The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[amenfarm]

Greeeaat
In the city of San Antonio we are allowed 3 chickens. I asked my husband if our HOA had anythig against it and he said he was pretty sure they didn't. I bought the coop, have it all out ready to put together PLUS a run extension. Now he's telling me that their IS a HOA rule against poultry. WTH?!?! I hate HOAs!! Now I'm stuck with a coop and have chickens on the brain and technically can't get them! Might just have to be a rebel! Sounds like it's time to have a little talk with the board. Maybe get a lawyer if thy don't see things my way. I *will* have chickens!

if you have kids in 4-h, there is a loophole.

 

[ki4got]

ok, I'm a turkey noob here. LOL but went to southern states yesterday for a bag of pellets and some sweet feed, the manager runs up and says, hey! you have chicks all the time, right? .. uh, yeah. hatching weekly, why?

she drags me over to the chick pen, where only 3 white turkeys remained. legally she said she can't sell less than 6, so could I take them? LOL

so now I have 3 white (unknown breed) turkey poults in the brooder with some week old cochins and 2 week old sfh.

anything I should know about these guys? treat them like chickens and life goes on? (I hope)... hubby said sell them, but told him that 2 of them are already named... Thanksgiving and Christmas. LOL

I have no idea if they're double breasted or 'normal' or what... and I'm not a huge fan of white, either. so likely they're freezer bait. but if they do well maybe I can talk him into another breed that I like more (color wise).

eta: ok correction. just thought I'd look up the hatchery (mt healthy) and they're broad breasted whites... they're too heavy to breed naturally, right?

 

[potagergirl]

Has anyone started a worm farm, with something other than meal worms? I bought hubby a red worm composting habitat, and am pretty excited to get that going. The worms are for two things, one buying fishing worms has gotten so expensive and two for the chickens. Just wondering if anyone else is worm farming.

I would like to know where you have been reading to learn to do this. Worm farming is something I would like
to be working on before we go in to next winter to help feed my chickens and guineas.
Any info you could pass along would be appreciated?

thank you,

 

[gevshiba]

ok, I'm a turkey noob here. LOL but went to southern states yesterday for a bag of pellets and some sweet feed, the manager runs up and says, hey! you have chicks all the time, right? .. uh, yeah. hatching weekly, why?

she drags me over to the chick pen, where only 3 white turkeys remained. legally she said she can't sell less than 6, so could I take them? LOL

so now I have 3 white (unknown breed) turkey poults in the brooder with some week old cochins and 2 week old sfh.

anything I should know about these guys? treat them like chickens and life goes on? (I hope)... hubby said sell them, but told him that 2 of them are already named... Thanksgiving and Christmas. LOL

I have no idea if they're double breasted or 'normal' or what... and I'm not a huge fan of white, either. so likely they're freezer bait. but if they do well maybe I can talk him into another breed that I like more (color wise).

eta: ok correction. just thought I'd look up the hatchery (mt healthy) and they're broad breasted whites... they're too heavy to breed naturally, right?

The poults will need a higher protein feed. I have BBB's that are 1 year old. They did breed, but the tom was so heavy, he tore up the hens. I still have 4 hens. They are my only egg layers at the time as my one surviving chicken isn't laying at all. I've tried incubating the eggs, but I get nothing. I tried with the BBB tom, a BR that I have now and the wild traveling salesman that flew over my fence. My BR hen's eggs are doing fine in the incubator, so I have no idea.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
don't need to worm farm for night crawlers (fishing) they grow all over the place around here. but the chickens won't touch them... babies play with them but then leave the shredded pieces laying out in the sun.

 

[mlowen]

I would like to know where you have been reading to learn to do this. Worm farming is something I would like
to be working on before we go in to next winter to help feed my chickens and guineas.
Any info you could pass along would be appreciated?

thank you,

Read Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof. I have red wigglers for composting and castings for my garden. I have fed a few to the chickens, and they like them. The worms get leftovers that the hens won't or shouldn't eat...onion skins, avacado skins & seeds, etc.

 

[mlowen]

I have two leghorns. Since they began laying, I think there are maybe four days, total, one or the other hasn't layed. One lays a very big white egg, the other is a regular size. As of today, it's been three days with no smaller white egg. Both of them are chipper, active, eating. (Picking the others' feathers to beat the band!) I felt them both tonight and there seems to be nothing in either abdomen. Neither complained about me squeezing them. Vents look perfectly normal. I should not worry at all and just wait, right?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: I'm not Ash, but I got some worms from BigTexworms. She has lots of info and videos on her website too:

http://www.wormbincomposting.com/

 

[potagergirl]

Thank you all for the info.
I'll be reading about worms for a while =)

 

[armorfirelady]

I have two leghorns. Since they began laying, I think there are maybe four days, total, one or the other hasn't layed. One lays a very big white egg, the other is a regular size. As of today, it's been three days with no smaller white egg. Both of them are chipper, active, eating. (Picking the others' feathers to beat the band!) I felt them both tonight and there seems to be nothing in either abdomen. Neither complained about me squeezing them. Vents look perfectly normal. I should not worry at all and just wait, right?

Are they pullets? Sometimes their eggs will change size as they get older.


Spring must be here & be warmer. I noticed tonight the girls are not all scrunched together on the roost

I'm also curious to see if my compost pile breaks down faster this year with the girls always having access to it so they are continuously scratching through it. As for earth worms.......my girls love them!!! I can always tell when they find one.........they take off running with another hen chasing them. Poor robins don't have a chance for breakfast after it rains. Heck one of the girls chased the crow out of their electric fence the other day and it was twice the size of the hen