The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[nicole63021]

On longer/rougher coated dogs I love rolled leather collars, if you treat the leather once a year it is the best for those coats. It's all I use and recommend for pyr's or longer. Lovely puppy you have though, hope she does all you want and more!

 

[Leahs Mom]

On a happy note the big girls enjoyed perching on the hay bales. I figured the top one was hawk look out

I haven't seen a hawk in awhile but my crows have been around every day

So nice to see photos outdoors and some green grass.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@delisha and @RedRidge

Enjoying watching the progress and hearing the advice. I'll enjoy watching how she does.

 

[RedRidge]

... And @delisha... All of those things were "been there done that" recommendations... Not at all meant as criticism. I tend to come across as pretty blunt and to the point, which can be abrasive in written word, but am simply trying to help.
Oh, and she is adorable btw... which only makes matters worse I know cuz I want to cuddle em and spoil em all the more. ;-)

 

[armorfirelady]

I knew I forgot something.

When I was at the local feed store today I was looking at the chicks they had. They have them in a large container with different layers and different chicks in each layer. Every layer had a chick with pasty butt, a few who were obviously having respiratory issues & some with almost closed eyes like they couldn't keep them open. I actually thought one chick was dead in the corner. It had other chicks walking on it. About 10 min later I saw it move. But barely

The worse part is the plastic feeders I wanted to hold grit & oyster shell were in a display case next to the chicks. Boy did I scrub them things out several times when I got home.

I couldn't believe they displayed them so close where check feed and who know what else could get on them. I was also disappointed the chicks looked so poor. They get them from a hatchery of course but they are the main supplier around here of chicks. We have a TSC close also but they never have a lot of chicks. And those chicks when I saw them a few weeks ago looked very healthy

 

[Leahs Mom]

Sigh. I have a hard time looking at the chicks in the feed stores too.

 

[ki4got]

I was so far behind..I skipped so many pages..sorry all

great information sharing..
I am waiting on more sharing on the use of the hot plates. I do have the Brinsea. lets face it they are expensive. The other ones are less expensive, but constructed very differently and will not take much abuse. I would love to support the Wisconsin based business since I live right here. I might give them a try later in the year if I do not hear any negative feed back from this group.

The pup is doing pretty good. I am working on basic commands.
She knows: Does very well

sit
leave it
cookie come

working on:


don't run
don't chase
no bite
no sniffing
ack (poop eating)

I m taking her for collar fitting and shots next week.

just some thoughts... too many don'ts and no's...

for most of the NO things, Leave It, will usually work quite well, if she's got that pounded into her head well. for running, if she's just running around, use come and sit. the fewer commands you use, the more she'll learn what's allowed and not.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I was so far behind..I skipped so many pages..sorry all

great information sharing..
I am waiting on more sharing on the use of the hot plates. I do have the Brinsea. lets face it they are expensive. The other ones are less expensive, but constructed very differently and will not take much abuse. I would love to support the Wisconsin based business since I live right here. I might give them a try later in the year if I do not hear any negative feed back from this group.

The pup is doing pretty good. I am working on basic commands.
She knows: Does very well

sit
leave it
cookie come

working on:


don't run
don't chase
no bite
no sniffing
ack (poop eating)

I m taking her for collar fitting and shots next week.

Cute! The best book I have ever used for puppy training is The Art of Raising a Puppy by The Monks of New Skete. Highly recommend it.

 

[ki4got]

ok... here's a roundabout series of questions...

the southern states here says if you buy a 50 pound bag of chick feed you get 10 free chicks. but the feed is medicated, which I don't like to use on the chicks at all... but here's my thought process (kind of wanders a bit so bear with me...)

what if... I use it on my free ranged birds? it would be gone fast enough that I wouldn't have to worry about long term side effects (like vitamin deficiencies) but do you worry about it in the eggs? or I could get meaties with it, (as my 10 free) and plan to process them when they're 4-6 weeks old (2 person meal sized) but what about it getting in the meat? of if I use the feed for something else, I could still get meaties, but has anyone ever grafted a meaty onto a broody? I wonder if they would learn to be real chickens easier that way?

so... I'd like to hear comments/thoughts/opinions?

 

[misbhaven]

i Ibet you could give the meaties to a broody I don't know about 10....I have 2 meatie hens i plan on keeping and breeding with some white rocks in hopes of getting slightly bigger faster growing birds that don't poop every 2 seconds....if i can get them to grow slow enough..I took two put in with the white's they still eat a lot but act more chicken like, and less food driven than the meaties in the meatie pen. The even feathered out at the same rate as the White rocks because they adapted the other chicks eating habits... I think you could try 10 but in my experience the roo's get mean about food around 3 to 4 weeks they have even made my husband bleed when he was setting food down. My meatie girls are now in the grow out coop with my white rocks, some SLW and they run around scratch etc don't just lay around... They are very sweet birds they love attention.