The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

@armorfirelady

I was trying to put up a barrier yesterday using my step in fence stakes in the kennel run. It has deep litter and it was still solidly frozen enough that I couldn't step in the stake!!!!!

 

[delisha]

Quote:

Wait delisha, what no puppy report?

lol..she is cute and out with the chickens..I am trying to spend the least amout of time out in that coop as I can. it is hard at best to put a pup in a coop and leave it. It is a working dog and NOT a pet. I have not even taken the time to take picture. When the snow melts i will start spending more time with her and take pictures. She has two buddies that share her food and she seems to think it is funny. She does not charge them..yet. I am flying by the seat of my pants and hope she has a ton of natural instinct since I am pretty ignorant about that I am doing. These first few weeks I am trying to get her to bond with the chickens since she never had an opportunity to do much of that when it was critical..

RIP My American Game hen Silver
3/10/2011-3/17/2014

I apologize if I type anything that will cause you any more pain..I want to use this as an example for people and in no means is meant to cause hard feelings..please forgive

Please understand where I am trying to come from.
I want to go over a few things as a reminder and use this situation of why this particular forum was designed....
People ask for help and are desperate for help. They are usually willing to try anything to save a bird.

We have a bird that is suffering and many want to help not only the bird, but the person who is desperate..I understand that..we should make suggestions and help. Natural suggestion and prevention ...so hopefully does not happen again.
We need to go back to the roots of this forum..to suggest natural methods and prevention..not drugs. Giving drugs solves nothing. It does not help to understand the whys and the prevention.

Penicillin and other drugs should never ever be suggested..for others to use....ever.... on this forum ..not even if you are a Vet... If the person wants to use drugs they can go to other forums to ask what drug to use, or ask in private...There is nothing wrong with going to other forums and asking for additional help. There is nothing wrong with each person making a choice to give your own birds drugs. This forum is for prevention and natural suggestions.

If this bird was given drugs it no longer has a use anymore. If its death was done naturally before any type of infection set in with out drugs, it could be processed and given back to the birds/dogs/people so it death would have a purpose.

 

[RedRidge]

My mentor once told me... And these words have so much meaning...
"Your best bird is always alive"
He once said it pained him to hear people say, "my best bird just died."

He said, "no, if it was your best, it would still be alive"

Truly words to live by. ;-)

 

[lalaland]

delisha and redridge,

very good points. It is hard....but I am slowly learning that it is better to put the effort into prevention and less on the trying to "save" a bird. Now, that doesn't go for me for injuries/frostbite/etc, but for the eggbinding, the worms, the failure to thrive....yeah, its a bitter pill but better to build on the front end.

still struggling to figure out not overfeeding. will be soo much easier when it isn't freezing as the food freezes before 15 minutes lol.

 

[misbhaven]

I have chicks hatching right now !!! moved the ckicks into there own little drying basket away from the eggs that have not even internally pipped yet i may have to help one i candled it and it's head is at the wrong end

 

[Leahs Mom]

I just saw something wonderful!

1 hawk, 3 crows. In the air. The 3 crows were surrounding it and one of them actually took a hit on the hawk.

I've seem them chase hawks before but never an all-out physical attack. I was rooting for the crows.

 

[Sally8]

My mentor once told me... And these words have so much meaning...
"Your best bird is always alive"
He once said it pained him to hear people say, "my best bird just died."

He said, "no, if it was your best, it would still be alive"

Truly words to live by. ;-)

So very true!

I just saw something wonderful!

1 hawk, 3 crows. In the air. The 3 crows were surrounding it and one of them actually took a hit on the hawk.

I've seem them chase hawks before but never an all-out physical attack. I was rooting for the crows.

We always have crows, about 7, in the trees, in the chicken yard, in our yard, everywhere. Until we got chickens, we had hawks everywhere, same thing, roosting in trees, I still see them soaring as I drive up our country road. But never here. No longer in trees. I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it myself. Unfortunately, crows eat a lot and unseed my garden every year.

 

[armorfirelady]

@armorfirelady


I was trying to put up a barrier yesterday using my step in fence stakes in the kennel run.  It has deep litter and it was still solidly frozen enough that I couldn't step in the stake!!!!!

Yeah I know it will still be awhile before I get the netting in but I did get my outside sump pump connected to garden hose and draining the water from around the coop. Hopefully it will mean the ground will be drier earlier than June that poor thing is going to be running for days there is a lot of water esp since it made it up to 57 today so the snow is melting. Wooho !!!

I also put a tarp over the coop. When it trainers water seeps through the old coop. Hopefully it works until it warms up for a few days so I can get new billboard on coop

Girls were happily outside all day soaking up the sun and doing a great job of turning the garden. I might throw some seeds out & see if something grows for them

My mentor once told me... And these words have so much meaning...
"Your best bird is always alive"
He once said it pained him to hear people say, "my best bird just died."

He said, "no, if it was your best, it would still be alive"

Truly words to live by. ;-)

Great words to live by

 

[flagirl]

Kassaundra-really cute chicks, my first thought was soooo glad I do not have any NN's here in south central florida. My hens now are battling sticktight fleas which attack the featherless areas of the face and comb and are misserable to get rid of. first time having them--figure they came because of last yrs record rain and water and not really having any cold weather this year.

 

[Kassaundra]

Kassaundra-really cute chicks, my first thought was soooo glad I do not have any NN's here in south central florida. My hens now are battling sticktight fleas which attack the featherless areas of the face and comb and are misserable to get rid of. first time having them--figure they came because of last yrs record rain and water and not really having any cold weather this year.

Thanks, those fleas sound horrible, never heard of them before. The NN is so much better in the hot summers.