The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

Delisha can't wait to see all the chicks when they hatch

 

[RedRidge]

I took away the one birds golf balls and gave her eggs and she was so mad..I am not sure she likes the exchange at all. I have never had a bird act like that before.

Just last week I did that.
Butterscotch, one of my RIR x Buff Orp hens was determined she was going to hatch a golf ball.
I didn't want her broody... I wanted her to lay... so I spent 10 days trying to discourage her.
When I finally gave up and gave her 6 rhodebar eggs, she lost her temper and said, "Fine! I won't sit then".
Argh... I gave her 2 days to get back on the nest... perfectly good fertile Rhodebar eggs went to waste.

 

[Turkeytruff]

Aren't they funny creatures? I snuck 5 turkey eggs from a nest I Finally found (after stalking my hens) - Nora's secret nest and replaced them with golf balls.. they are half buried under ceder fronds anyway, really hope she doesn't notice! I have another one laying on my raised bed, squashing my garlic plants -sigh... she carefully pulls and adjusts at the netting as if it was straw poor thing. I haven't the heart to fight her on this one.

 

[subhanalah]

Neither.  I just thought it was a funny image!  My first thought when I read your post was "how would you get snake poop?"  Then I immediately solved it by thinking, "oh, you could just go to a pet store if you didn't have a pet snake." 
But I was left with the initial image of trying to gather snake poop from a wild snake... 

Sorry if you thought I was mocking you - I didn't mean it that way at all.

please forgive me
It actually is quite funny the way you tell it!

 

[hellbender]

Just last week I did that.
Butterscotch, one of my RIR x Buff Orp hens was determined she was going to hatch a golf ball.
I didn't want her broody... I wanted her to lay... so I spent 10 days trying to discourage her.
When I finally gave up and gave her 6 rhodebar eggs, she lost her temper and said, "Fine! I won't sit then".
Argh... I gave her 2 days to get back on the nest... perfectly good fertile Rhodebar eggs went to waste.

You name your birds? I named one here last year ...a dowdy creature that follows me around when I collect eggs. She chatters away about and seemingly to the hens still on the nest...trying to get 'em moving...sort of like a 'production manager'. She has always been sort of a favorite.

I call her Frau Klatch...She knows I have a hand full of cracked corn for her after we've made our morning egg rounds and she waits very quietly outside the door for her 'payoal'

 

[Jewelwing]

please forgive me

It actually is quite funny the way you tell it!

There's nothing to forgive - my fault for not being clear enough!

But it does make me think of when I had to get a urine sample from my dog when she had a UTI. I followed her around with a little empty margarine tub, and when she squatted, I quickly put it under her. But each time, she would turn and give me a look like she couldn't believe I would do such a thing, and she would get up and walk around some more. It took forever before I finally caught some dog pee! My husband was inside the house watching me run around after her, and laughing all the while.

I imagine it would be even harder following a snake around, but at least you wouldn't have to "catch" the sample as it exited!

 

[RedRidge]

 


Just last week I did that.
Butterscotch, one of my RIR x Buff Orp hens was determined she was going to hatch a golf ball.
I didn't want her broody... I wanted her to lay... so I spent 10 days trying to discourage her.
When I finally gave up and gave her 6 rhodebar eggs, she lost her temper and said, "Fine!  I won't sit then".
Argh... I gave her 2 days to get back on the nest... perfectly good fertile Rhodebar eggs went to waste.

You name your birds?  I named one here last year ...a dowdy creature that follows me around when I collect eggs.  She chatters away about and seemingly to the hens still on the nest...trying to get 'em moving...sort of like a 'production manager'.  She has always been sort of a favorite.

I call her Frau Klatch...She knows I have a hand full of cracked corn for her after we've made our morning egg rounds and she waits very quietly outside the door for her 'payoal'

Actually I rarely name them.
Special cockerels get names... My two current breeding cocks are named Fred and Carl after my great grandfather CF Haffey who raised and showed RC RIR in the 30s and 40s.
Usually you have to be very bad or very good to get a name. ;-)
Butterscotch was the only pullet out of a large broody hatch of production layers last year. The rest were ALL cockerels. So... She's very friendly, very pushy, and thinks she's a dog.

 

[subhanalah]

There's nothing to forgive - my fault for not being clear enough! 

But it does make me think of when I had to get a urine sample from my dog when she had a UTI.  I followed her around with a little empty margarine tub, and when she squatted, I quickly put it under her.  But each time, she would turn and give me a look like she couldn't believe I would do such a thing, and she would get up and walk around some more.  It took forever before I finally caught some dog pee!  My husband was inside the house watching me run around after her, and laughing all the while.

I imagine it would be even harder following a snake around, but at least you wouldn't have to "catch" the sample as it exited!

hey, if you haven't followed your dog around with a margarine tub, you're not cool.

 

[Jewelwing]

hey, if you haven't followed your dog around with a margarine tub, you're not cool.

Well, she (the dog) thought it was very uncool, or at least totally confusing. She definitely thought I was not following normal protocol.

Not the dog in my avatar. A totally different dog many years ago. Haven't had to do it for this dog yet!

 

[armorfirelady]

Lalala I think I know who is lining up your eggs !!!! It's the Easter Bunny checking them out and selecting the best for Easter