The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

I ordered a garden sifter thingie that is supposed to come today or tomorrow to sift the lumps out of my ash. It usually has some various debris in there that needs sifting and I'm too unmotivated to make anything. Good timing I guess. I was looking at all of these on Amazon:

Ended up ordering the one that looks like a spring form pan as the folks that were reviewing it said it fit over the top of a bucket well.

I saw the first one & almost fell out of my chair.......I thought you had ordered a plastic sifter.

But it made me think of those plastic sand sifter you can buy cheap. I bet they would work real well. Or even one of those splatter covers attached to something to give it a lip. Mine is just a piece of screening attached to 4 pieces of scrap wood. Not pretty but it works. I had a whole tub full of ashes. Its about half full now but that's because I have been giving them a scoopful every week. I need to use less so I have enough to last me all spring & summer.

I am not a silkie lover but when they are babies they sure are cute

 

[Shan30]

Over two feet of snow and its still coming down! We haven't had this much since '96. I'm sooooooooo excited! The fence around the run it totally trashed and I just don't care! Ill deal with it later hahaha!

 

[ki4got]

Quote: doesn't matter how many generations of white on white... if a dominant mutation is in there, it's getting passed back and forth, and the only way you would know would be to outcross to a number of different 'easy' colors, like partridge or wheaten and see what happens. and some recessive mutations may take a couple generations of back crossing to show up.

white dorkings have shown to carry the barred gene. that's where the cuckoo dorking originated, when someone crossed a white and silver grey... they got barred silver greys the second generation.

 

[Leahs Mom]

The one single thing to give a hen for ailment is an egg.

Do you suggest raw or cooked?

I think we might be getting back to a cohesive group of 6 again....

Good to hear. It seems like a lot of us are dealing with this ailment! Cabin fever seems to bring it on.

Quote: Wellll.......

IF IT WAS plastic it would be okay 'cuz no one would be eating out of it

(And the green one is actually metal

I actually got it delivered today. Now I have to get the incentive to go out and sift ashes.

 

[delisha]

Quote: always raw..
Only time my birds have any thing cooked is if it is left overs..cooking removes to much.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: always raw..
Only time my birds have any thing cooked is if it is left overs..cooking removes to much.

She just slurped one down...isolated her and she ate it unlike the other day.

I do feel some hardness in the abdomen which does concern me. She has perked up a lot since last week and is eating well when I take out stuff for them and observe (which she wasn't last week). Does seem to be "brightening up" but not what I would consider normal.

OH..just for clarification, I only isolated her long enough to eat the egg so she didn't have competition. Then I let her back on the other side.

 

[armorfirelady]

Wellll.......

IF IT WAS plastic it would be okay 'cuz no one would be eating out of it

(And the green one is actually metal

I actually got it delivered today. Now I have to get the incentive to go out and sift ashes.

I couldn't resist

I suggest a warmer, non windy day. Of course no matter when I decide to sift the wood ash miraculously a breeze suddenly blows

I am usually covered head to toe with wood ash but at least I know I am mite & lice free

Quote: always raw..
Only time my birds have any thing cooked is if it is left overs..cooking removes to much.
Wow and see I always cook mine unless an egg breaks in the coop when I am gathering them. Hmmm I wont be cooking them anymore I guess. Tho when I do cook them I add coconut oil & garlic & herbs into them as I scramble them .

 

[Leahs Mom]

I've done scrambled cooked in a mixture of lard & coconut oil.

Strange story...I was out of eggs a few weeks ago and decided to get some at the farmer's market. I got a dz. from a "little old lady" that sells eggs and then I ended up going over to the other side and seeing some folks that were selling eggs that had been given non-gmo feed with NO SOY. I bought a dz of theirs too..and I've been feeding the other ones to the chickens. But since I don't know those chickens they were coming from I was cooking them. I put them shell and all into the blender to break up the shells then cooked them and they got the shell, egg and all.

 

[armorfirelady]

I've done scrambled cooked in a mixture of lard & coconut oil.

Strange story...I was out of eggs a few weeks ago and decided to get some at the farmer's market. I got a dz. from a "little old lady" that sells eggs and then I ended up going over to the other side and seeing some folks that were selling eggs that had been given non-gmo feed with NO SOY. I bought a dz of theirs too..and I've been feeding the other ones to the chickens. But since I don't know those chickens they were coming from I was cooking them. I put them shell and all into the blender to break up the shells then cooked them and they got the shell, egg and all.

I would of never thought to put them in the blender. I usually leave the egg shells in a bowl on the stove & they dry when I bake. Then I just crush them by hand into little pieces till I get a bowl full.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I normally do that with MY bird's egg shells 'cuz I don't mind them eating them raw. But since I didn't know the birds I thought cooking would be better.


I actually put my shells into quart canning jars after I crack them open. They sit on the window sill - quarts full or getting full of cracked in half egg shells. After they are dry I crush them with a wooden pestle type thing right in the jar.

Kind of looks like this thing: