The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

 
Pretty interesting post and reminder about being careful with wet bedding.  Very sad loss of chicks to aspergillosis.

Some one on here did post about cutting open a bird and dpseeing yellow stuff floating around inside the body cavity but I believe it was from internal laying not what Leah's mom posted.

If you are brooding chicks as long as you keep their bedding dry and they have good ventilation I wouldn't worry. I would think anyone brooding chicks this time of year would have them outside by now anyways since it's summer

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
@Phoenixxx

What was the age of the older birds in the coop with them? How did you keep the elders from killing the new kids? How big is your coop?

 

[Phoenixxx]

@Phoenixxx


What was the age of the older birds in the coop with them?  How did you keep the elders from killing the new kids?  How big is your coop?

Coop is 6' x 8', run is a 50' perimeter that they all escape from when they want to. Older birds are just over a year old except the bcm hen, her age is unknown. She actually hatched a bunch of the 2-week-olds but was accidentally crushing/suffocating them so I confiscated her remaining babies at just under a week old. The older kids are turning 6 weeks old later this week. All babies were being put in the yard in a floorless cage for the days since fluffed, so the grownups were able to get accustomed to them right from the beginning. In fact, having the first batch outside actually flipped a switch in the bcm and made her broody! Anyway, so flock integration went super smoothly. The rooster is very gentle with the youngsters and watches over them. The biggest bully is the bantam white phoenix, but she hasn't pecked any so hard as to draw blood yet and it's mostly only when feeding. The "kids" have simply learned to steer clear of her

 

[Leahs Mom]

Well....my kiddos have been where the adults can see them for weeks - both inside and outside the hen shed - but in a separated area with their own side of the hen shed and run...including their own separate door to the outside area.

I'm just a bit "gun-shy" of having them out where they can get lost in 3/4 acre or so when I turn them into the larger crowd. I have been going out and luring them inside in the evening and shutting the door. So last night I decided to see if they'd come in on their own at the proper time. Nope. All 3 sitting in their separated run area on a stump. I had to lure them in to shut the door.

Not sure if they would have come in as it got darker or if they would have just sat out there all night. There was still a bit of light outside when I got them in.

 

[Leahs Mom]

here is great video on organic, natural what to put in your chicken run

Really enjoyed seeing his chicken yard! I did something similar in my run but it was just with the wood chips, indoor litter put out on the run, etc. Made the most wonderful soil for our gardens this spring. We dug out some of the greatest, worm-filled dirt you can imagine.

I know some folks throw their compost in the chicken yards but I haven't done it in my run since it's so small. We used to have a compost pile in the larger area that they run in but the chickens totally decimated it and you wouldn't even know there was compost there now! I am trying to think of a good way to make a compost area in the large range space in such a way that it is kept in a small area and we can actually get some compost from it fro ourselves Maybe that isn't a big deal as the kennel pen has a great soil production.

Also interesting about the stuff they sprayed on the "organic" carrots. It's very frustrating that you can't trust the organic label to mean what it's supposed to mean.

And...
My chicken area doesn't stink either. Inside or out. I had a friend that hates animals come over once and I took her out to see how my husband had remodeled the hen shed inside. The first thing she said was, "It doesn't stink in here. Why doesn't it stink?"

I took that as a sign that I was doing something right - especially when THIS friend made that comment unsolicited!

 

[aoxa]

@aoxa

Can you tell the story of your chicken that had the fungus? What age? How did you know that was what it was? How do you think he/she got it? How long did it take the Oxine to work? How did you administer the Oxine? What is your mothers' maiden name?

Research told me that is what it was. Wheezing, and exhaustion. No discharge or eye troubles. It was going on a few days before I got the Oxine. It took 3 days to show improvement, and full recovery after 7 days.

That happened in July two years ago. If it was a respiratory disease, I would have seen signs in my other chickens.

I may be wrong of course.. Whenever he exercised it got much worse. If he was calm, it was easier for him to breathe.

I put the Oxine in a cool mist humidifier. I kept him in a large plastic kennel with a humidifier facing the door and a blanket over the entire thing like this:


He had food and water in the kennel and I kept him on the humidifier for 12 hours on, 12 hours off.

I had him another 8 months before the fire took him. He never had a relapse.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thank you @aoxa very helpful

Did you mix the oxine/water ratio as per directions on the oxine?

 

[Phoenixxx]

Well....my kiddos have been where the adults can see them for weeks - both inside and outside the hen shed - but in a separated area with their own side of the hen shed and run...including their own separate door to the outside area. 

I'm just a bit "gun-shy" of having them out where they can get lost in 3/4 acre or so when I turn them into the larger crowd.  I have been going out and luring them inside in the evening and shutting the door.  So last night I decided to see if they'd come in on their own at the proper time.  Nope.  All 3 sitting in their separated run area on a stump.  I had to lure them in to shut the door.

Not sure if they would have come in as it got darker or if they would have just sat out there all night.  There was still a bit of light outside when I got them in.

My kids stay out WAY later than the grownups! Like, a whole hour later! Makes sense if you think of them as teenagers, lol!

 

[aoxa]

Thank you @aoxa very helpful

Did you mix the oxine/water ratio as per directions on the oxine?

http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/oxine.htm I went by this

 

[lalaland]

Hey, here's another webinar some of you might be interested in:

Normal poultry behavior and dealing with behavioral problems in small and backyard flocks

Thursday, July 10 at 7:00 pm EDT
Link: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry
Dr. Richard Blatchford will be discussing what behaviors you can expect from your backyard flock and how to deal with any behavioral problems that may arise, such as feather pecking and egg eating. Richard am a post-doctoral scholar in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on laying hen and broiler chicken behavior, management, and welfare both on commercial farms as well as experimental facilities. He also has interests in behavioral management of backyard flocks, primarily through outreach to urban flock owners. Richard has been interviewed on backyard poultry behavior for the Davis Enterprise, Sacramento Bee, and Chickens Magazine. He has also given one-on-one advice at events such as the California State Fair Hatchery Exhibit and theTour-de-Cluck (Davis, CA).