The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

The pullet I've been waiting on to start laying...is a cockerel.

I kind of needed her to start laying so I could hatch, but that's not going to happen. Oh, well.

Still waiting on Snoodle to start laying; IDK whether to get pullets or cockerels to put with her (I'm still holding out hope that she's a she, but I don't know.) I checked Snoodle's vent a couple months ago, it was tight and dry; when I checked it over a week ago, it was "open" and moist (not technically open, but kind of "open). Anyway, what does that mean?

How old is Snoodle? Usually what you're seeing is that they are getting ready to lay.

What a surprise on the cockerel! I have a policy when I have little kiddos....I don't bank on them being a pullet until I see an egg Even if they look like pullet and act like a pullet. The proof is in the egg.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Going back down in the negatives tonight with a high of about 9 tomorrow. Bad thing will be the wind chills tomorrow until noon will be around -20 to -30.

Starting to feel sorry for the animals.

 

[armorfirelady]

Going back down in the negatives tonight with a high of about 9 tomorrow.  Bad thing will be the wind chills tomorrow until noon will be around -20 to -30. 

Starting to feel sorry for the animals.

Polar vortex here as well. Currently it's 16 but suppose to drop below zero overnight. With the winds it's below zero already. I looked at the thermometer in the coop just now and it was 30 degrees in the coop. Guessing the DL must be doing its thing since my coop is not insulated in the least. At least after all the polar temps this winter we all know we have cold hearty chickens. Tho I am sure they are sick of the cold as well.

I put the suet outside to harden. Took less than an hour with the sun shining on it. I gave the girls a piece but it hardened to fast for them to peck at it. So I brought it back in the house & will try again when it's warmer. Eventu e frozen veggies I defrost are frozen again within an hour. Hard to give them greens when they freeze so quick.

But I did get 5 eggs today. At least their laying didn't slow down with this cold snap. I figured it would

 

[TeaChick]

How old is Snoodle? Usually what you're seeing is that they are getting ready to lay.

What a surprise on the cockerel! I have a policy when I have little kiddos....I don't bank on them being a pullet until I see an egg Even if they look like pullet and act like a pullet. The proof is in the egg.

Snoodle will be a year old in the middle of next month.

Yeah, I've learned my lesson. It may as well be a cockerel until it lays me an egg. =)

 

[Scott H]

Is she raising an eyebrow.....



Lord and master......

 

[Mrs Rebecca]

How long do you think it will take until Wile E. Coyote figures out there are chickens cooped up near the shed in the background?

 

[CoopChick719]

Indeed....I went the whole 9 yards. I actually started out very conservatively. It was a little more like a mullet that was too long in the front still

Then went back out an hour later and "had at it". I figured that if she was going to see she better see well, by golly.

I actually looked at the other girls which seem to have a bit of skin around the eyes. This kiddo has feathers very close to the actual eye...not as much space around them as the BRs or reds. So...I thought, what the heck.

I gave my Sizzle a haircut so she could see the RIRs who were bullying her. DH said I scalped her. She looked like a blue haired little old lady with perm.

OK..just so some are not confused....the poop is part of the deep litter..it is the gold part that makes it all work. If you are removing it you do not have deep litter. All those good microbes will take forever..like a few decades to get going. If you do not deep litter this is a great idea..It will keep a pretty clean coop.

I have been using DL for a while now. I did a full coop clean out after I found mites in October. Everything looks like it's breaking down nicely. I have no ammonia smell but I just read about Scald an inflammation of chickens legs due to wet bedding. My bedding is not wet. I kick dry stuff to cover the poops. I noticed some of my girls have a red streak on their legs. It does not look sore & does not seem to be bothering them. I'll try to get some pictures.

I'm spitting mad tonight. told y'all a week or so ago my cat knocked down an egg basket and took out 3 dozen eggs. tonight I come home, as soon as I open the door I am hit with the nustock smell - sure enough they managed to knock a jar of nustock off the shelf. broken glass, oil everywhere, oil stains on the floor and little nustock cat prints all over the danged house. and the smell!! gol dang it.

Oh lala, ewww! How did you get that out of your carpets?

 

[lazy gardener]

Coop chick: Re the red legs, I think what you are seeing is hyperpigmentation that builds up when a bird is not laying, but otherwise is getting good nutrition. Did they take a winter egg laying break? You'll notice when a chicken stops laying, that her legs and wattles/comb/facial red areas are a bit faded. Then, over time, her legs and wattles, comb, face increase their pigment. and the leg coloring can actually go past yellow into the orange/pinkish/reddish tints. Then when she starts laying, that pigment will gradually fade out again. Of course you notice this in the girls with the light colored legs. Not so much the slate and black legs.

Mrs Rebecca: I bet Wile E. Coyote already knows they're there, and he's just heading back to tell the family to expect KFC tonight.

 

[lalaland]

How long do you think it will take until Wile E. Coyote figures out there are chickens cooped up near the shed in the background?

Nice! and sorry to say my first reaction wasn't to the coyote but to bare ground! look, there is grass there! Here the wild turkeys and all sorts of birds congregrate on a tiny patch of bare ground on my driveway where the plow scraped down to dirt. they are digging away at it. Everywhere else, except that tiny spot, everywhere else - fields, roads- etc is covered in 3-5 feet of snow.

I take it you feel pretty good about your predartor security in your coop and run?

 

[lalaland]

I gave my Sizzle a haircut so she could see the RIRs who were bullying her. DH said I scalped her. She looked like a blue haired little old lady with perm.

I have been using DL for a while now. I did a full coop clean out after I found mites in October. Everything looks like it's breaking down nicely. I have no ammonia smell but I just read about Scald an inflammation of chickens legs due to wet bedding. My bedding is not wet. I kick dry stuff to cover the poops. I noticed some of my girls have a red streak on their legs. It does not look sore & does not seem to be bothering them. I'll try to get some pictures.

Oh lala, ewww! How did you get that out of your carpets?

luckily I'm not a carpet kind of person I have polished cement floors with radient heat. but the floors do stain with oil, so I have some very prominent oil stains in a pretty obvious area. oh well! thats what living is for. the rag rugs still reek of nustock, though, even after two washings with borax and soda.

I agree the red streak in the legs isn't a problem. I've always throught it was hormonal but can't remember the source of that info.

and Scott, that was a great pic with your dog and hen on the steps!

set the rat zapper last night but no takers. I slept in this morning so don't know if they stayed on the roost last night or not.