter if it was summer.

 

[aoxa]

A question for ye that have had way more birds than I have...

Background:
I have 9 adults (8 ladies and 1 rooster)
3 17 week olds

I have the 17 week olds locked on the brooding half of the shed as the olders chase them outside and won't let them back in. I started doing this when the weather was in the teens during the days, but occasionally when it's warmer the door between the sides gets opened when it's not too cold if they get stuck outside.

On the adult side, the 2 youngest birds have trouble getting food and water, but one mainly wants to stay on the roosts and not "fight it out" with the others; the other girl will scrap and eat, although she doesn't get free access to water. Whenever these 2 go to get water, one of the older birds will chase them away from it just for spite. I do make sure they get both food and water in other creative ways.

Now here is what I'm considering. What do you think?
I'm considering moving the girl that doesn't "scrap" over with the 17 week olds. She is usually somewhat civil to them and they just avoid her if needed. But she doesn't usually chase them around and attack them like the other lower girl does.

I'm wondering if moving her over there would be a total "disgrace" in the chicken hierarchy and take away whatever standing she does have with the older flock.

None of this will matter if it was summer.

What about your boy? Is he good with them?

He'd be your best bet for integration.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I have a "clear" under-bed box for my hens' dust bath and I have never seen a single one bathe in it. I see them often bathing in the little "pits" they dig in the coop & run floors. So I just gave up and put wood ash in the depressions as I find them & have ash.

Same here. I built a nice big box in the corner of my coop. I filled it with wood ash, peat moss, sand, dust, etc. I keep it poo-free and fluffed up. I call it "the standing box." At any given time there will be someone standing in it, sometimes several of someones. Where do they dust bathe? Anywhere else. They love the deep litter. And when it isn't too wet outside they love the loose soil in the pasture. They especially love any place sunny.

 

[TeaChick]

Hi

.
What are some cool plants and natural extras that I can put in my chickens feed for increased health?

From what I've learned on here, oregano, garlic, onion, those are all good. spinach and other greens.
Mine get romaine lettuce, celery, carrots, etc. other kitchen scraps.

I love Mother Earth News (have been a subsciber for years), and I had read about Salmonella being rampant in store-bought meat and eggs a few years ago (less so in our much less stressed chickens!). But I really don't like the phrase "genetically lodged in the ovaries." I tried to find out what the author might mean by that, and I couldn't find any other article using that phrase or any definition of it. I did find that same author, Stephen Harrod Buhner, said the exact same quote in the book he published in 2002, "The Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines for Life on Earth." So I don't know, but it strikes me that he's trying to be intentionally alarming by his wording. Which is totally unnecessary, because what we've done to our food is alarming enough even with the nicest of phrases!


Ours was the same way this morning, and that's what I did too, figuring it would be good to let the coop air out before the door has to be closed up against the bitter cold and the girls have to stay inside for a few days! They were scared by the open people door, though!

Well, you can enjoy that image some more, because that's exactly what happens when I hold the flashlight in my mouth! I do have a head lamp, but the battery ran out, and lazy me finds it easier to hold a flashlight in my mouth than figure out how to replace the headlamp battery!

LOL Yeah, I KWYM. I don't replace batteries or anything, just do without until DH does it b/c he doesn't wanna see me do without anymore. lol


I think that's an excellent guess! But it sure would be nice to have the author explain exactly what he meant by that phrase, since it's not a standard scientific one. I think he made it up!

I think you're right! =D

Brrrrrrr state of emergency here..I have done all I can do other than haul all the chickens in the house. i am so not doing that. I have set up fire wood and will light the pot belly stove if i see the chickens suffering or failing from the cold. I have never had a chicken fail or die from cold. I really do not want to start. I did bring the 5 week old chicks in the house. It is -20 inside of the coop and that is asking a bit much for such young chicks. Joe made me bring them in. I did want to see how strong they really are and how well the coop is built. Everyone acts perfectly fine and looks really good. I have not seen shivering or stressed or excessively puffed up birds tonight. Tomorrow morning will let me know how they fared such a cold night. We have not had these temperatures in over 20 years.

It's not nearly that cold here, but it is colder than it's been in over 20 years here too.
My DH has been asking about our chickens with forecast low tomorrow morning of 19*F. I tell him about how cold it is where you live and that our chickens have it easy here.
I don't envy you one bit!!!

 

[TeaChick]

I tried putting out a "dust bath" for my girls. I went to the big box store, and bought one of those multipurpose mixing tubs. I wanted something big enough for several to fit in it together. And heavy enough that it wouldn't tip over when the stepped on it. But they wouldn't use it. I'm wondering if it's because it's black...? (They don't seem to like anything black) They'd rather dig a hole in the run and bathe in it. It's funny to watch them! Gives a whole new meaning to community bathing lol

Our cold snap has passed and it's going up to 50 today!

I agree with LM.
We should all come to your place for a beach party!!!