The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[ki4got]

about roosters and fertility:

I keep watching the eggs for the little white ring but am only finding little white dots - solid, not with a ring. WIth two roosters, wouldn't you think some of the eggs would be fertile?

I've read that fertility can be lessened in cold weather, and we continue to have nights in the -20's, and days of below zero weather...is that it? Or do I just have too roosters who aren't fertile?

I know the hens are being mated!

well, every egg I've set over the last few weeks, i'm getting about 1 out of 20 that's fertile... I think the cold is killing them before the bullseye has a chance to form.

 

[hellbender]

Whoa. From what I understand in that era that would have been a somewhat controversial combination

Or am I mistaken about that? (Sometimes I mix these things up.

Actually, while there were some intermingling (people being who they are..especially the young), the Irish were immigrants, forced there due to famine and were looked down upon, so the term 'Scots-Irish' generally refers an Irish person who lived in Scotland...and not very welcome at that. Hence, my Grand Pa's move to the WV mountains.


I think I'll post a pic of them taken in 1953. They were the folks that started our little chicken enterprise so I guess this is relevant enough. I suppose their 'heritage' is obvious enough...especially Grand Ma's.

 

[ki4got]

I was not aware that starlings would kill a chicken. Thanks so much for the heads up. Will do some target practice if I see such tendencies in my neighborhood.

target practice on starlings is legal, since it's a non-native species. same with pigeons and house sparrows... all European species.

 

[TeaChick]

I don't agree that advice from anyone else is better than yours just because you are a newb. Even the old timers can learn a thing or two.... we can each learn from each other! Everyone's individual practices are also affected by whether their chickens are pets (with benefits) or if they doing it on large scale... for me it is 6 chickens that I will have till they die.... hopefully not before their natural life is over...if I wasn't such an animal lover-- a couple of them would probably already be gone...

Well, thank you. =)
I agree that even old hats can learn from new ways. and everyone has to do what applies to their situation and practices best.

Yeah, I only have one chicken who's a pet; everyone else lives under the agreement that they either give me breakfast, protect my flock, or become my dinner.

I'm just curious, you said you'll have your 6 chickens for their entire lives; do you plan to continue having chickens beyond these? and what about chicken math, is there a way you control that or do you not/not have to?

 

[TeaChick]

The 'trick' is to keep the nests clean and filled with straw. If there's any residuals on the eggs, I just gently buff with one of those kitchen sponges with a rough side.

Those "residuals" are called poo-ticles. I don't remember who posted that originally, but I like it, so I thought I'd pass it on. =)

 

[ki4got]

ok here's a question for ya... I want to do a self-waterer for the brooders, but need to hang it so it doesn't get buried in the shavings.

any suggestions what I can use that's easily available? i'm thinking of using this type of water spigot not the normal nipple type.


the brooder height is my issue mostly, inside height above the shavings is maybe 14-16"

 

[TeaChick]

about roosters and fertility:

I keep watching the eggs for the little white ring but am only finding little white dots - solid, not with a ring. WIth two roosters, wouldn't you think some of the eggs would be fertile?

I've read that fertility can be lessened in cold weather, and we continue to have nights in the -20's, and days of below zero weather...is that it? Or do I just have too roosters who aren't fertile?

I know the hens are being mated!

I've read/heard that hens are actually more likely to lay fertilized eggs when there is only one rooster around. With two roosters (as I understand) there's more competition going on than there is egg fertilization going on.
If you can, you might think about separating the roosters, either split the hens in half or give the hens all to one roo and give the other a bachelor pen. That's just one idea; I'm sure there are others. =)

 

[TeaChick]

Maybe, maybe not. I was that same way, but I found that my babies' stuff did not bother me in the slightest.

Quote:
This.

And this.

I can't imagine how moms who don't breastfeed do it. I'm too lazy. It takes so much thought, effort, money, and time to do the formula thing. Breastfeeding is free and easy, and allows so much freedom! You can go anywhere for as long as you want with the baby and not have to give a thought to feeding it. When it's fussy, you can immediately try feeding it to see if that's the problem, without having to worry about wasting formula if the baby wasn't hungry after all. In the middle of the night you can immediately feed the baby without hardly waking up yourself, and you can both fall asleep while it's eating. The baby can monitor its food vs liquid intake, because the milk at the beginning of a feeding session is much more watery than later on (so a thirsty baby can ask for multiple short feeding sessions, while a hungrier one can have fewer, longer ones - don't worry, they let you know what they want!). The baby gets antibodies from the milk, so you don't have to worry so much about the baby getting sick from being around sick people - whatever your immune system is prepared for gets passed on to the baby. The milk composition also changes as the baby ages, so it's getting exactly what it needs when it needs it. The list goes on and on... And I haven't even touched on the benefits for the mom!

I also agree with the home made baby food, and like lazy gardener, I do things because it's easier! I just took whatever we were eating and blended it to a good baby consistency. Besides not having to buy baby food (that stuff is expensive, and also tasteless!), an added bonus is that your kids are used to eating what everyone else eats because the flavor is the same, so they're not nearly so picky when it's time for them to eat what the rest of the family is eating. Plus, you can ease them onto "real food" by not blending it so fine as sort of a halfway point.

OK, off my soapbox!!!

On the topic of choosing b/feeding v/s using bottles (and/or formula). I agree in general that b/feeding is better and easier for everyone. I had my first three children during my first five years of my marriage. I chose b/feeding with all of them, but the more babies I had, the shorter I b/fed them (#1-8 mos, til I got pregnant w/ #2; #2- 6 mos, and #3- 4 mos.) I stopped b/feeding my second and third when I did b/c I had sever PPD (postpartum depression) and was physically incapable of keeping the house (at all) and manufacturing food for the baby; it was infinitely easier on my body not to b/feed. I hate to say it, but I simply could not continue b/feeding them.
(Disclaimer: I b/fed #4 for 15 mos. until my fifth pregnancy ended)

 

[TeaChick]

Actually, while there were some intermingling (people being who they are..especially the young), the Irish were immigrants, forced there due to famine and were looked down upon, so the term 'Scots-Irish' generally refers an Irish person who lived in Scotland...and not very welcome at that. Hence, my Grand Pa's move to the WV mountains.


I think I'll post a pic of them taken in 1953. They were the folks that started our little chicken enterprise so I guess this is relevant enough. I suppose their 'heritage' is obvious enough...especially Grand Ma's.

handsome couple =)
I like old photos of couples; it's interesting to see how they sit, stand, etc together.

(although, sometimes, not so much)

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I have to agree. With many moms, nursing is the harder choice and sometimes not the right one. Cheaper, maybe, it depends on if the baby will nurse and if the mom needs to work. Lots of money gets spent when the natural milk has to be expressed, stored, and bottled. As for easier, for me,imo formula is way way easier. I have not used formula though but from the nursing experiences I have had, I don't see how formula could be anything but easier. As for nursing freeing up space in the diaper bag, that was not happening here as my water bottle took up tons of space and I was constantly thirsty. I ate more too when nursing. And wow people poke fun at the mood changes a pregnant lady goes through, those mood swings and cravings are nothing compared to the nursing mom's mood swings.
But when all goes well, when baby is a good nurser and mom enjoys it, nursing can be a wonderful experience. Like anything natural, there is an effort to get to the reward but the benefits are great.
And I have to say that when nursing is not happening, there are things besides formula to turn to, everything from natural herbs to prescriptions to goats milk to home made formula too. So if nursing is not right, it is not life ending like it used to be.