The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[tjo804]

Hello all trying to go the natural route as much as possible just got five RiRs today, based in Italy and have been utilizing herbal methods so far for feed and wormer etc any suggestions?

Hi and welcome.

 

[RedRidge]

I guess when you're the smallest you learn what works. Not a great pic but I couldn't resist when I walked past the brooder and saw the littlest chick IN the feeder. This guy has his own little breakfast bar. Lol

 

[hellbender]

Please indulge me a silly little trivial stroll through chicken-owner philosophy....such as I have noticed on this BOARD in general.

When a hen has gone 'rogue', every sort of effort is mentioned to shield her and bring her back into avian society. Few concepts that one might see proffered in a court room are left out of the pleas to save her,
ranging from postparatum depression, postparatum anxiety to blaming the other chickens for making her feel unwanted.

However if a cock/cockerel shows even the mildest form of aggression to humans or if he is thought to be too aggressively trying to breed the hens, the hue and cry goes up..."off with his head"..."this sort of behavior can not be tolerated"!!!

So many of these cries are coming from novice owners and some exhibition folks who don't seem to realize that when they are breeding away from the very thing many of them need in their breeding flocks...virility and viability of the eggs to be hatched. It is really kinda' funny.

I could say this redolent to the feminization of our american male youth...but I won't.

I'm tired so I will stop here and respond to my PM's later...Don't want to get too deep into it.

RON

 

[ki4got]

Please indulge me a silly little trivial stroll through chicken-owner philosophy....such as I have noticed on this BOARD in general.

When a hen has gone 'rogue', every sort of effort is mentioned to shield her and bring her back into avian society. Few concepts that one might see proffered in a court room are left out of the pleas to save her,
ranging from postparatum depression, postparatum anxiety to blaming the other chickens for making her feel unwanted.

However if a cock/cockerel shows even the mildest form of aggression to humans or if he is thought to be too aggressively trying to breed the hens, the hue and cry goes up..."off with his head"..."this sort of behavior can not be tolerated"!!!

So many of these cries are coming from novice owners and some exhibition folks who don't seem to realize that when they are breeding away from the very thing many of them need in their breeding flocks...virility and viability of the eggs to be hatched. It is really kinda' funny.

I could say this redolent to the feminization of our american male youth...but I won't.

I'm tired so I will stop here and respond to my PM's later...Don't want to get too deep into it.

RON

I'm not sure if you're equating aggression to virility/viability of the eggs, but I breed for temperament too, so whether it's a hen or roo, if it's disruptive/aggressive, it gets one chance to mend it's ways (usually tossed with the free range flock to see if the ranging helps, since confinement may be part of the problem) but most often that isn't any help either. fortunately the dog has taken it upon himself to be the 'chicken police' and will break up squabbles quickly. if one bird persists, he'll stare it down if he can or pin it down with his feet until it submits like a good chicken.

unfortunately I never have my camera with me when he does this. it's never an aggressive move on the dog's part. he just waits for the (normally) rooster to make the first move.

 

[NanaLynn]

some hens just weren't intended to stick around long. I praying for you through your first cull.

Thank you so much!

I had a son that was bullied terribly! To save my son I would have gladly put that bully in *the cone*! that being said,
Your Goal is a safe healthy flock.
You can thank her for her sacrifice and for providing your family with a healthy meals.
You can do what ever ceremonies or prayers make you feel good.
This is so personal for a small flock owner that didn't yet have a mind set to deal with this.
Do not be sorry for Talking it out! Every one here will support and lift you up. As a society we have lost touch with the most basic skill of feeding ourselves.

When you go to look for a good knife check out the hunting knives for Duck or pheasant.

For a big pot look into a nice water bath canner or even a pressure canner that way you can use it to do more for your family than just scalding to loosen feathers.

Death is always final and for some of us that means there is a grieving process to come to terms with loss. That is Okay

I am sending up a support prayer for you! No worries it will still be good when you are ready!

That is kind of funny and scary at the same time what you said about bullies and the cone. I understand completely though, I have 3 kids of my own. Although now they can take care of themselves since they're all in their 20's.

Your right about what you said and very well put. My goal is for the overall health and well being of the flock. She had her one chance and she failed, I was not going to subject the others to her. I told myself when I put her in chicken jail last week that if it did not work, I would "take care of her."

Well, we did it and it was a big learning experience to say the least. It took me forever to finally get all the feathers off and the insides out. I know that people usually work much faster but I guess I was too afraid to puncture something I shouldn't. Anyway it is done and the carcass is in the frig to rest for a couple days. (I guess that's what I need to do)

I actually made the first cut, but then had to get my husband to finish her up since I did not cut deep enough. We will for sure be looking into a better knife for next time, thanks for the ideas. We were looking in the wrong stores, I need to go to an outdoor/ hunting type store. It was pretty traumatic when I did not cut deep enough, but my husband was quick to complete the task. I said a lot of prayers too during the whole procedure and that helped.

I don't want to do this again anytime soon. So glad it is over with and the cleanup is done. Thank you guys for being here and hearing me out. I know I can do it now, if the need arises again.

Oh and one more thing. I noticed a lot of fat around her organs, I imagine that is a bad thing, correct? I plan on cutting back with their treats now because of this. Although she would chase the others away from the treats too, so it could be she was just hogging them for herself.

Please indulge me a silly little trivial stroll through chicken-owner philosophy....such as I have noticed on this BOARD in general.

When a hen has gone 'rogue', every sort of effort is mentioned to shield her and bring her back into avian society. Few concepts that one might see proffered in a court room are left out of the pleas to save her,
ranging from postparatum depression, postparatum anxiety to blaming the other chickens for making her feel unwanted.

However if a cock/cockerel shows even the mildest form of aggression to humans or if he is thought to be too aggressively trying to breed the hens, the hue and cry goes up..."off with his head"..."this sort of behavior can not be tolerated"!!!

So many of these cries are coming from novice owners and some exhibition folks who don't seem to realize that when they are breeding away from the very thing many of them need in their breeding flocks...virility and viability of the eggs to be hatched. It is really kinda' funny.

I could say this redolent to the feminization of our american male youth...but I won't.

I'm tired so I will stop here and respond to my PM's later...Don't want to get too deep into it.

RON

I never had a rooster before, but hen or rooster would be gone with any signs of aggression here after one chance to straighten up. I will never have more then 20 chickens here anyway, so maybe on a larger farm this is true. Plus right now we are not breeding chickens and we are mainly in it for the eggs, friendly chickens and poop for the garden.

I'm not sure if you're equating aggression to virility/viability of the eggs, but I breed for temperament too, so whether it's a hen or roo, if it's disruptive/aggressive, it gets one chance to mend it's ways (usually tossed with the free range flock to see if the ranging helps, since confinement may be part of the problem) but most often that isn't any help either. fortunately the dog has taken it upon himself to be the 'chicken police' and will break up squabbles quickly. if one bird persists, he'll stare it down if he can or pin it down with his feet until it submits like a good chicken.

unfortunately I never have my camera with me when he does this. it's never an aggressive move on the dog's part. he just waits for the (normally) rooster to make the first move.

I need a dog like that here!

 

[ki4got]

Quote: I think it was RedRidge who said earlier, that some people who deter predators, but are still not LGD... that's why I call Sunny my 'part time LGD'. he's a standard poodle who's primary job first and foremost is to be a dog. but he's also a full time service dog, part time lgd and part time tracker (during hunting season showed us how he trained himself to follow the blood trail!)

he's also a full time 'squeak hunter' (aka squirrels, chipmunks, possum or anything else that hides in the woods) and best buddy to HIS cat. (the cat chases the dog more often than the opposite!)

I've posted these before, but still worth posting again for new people (and I don't have human kids' pictures to share).

 

[Leahs Mom]

I guess when you're the smallest you learn what works. Not a great pic but I couldn't resist when I walked past the brooder and saw the littlest chick IN the feeder. This guy has his own little breakfast bar. Lol

@RedRidge
I see you have the feeders from Strombergs...do you think I could use those with water in the water...would the top on it deter them from stepping in it?

I'm always contemplating ways to make winter water better. I'm still not completely happy with what I'm doing.

 

[lalaland]

Thank you so much!

That is kind of funny and scary at the same time what you said about bullies and the cone. I understand completely though, I have 3 kids of my own. Although now they can take care of themselves since they're all in their 20's.

Your right about what you said and very well put. My goal is for the overall health and well being of the flock. She had her one chance and she failed, I was not going to subject the others to her. I told myself when I put her in chicken jail last week that if it did not work, I would "take care of her."

Well, we did it and it was a big learning experience to say the least. It took me forever to finally get all the feathers off and the insides out. I know that people usually work much faster but I guess I was too afraid to puncture something I shouldn't. Anyway it is done and the carcass is in the frig to rest for a couple days. (I guess that's what I need to do)

I actually made the first cut, but then had to get my husband to finish her up since I did not cut deep enough. We will for sure be looking into a better knife for next time, thanks for the ideas. We were looking in the wrong stores, I need to go to an outdoor/ hunting type store. It was pretty traumatic when I did not cut deep enough, but my husband was quick to complete the task. I said a lot of prayers too during the whole procedure and that helped.

I don't want to do this again anytime soon. So glad it is over with and the cleanup is done. Thank you guys for being here and hearing me out. I know I can do it now, if the need arises again.

Oh and one more thing. I noticed a lot of fat around her organs, I imagine that is a bad thing, correct? I plan on cutting back with their treats now because of this. Although she would chase the others away from the treats too, so it could be she was just hogging them for herself.

too much fat isn't good, but.......when I processed roosters all the same age last fall, there was a big variety in the amount of fat - most were "normal" and one had hardly any, and one had sooo much fat I couldn't believe it. They were all raised together with the same food, although they were different breeds. If the fat rooster was the only one I had culled, I would have thought my whole flock was overweight! My point is that perhaps your hen doesn't represent the whole flock. Not sure what you are feeding with treats, so it is something to watch anyway.

congrats on getting it done. Always hard, but gets easier!

 

[Leahs Mom]

@hellbender

Miserable roo vs Miserable hen.... or Sadistic Roo vs Sadistic hen

Here's a story for you. My Indiana friend had a roo that would mate the girls, then mercilessly attack them to the point of drawing blood. Every time. She tried separating him for a couple weeks in the crate. Did it 3X to give him a chance to reform. Didn't work; culled. I think she want the 3rd mile for that boy. I don't think I would have given him that much.

She also had some boys that were "tag teaming" the girls. One would mate while the other would attack the hen. She crated them and they reformed from what I understand.


For me, a hen is productive. Makes eggs. it's really hard to "off" a good layer because I only have a total of 10 layers. The 2 offenders that I'm working with right now were doing the 'tag teaming" thing... Rooster would have one of 3 particular girls pinned down mating and these 2 would go over and look under him to see who it was. If it was one of the 3, they'd attack her head and face to the point of blood if she was down long enough. If they looked and it was any other hen, they would just walk away. They were very targeted.

I'm not sure if crating them will do the job. I'm going to try. But I'm not going to keep them if they continue that kind of behavior after some reasonable effort at reform. And I'd treat a rooster the same.

 

[RedRidge]

I guess when you're the smallest you learn what works. Not a great pic but I couldn't resist when I walked past the brooder and saw the littlest chick IN the feeder. This guy has his own little breakfast bar. Lol

@RedRidge I see you have the feeders from Strombergs...do you think I could use those with water in the water...would the top on it deter them from stepping in it? I'm always contemplating ways to make winter water better. I'm still not completely happy with what I'm doing.

I have both sizes and really like them for ff because they don't waste any and can not step in it. Keep in mind these are all chicks under 3 weeks so adults are much bigger relative to the size of this feeder. The one in the pic is the small size. I never thought about using them for water but it would work well to prevent stepping in it but. .. Not for keeping wattles out if you are worried about frost bite