The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[heartsizedfarm]

Oh yes. It's called "fines" here too. A common language!

When we lived in Manitoba, where the aquifer is always two inches below ground, the man who fenced our horse paddock dumped a load of "fines" in the entrance to the paddock, to keep it from getting swampy. I always marveled at how dry and nice that area was. Never seen that before.

 

[hellbender]

23 acres. 10 chickens. I'm probably good right?

You should be good...especially if your birds have access to the entrance to your horse pasture. If you have the birds confined during deep snow, I'd make sure they have access to tither the fines or granite grit...

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I am a rebel, I don't buy rocks, I have a yard full of dirt as far as they care to dig, that dirt has all kinds of small stones, rocks for them to use for digestion.

I do provide oyster shell free choice since I don't feed layer pellets, I would even if I did feed layer. My old shells are for my tomatoes. I dry crush, soak in vinegar dilute w/ water and water my tomatoes w/ it.

I haven't had a need to buy grit either. And at the stores here, it costs as much as feed or a bit more depending on the store and the largest bag they have.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

You should be good...especially if your birds have access to the entrance to your horse pasture.  If you have the birds confined during deep snow, I'd make sure they have access to tither the fines or granite grit...

Oops sorry we moved. Left Manitoba ten years ago. Those fines belong to somebody else!

 

[BriskRooster]

You're not too far off! Except you won't "pick them up" to get them back in their run. They'll know you as the bringer of food. You can use some sunflower seeds or some raw meat and they'll come running!

Just remember - it's easier to get them to come running to you (with some food)...as soon as you start chasing them, it will be quite a "show". (Where is that video someone posted of that girl "catching a chicken" ??

)


Seriously...if you keep them locked into a predator-proof house at night, your main worry predator-wise will be hawks during the day and any stray dogs that might be able to get in your yard. They likely won't fly over the 6 ft fence - though they could. And you can just lure them right back with the same food!

Also another useful thing to do is to get a distinctive color pole for example we have a yellow pole with the black stripes, if you Cary that and wave it around every time you herd them into the pen and feed them, after a while they will get to know that the pole means they have to go the pen and they will get food!

Its like basic psychology attaching a object to a memory repeatedly.

 

[lisaleedy]

Hard to describe it, I'll just give you the definition of the word.
Conglomerate
Company
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company. Wikipedia

An example here would be how a toothpaste company also sells dog food. "Four put of five dentists agree" and then using the same marketing strategy to sell unhealthy dog food that in turn causes premature organ failures, cancers and death to the animals that eat it. The dog food is made of byproducts of other food manufacturing, where the "waste" is turned into pet food, or anything considered '"not for for human consumption'" like sick/dying animals or animals that have been euthanized from laboratories.
I don't even know where I'm going with this anymore, or what I started talking about I'm so sick about it...its a pretty wicked scheme, for sure.

i think they call it wal mart here ;-)

 

[delisha]

I AM 300 POST behind..

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!

I am fencing..building..hatching..and I finally have not one speck of snow on the ground..it is even clear out of the woods..I am a very happy happy and busy bee. I don't care I am working in a foot of mud in places. There is no more snow!!! I have green grass poking up all over..life is wonderful..

 

[armorfirelady]

I AM 300 POST behind..

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!

I am fencing..building..hatching..and I finally have not one speck of snow on the ground..it is even clear out of the woods..I am a very happy happy and busy bee. I don't care I am working in a foot of mud in places. There is no more snow!!! I have green grass poking up all over..life is wonderful..

So glad to hear your snow is finally gone!!! I have been outside almost every day unless its raining.



I know a lot of us are getting ready/already planting our veggie gardens. I have been doing some research to see what plants draw insects that are actually good for our garden. Meaning they eat the bugs that eat our plants. I found this info & thought I would share it. The best part is its herbs I already plan on planting
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/plants-for-beneficial-insects.aspx#axzz2zi2HPAPS

 

[lalaland]

I AM 300 POST behind..

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!

I am fencing..building..hatching..and I finally have not one speck of snow on the ground..it is even clear out of the woods..I am a very happy happy and busy bee. I don't care I am working in a foot of mud in places. There is no more snow!!! I have green grass poking up all over..life is wonderful..

Delisah, you sound like one very happy busy bee!

you know you will have to do pics when you have a moment to breathe. But spring - its rush season! I have some drifts of snow still but lots of bare ground too. green grass pokin up too.

Booster the rooster is no more, so it is much easier to care for the three sulmtalers - and if i culled buster, the rooster who hates them, I could integrate back into one flock!

I have the little pointy first tips of tulips sticking up about a 1/4 inch.....spring warblers are here.....frogs singing....its gonna be spring.

Molly's herbals seems to be on hiatus - website says gone 4/26 but she hasn't responded to emails from 4/21. Looks like I can't get the herbal wormer til she gets back first week of May....I want it now. I could try Mumsy's kerosene, but might do pure gum turpetine instead.

 

[lalaland]

So glad to hear your snow is finally gone!!! I have been outside almost every day unless its raining.



I know a lot of us are getting ready/already planting our veggie gardens. I have been doing some research to see what plants draw insects that are actually good for our garden. Meaning they eat the bugs that eat our plants. I found this info & thought I would share it. The best part is its herbs I already plan on planting
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/plants-for-beneficial-insects.aspx#axzz2zi2HPAPS

there is a humungous plant sale every spring by a Friend's school in the cities. They take over a grandstand in the state fair grounds. It started out 20 years ago in a school parking lot and got spearheaded by a gardener fanatic. What is wonderful is the variety - there are plants there that you can literally not buy anywhere else. THe plant list is 2,300 plants! and in 3 days, there are 15,000+ shoppers. Its a zoo, so I volunteer and get to go to a presale with only, say, 500 shoppers. Got my list going...nothing better than poring over a garden catalog.

DId you all know about not buying plants that were dosed with neonicotinoids, which are common pesticides harmful to birds, bees, and groundwater? If you are buying plants at homedepot walmart or any big box store, its 99% probable they've been treated. all the big wholesalers use them.