The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[TeaChick]

Sorry to be totally random but... This morning I found an egg that was completely coated in blood. I see streaks on occasion and always figure a capillary broke and its no big deal, but this egg was really bloody. Any cause for concern? Everyone seemed fine... I was thinking I might be able to tell who's it is if I wash the blood off.

On a better note the water was not frozen this morning. Yay!

Snow is melting and daffodils and snowdrops are poking through

I'm sorry about the bloody egg. (that must sound funny to anyone on here from the UK lol) Anyway, I hope you find out what's going on; that would drive me crazy!!!

Yay for not frozen water!!!
and
Yay!!! for daffodils and snowdrops!!!

Spring is coming! Spring is coming!!!

 

[TeaChick]

Leah's mom here is my stair raisers that I am going to make step herb garden for the hens. I only got the leg supports on it & set wood on the stairs to give you an idea of my plan.

I still need to measure the length of the coop so I can have it fit across the end of the coop with a cutout where pop door is. It will be dual purpose then. Covered door with them having the whole length for shade/rain protection and grow herbs for the girls. Once I get the length I can make the herb boxes for on the the stairs. I am going to use the ion/tiger wood my friend got for free. It's insect & rot resistant so hopefully will last a long time. I will need to make covers for over the plants till they get big enough that the girls can't destroy them. Well not as fast at least

And I will need to put lattice wood at one end so the girls don't use the stairs as an escape route

This is great....if I only had a saw....anyway, on the topic of them destroying the herbs, I have two oregano plants, and one each of rosemary, thyme, spearmint, and aloe; IDK what all they eat, but I know they eat the oregano and the aloe, and I think they stay away from the rosemary altogether. Anyway, they hadn't destroyed my plants (there have been up to twelve chickens with access to them since last spring when we got them, and we got them as small plants from Home Depot and/or Lowe's). I hope that helps you out with something. =)
You might plant them in something else until they're large enough or you might try putting some of that lattice over them such that they're growing up through one of the holes, then the hens wouldn't be able to get to the lowest parts of the plants (thus, destroying the plants' ability to recover if it's over-pecked at some point).

Im new here Reading some post. Is there a school of thot to the life cycle of earthworm chickens and blackhead in turkeys. I understand that wild birds can be invectors⸮ANY advice plz

I don't know.

Does anyone have an answer for this????

 

[mlowen]

Red Ridge et al:
This was in my Mother Earth News email newsletter. I thought this group was a perfect place to ask.
Wanted: Reader Reports on Livestock Guardians
2/5/2014 12:00:00 AM
By Thaddeus Christian


Tags: livestock guardian, ldg, guard, predators

Do you have livestock guardians working for you? We're looking for reader reports on your steadfast sentinels, be they dogs, llamas, donkeys, geese, or any other attentive animals. What are the best guardians to protect chickens from hawks? Are any guard animals effective against snakes? Have you had to deal with bears? Tell us about your experiences with predators and protectors by sending an email to[email protected]. Pictures are welcome!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
@hotrodflash

Good!

How many times did you have to do the bath?
How long did you keep her in the bath each time?
How long did it take after the bath for the egg to pass?
Was there any recurrence?
How long has she been laying since the binding? (months/weeks/years, etc.)

 

[delisha]

I have been "out of the loop" for a while. My dad had a stroke and my mom has dementia so I have been living with mom while dad was hospitalized. I left my healthy chickens in my daughter's hands, no choice. Before I left, I had gone out to the coop fully prepared to do the 2 water bucket thing to treat for lice along with blow drying and keeping her inside for a day and was thrilled to see that Shirley's vent looked completely cleared up and no one had any lice casings on their feathers or lice that I could see. In addition, Charlie, my bantam roo, had had really red legs and some red on his feathered feet. I had treated them with Nustock and the red had finally disappeared. I had done this with the Nustock once before though and nothing had changed. So I have to wonder if the DE had anything to do with the improvement. I had used wood ash and dusted all my chickens to fight the lice they somehow got, then added another dusting bin and used both wood ash and finally, in desperation, opened the DE and added it to the new dusting bin. I didn't want to do that because some people have said that DE destroys the liter for composting by killing off the beneficial bacteria, but I only put it in the dusting bins. I'm hoping the liter can be used for my garden. So, again, through Divine intervention by God (I think) all my chickens looked great before I had to leave. Additionally, I have 5 hens and I'm getting an average of 3 eggs/day even in this very, very cold weather. I do not add light to keep them laying, but I do feed them well with fermented organic feed from Countryside Organics and always, always provide greens/sprouted BOSS. I even give them greek yogurt with blueberries. I am also adding fresh garlic to their feed.

Now I'm back home and Charlie's feet and legs are red again!! Does anyone know what's up with that? Has this happened to anyone else? He does not sleep on the roost in the coop. He sleeps in a nest box so I think his feet are covered by his body and it's not the cold, but I could be wrong. There are no lifting scales, so I don't think it's scaly mites. He walks o.k. and seems o.k. but I could tell they bothered him when I put the Nustock on him. He also seemed much livelier when they were back to their yellow color. He has also "attacked" both my husband and my daughter. My daughter is now scared of him and she absolutely loved him. However, she could have easily scared him somehow or made him mad because she pushes the hens away with her feet when she goes into the coop (so sort of kicking at them) which I'm very unhappy about. My husband admitted that he made weird noises and that's when Charlie spurred him. I always talk very sweetly to him and the girls when I go in and usually always have food/treats. I take great care not to startle him or the girls. So far he has not attacked me. Should I worry that he will?

Also, I wanted to ask those of you who are having problems with feather picking if your chickens are used to much more space? Mine are doing o.k. in their limited coop/run area which seems quite cramped now that they are full grown but I think it is only because they have spent their whole lives in this limited space for the most part so far. I left them in the tractor moving it through our backyard all summer and fall. They are used to being close to each other and are not feather picking or hurting each other. I've let them out in for a couple hours in the fall/earlier winter but began seeing vultures and hawks circling so I stopped that. I'm planning on building portable fencing system with netting once winter lets up. I don't think the hawks/vultures will ever let up and I'm not risking their lives. They seem content to dig through the deep liter in the run throughout the day.

Charlie is normal..males have red legs and feet during sexual peeks
his aggression to your daughter and husband is a no no. You need to train him to stop. give your daughter a stick and tell her to chase the rooster and gently guide the rooster around the yard with the stick by poking him with it in the rear. Tell her to keep it up till she is tired. Than have your husband do it. The objective it to guide the rooster in a specific space. make a goal space..like under a table or in a corner, or out of the barn etc.

Anyone need a great BLRW rooster? He is 20 weeks old but I need to rehome him.

Can I see a picture?

Has anyone ever had good success helping an "egg-bound" hen?
(Not egg broken inside.)

If so, could you please share your procedure and specific experience.

A sharp knife..
We both know this is the only way to help a chicken. All the other ways just prolong painful enduring problems and a life of misery. It is a chicken.

Quote: Did your eggs arrive?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Ok just need some opinions. Went out to feed girls after work & Stella looks very pale to me. She did lay today & was fine yesterday, the pics are not the best but she was looking for scratch and not in the mood to pose


They get meat weekly, yogurt & herbs & I haven't changed their feed. She did obviously dust bath today since when I grabbed her she fluffed dust. It looks like she missing some feathers on the top of her head. But that could be from big girls pecking at her when she tries to be first to eat.
ETA she has been laying straight thru the winter. So maybe she is taking her break?

Did she change in appearance from one day to the next?
Was she acting any different or just looking pale?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: It is supposed to be above freezing tomorrow. I will do my best to get a picture then. The BLRW are in with the ducks so the coop floor will look well bad. We are putting new chips down once a week when possible. Lately the weather in IN has been amazingly below freezing.

 

[TeaChick]

Oooh Ooooh Oooooh

Can we ALL come?

x2!!!!!!
Puh-leeeeeeeease??????????????????????????

Now, would I have to train (or have them trained) them to work together or do they do all this herding, not eating your livestock, and working together stuff by instinct?


I have several herding dogs. .. Belgian tervuren and border collies. Italian Maremma are a "livestock Guardian dog" - that is very different from a "herding dog". My herding dogs work "with me" as my partner when I need to work, move or sort sheep. They live in the house with me when not working.

The Maremma live with the livestock 24/7... they have never been to my house. They guard the poultry and sheep. While they do almost everything based on instinct, it is easy to ruin one from being a good lgd if you try to make it a pet. While they don't require a lot of training, they do require a little monitoring and guidance during their teenage months. Mostly it's the new lgd owners that require training... That's why finding a breeder who is willing to be a long term mentor is just as important as finding quality instinct.

My 5 month old puppy is working with an adult and is already backing her up, extremely bonded to the stock, and alternating sleep time. It's all instinct. He is so tightly bonded to his sheep that in the 10 acre Winter pasture he is never more than 20' from them. When he opened his eyes at 10 days old the first living thing he saw other than his mom and siblings was chickens and sheep. This is important. When I see lgd pups advertised and their picture is taken obviously in someone's living room, I cringe and run the other way. I don't need a dog bonded to me... I need one who is in love with chickens and sheep to the point where they will give their life protecting them.

I see. That makes sense. I never thought about a difference between a "herding" dog and a LGD, but the way you explained it makes total sense!!!
Thank you for the explanation. Should I ever be able to talk DH into getting a LGD (rather than a herding dog), I dearly hope that he agrees to seeking you out!!!

 

[armorfirelady]

Leah's mom she is acting like her goofy & bossy self. She was red yesterday. Her wattles are red just seems to be her comb and ears and around her eyes. Temps got to -3 last night but up to 27 today. But she has never had a problem before. She just looked very pale to me? No mites or lice I check weekly plus they get fresh ash every week and use almost daily. She looked like pig pen when she shook

 

[Leahs Mom]

Leah's mom she is acting like her goofy & bossy self. She was red yesterday. Her wattles are red just seems to be her comb and ears and around her eyes. Temps got to -3 last night but up to 27 today. But she has never had a problem before. She just looked very pale to me? No mites or lice I check weekly plus they get fresh ash every week and use almost daily. She looked like pig pen when she shook

I have one girl that has been pale ever since she decided to molt in December. Feathers are back but comb and wattle has never regained color. I'm also watching her but today she's not her feisty self.

Your girl has been laying? Or not started yet? What age is she?