The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[zinia8]

For those of you like me who didn't know what Pysanka was.....(she even supplies the link)

Pysanky eggs are an easter tradition in our area. Local art club as a class every year before easter.

 I asked to be put  on a waiting list for Heritage RIR. March delivery of ten fourteen day old beauties. Possibly eighteen hatching eggs as well. If they are from the rare Ricky Bates line? Even better.  Very possibly I would have the only ones in Washington State. There are so few that raise these pure strains. It will give me a start to improve and keep them going in this corner of the world. Maybe even show again someday in a few years. Happy happy day! e

Congrats Mumsy
with all the talk lately of hatching and getting new chicks and new eggs being laid. I have chicken fever. I would love to have heritage breeds. I keep researching breeds and dreaming. Think I'll end getting hatchery birds to keep improving my husbandry skills until I feel like I am worthy.

 

[pigeonguy]

That's what my nephew says. We even have easter baskets for him to collect the eggs in.




After we collected our very first blue egg.

What kind of chicken laid that beautiful blue egg. It has such nice color.

 

[delisha]

I am sure that blue egg is a true americauna
The real kind ,hard to find kind

 

[texasmomma]

we need pictures!!
Congrats!
New laying birds peck at them sometimes. I have no idea why, I think its curiosity.

I took a couple with the good camera. Now I have to find the cord that goes from the camera to the computer. I have a hard time remembering things that aren't attached. It's a really good thing my head is attached.

My guess is that she was curious. Or maybe that darned Wyandotte got in there... I really don't like the Wyandotte. She will stay if she lays, now that she behaves. If she starts behaving poorly, we will eat her.

We had egg eaters here for a while, so I'm sort of paranoid about the pecking. I'm going to put some extra calcium out there, too.

 

[jendodd79]

Quote:
That is the camera my daughter has minus the lens. You say to replace the original lens with the EF 55-250.
I just want to make sure I get this right. The box says canon EOS Rebel T3 Deluxe kit EF-18-55MM IS 11 Kit.
aoxa Please tell me exactly what lens I want I do plan on getting it for her next month.


Just buying the lens isn't going to do the trick if she's photographing on auto without an understanding of photography. Your daughter has to understand about exposure to make the images look like Aoxa's. It's an expensive lens to purchase, so don't be hasty until you know for sure that she understands what to do with a lens like that. Said with the greatest respect

 

[delisha]

Quote: I am always looking for my purse that is usually attached to my arm, or my glasses setting on top of my head, I was looking for the pepper for dinner today and could not find it for 5 minutes.

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote:

Should I start pulling feed out of it tomorrow and just feeding them and keep a running batch?

It certainly won't hurt them to get only partially fermented feed, so I would go ahead and start feeding it! It takes between 2-3 days to get a really good ferment going, usually.

Agree w/ what BD said. Also...just soaking your feed is a good thing to do so, like she said, you can start feeding it right away if you want by taking a little out for them and replacing

Wanted to add one more thing - I also ferment with water level well above my feed like you describe. When you first start out you may have to add more water after a few hours as the feed soaks up more of the water over time. I keep the water above the feed because the fermentation process I'm using with the feed should be done as anaerobic as possible - meaning you want the item you're fermenting to be completely submerged under the liquid so that no air (anaerobic - without air) can get to the bulk of the feed. It's okay to stir it! It will settle down to the bottom under the water again and you'll have a layer of water on the top.

There are different kinds of fermentation processes but that's the kind that I find works best when I'm fermenting the feed and helps to keep unwanted molds and yeasts from proliferating while encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria.
X3 on BDM's suggestion to go ahead and feed your birds some of the FF now. And like L'sM said, just with being soaked even only 24 hrs it is still good for them, and more nutrients/beneficials are available for your birds from it that way rather than what they were getting from the boring ol' dry feed.

I also ferment with my ferment water level above the feed level, like L'sM does... it just makes me more comfortable as far as toxins/spoilage goes, and I feel like I am better in control of the possible bad mold growth (I have had neither issue, and I started in Oct and have not had to toss out any feed that went rancid/nasty). My buckets FF drain well when I separate them, so the extra water is no issue for me.... plus that's all the more active ferment liquid full of good cultures that I have to work with when I need to start another 2 bucket system!

 

[PeepsCA]

100% envious over here, I want blooooooo eggs!!!

 

[delisha]

Peeps,
Hows your Rotties with the poultry

 

[PeepsCA]

Peeps,
Hows your Rotties with the poultry

One of them is pefectly fine, cuz he is fat and lazy, and just way laid back lol, but the other one (they are brothers) has had an extreme anxiety/energy disorder since he was 10 wks old and was put on prednisone while dealing with a case of demodex mites for a couple months. He was never the same pup/dog, or even remotely like his awesome brother since that. He has killed about 20 of my birds in the past 7 yrs... including one very very precious Slate Turkey poult this past Fall. That broke my heart and almost ended that dog's life... but the ground was too dang hard to dig a hole deep enough to bury him and animal control wanted $85 to put him down. (That's a lotta poultry feed, so the dog lives, for now). I have worked and worked with that dang dog in and out of my coops, to no avail (even had him attached to me while I am in and out of my coops/pens all day... he needed constant correction, still does. He tries for a few minutes and knows he is not to make any movement towards the birds but loses it, and can't keep his focus on not wanting to kill/chase/attack. His prey drive is so concreted in who he is. If I am on top of him when he is around my poultry or they are around him, there are no deaths, but if I am not looking... dead birds, feathers everywhere. His days are numbered and he knows it, yet that does not curb his prey drive one bit. I bet that dog dies with feathers stuck in his teeth! I had to resort to a shock collar with him, just to divert his drive/attention focus off my birds if they are any where near the dog's 1/2 acres yard. Luckily he is a good watch dog... or a hole would be dug.

My other dogs all leave my birds alone (probably just from the amount of scolding the bad Rott has gotten over the years), and one Heeler will even herd them for me. I do not trust any of them when I am not around tho, I am completely gunshy from that dang Rott killing so many... plus IMO, a bird that is relaxed around/used to dogs is extra vulnerable to coyote loss... but my area is loaded with yotes, and I have never had a dog good enough at being an LGD to protect my flocks, so that's what my opinion is based on. That's why I got the donkey, lol.