The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[SallyinIndiana]

My coop was surrounded by over a ft of water this last summer till november due to 75 yr rain! we brought in 10 yds of sand, filled over 60 sand bags to put around the coop and 1 1/2 ft sand in coop to get above water level. we put milk crates to dry land for hens to get out and range, but that stopped when bear and cub showed up about 4 months ago and got 5 hens that day. We got a rescue dog the next day and the poor birds were in coop with time out in afternoons when dog was in till hawk got another. down to 7 and they are now out of water and run is dry. water was never this high except for maybe 75 yrs ago! 3 months after our old dog died last feb, a bob cat came around almost every sunday for dinner, covered run and then the bear. luckily here in fla, I have a large garden, so they get plenty of greens in their large run everyday. I had to go 45 miles to get a pair of boots, everyone around here was out! hope not to have another rainy season like that for another 75 yrs.

At least our water spots go down for a day or more before the next rain most of the year. And during the summer we get a dry period when it is illegal to burn. That is when the mud in the run is all gone.

 

[delisha]

Are there any great deals on the ecoglow brooder out there or is there a sale season for it? I'm thinking the one for 20 chicks is what I would be interested in most as the other one is quite large.

Maybe someone on here has upgrated to the large on and wants to sell their smaller one?

coupon code
whisper

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
On the Brinsea website?

How much off?

 

[delisha]

I have been having a minor sparrow issue that turned into a major sparrow issue while I was away for a few weeks on honeymoon. I am rebuilding my run to permanently solve the problem. But, since I have been back my older leghorn (4+ years) is looking not so great and I am considering worming all 6 birds as I know I have had a biosecurity issue. I haven't actually seen in worms in their poop so I also feel concerned about treating for something they may not have?

Do you worm? What to you use?

Please consider taking a sample into the vets office for testing. Worming a perfectly healthy chicken who naturally has a good ballence of a worm load can cause the whole system to deteriorate. The weak worms are killed and the surviving worms get stronger and mutate so they are harder to remove. Keeping a ballence is what is needed and know your birds and what your area can support for worm levels...some areas are heavly loaded with worms and preventative measure will never work. Over crowding and bad nutrition will never allow some birds to build a natural defense.
Test your birds, talk to your vet. If you do not have confidence in your vet..find someone who can help you at your local feed mill. They know your area and the problems you face with your land, weather, and number of poultry you have.

I just asked my mother about this. My grandparents sold eggs back during the depression. Mom said grandma used a soft steel wool and would lightly rub the dirty ones. She never washed them.

Same here..i only use nylon scrubbies to knock off thee big chunks..lol
Actually my eggs are very clean. I collect 3-4 times a day. Most of them are still warm. It is too cold here to let them sit in the nest. Besides i test for fertility often this time of year.

I find this a bit confusing. I understand that the bloom protects the egg from possible bacteria etc. from passing through the porus shell. Now if the egg is washed and stored in a fridge in a clean container it seems unlikely to me that any dangerous bacteria would be present or able to grow. If the egg was unwashed, sanded or scrubbed, isn't it far more possible for pooticules (yes particles of feces) to fall off the shell and into the food while cracking the egg?

Purely curious, I eat unwashed eggs all the time haha! Pooticules and all! But I do wash what I sell.

Ever hear of salmonella in eggs?
Most of it comes from eggs washed. Salmonella, a type of bacteria, is transmitted to eggs through infected chickens, whose environment is easily contaminated by carriers like rodents, birds and flies. The 200,000 reports of egg salmonella come from store bought eggs. Ever see someone in a grocery store open an egg carton and touch the eggs? How many people do that each and every day? Those eggs have been sitting for a month in most cases.
Most salmonella is not created in the first week of an eggs life. It grows when the older egg sets in too warm of weather or on a truck during transport.

Quote: We get our mud during fast defrost..like in late March. I empty my coops than. I use it for mud abatement.

 

[lalaland]

all these years of chickens, and always had a coop area that was only for chickens. No where to hide a nest - just nest boxes and roosts. Now that I converted the storage half of the coop into chicken territory last spring for the new chicks, I have some stuff still stored there (pails, tools, etc).

Today, I found my very first hidden nest behind a door with 10 eggs, including eggs from two new layers - I can tell because of the colors. And one of them is a blue/green egg. can't wait to crack it open and see if it is americauna or an ee. (thanks for teaching me that Delisha)

My dad has been in the hospital and things have been a bit crazy, I noticed the last two days I wasn't getting as many eggs as I expected....now I know why.

The funniest part about it is that the big fluffly sulmtalers were laying there, so they had to s-q-u-e-e-z-e thru a really narrow opening to get to the nest.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
On the Brinsea website?

How much off?

$6 -$7 When I tried it.
But I was just linked on another thread to premier one. Turns out they have a similar product for cheaper. Not sure if the cover is needed or not. If the cover is need the savings is very little compared to using the above discount code.

 

[chicalot]

$6 -$7 When I tried it.

But I was just linked on another thread to premier one.  Turns out they have a similar product for cheaper.  Not sure if the cover is needed or not.  If the cover is need the savings is very little compared to using the above discount code.

I wonder if you can use more than one. If so The Chicken Chick is a code for 10% off. Might have to Google the site for the exact code as its case sensitive. I think 10%.. could be less

 

[ki4got]

Today, I found my very first hidden nest behind a door with 10 eggs, including eggs from two new layers - I can tell because of the colors. And one of them is a blue/green egg. can't wait to crack it open and see if it is americauna or an ee. (thanks for teaching me that Delisha)

ok I missed something. there's a difference between ee and ameraucana eggs?

 

[aoxa]

I'm all used to the warm temps of this January thaw. I am going to hate going back.. :S

 

[lalaland]

ok I missed something. there's a difference between ee and ameraucana eggs?

If I understood Delisha right, an EE will have a white interior shell, and the Ameraucana has the same color all the way through the shell.

I have that batch of chicks that were mixed up by the hatcher and am totally uncertain about what kind of pullets I have - still! Been waiting for POL to see if that gives me more info.