The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

An enjoyable start to the day! What next?

 

[aoxa]

An enjoyable start to the day! What next?

Compliments of my father, who seems to send a lot of emails like this. Gotta love when your family supports your chicken craziness.

 

[Sally8]

Loved it! Thanks aoxa.

 

[holderh]

Thanks for all your responses I will try what u have suggested. Some have been doing it off and on for a few months. Im not sure if it really is vent gleet that's why I wasn't so concerned at first. I thought they just had loose stools really. I have had chickens only 2 years and this was new to me lol. I will describe it and maybe you can tell me what u think.....it doesn't smell but some vent feathers are missing and their backsides are just nasty with poop all over. Nobody is bleeding. Everybody is eating good. I have had a drop in egg production but I wws thinking it was due to winter. I have 30 chickens and only about 5 are doing this. My plan is to flush them with the Epsom salt, give them the copper sulfate, rub on the topical ointmen, give them yogurt and start fermenting their feed....if anyone has experianced vent gleet did this help?

 

[delisha]

Good Morning everyone!!

Aoxa, you are fortunate to have family who supports your poultry love. Good daddy!
Sally Sunshine has a great recipe for vent gleet, add that NuStock and it will be no more gleet!

I do no work that much outside of the home, I am very fortunate. Today i have to work and it seems I get sick every time I have to go to work. I think it is psychosomatic.

My DH is working out of town this week and it is a bit lazy here. I have done some cleaning. That brooder box that DH made for the first few weeks is not going to work. It is way to small. If I ever have more than 6 chicks at a time. I thought a bunch of tiny chicks would be fine. DH purchased the new brooder the chicks go under and that takes up one whole corner. Looks like I will be putting up the large brooder in the basement..ugh.

I might take pictures later today so you can see what I mean. They do not have much room. Right now they do not need much. They dash from warmer to feed dish all day.I have to cook more sand. They are messy lil buggers.

BDM..hows the pullet?

 

[delisha]

Aoxa..
where are the chicks pics?

 

[holderh]

I also want to say how much I have enjoyed this thread and pictures. I am especially interested in raising chicks with a broody. I have tried before and she was good until they started hatching. She started killing them as they hatched so I had to brood them. I'm going to try agian this spring. What are your thoughts about not separating the broody and chicka from the flock? Mine mostly free range but I ocasionally still have to keep them in their run.

 

[mlowen]

I am so excited!! My daughter and I are going to the Northeastern Poultry Congress in Springfield, MA on 1/19! It's on the Big E Fairgrounds and admission is free. Saturday 9-3 and Sunday 9-noon. Thank you, thank you, thank you...Delisha, for the link to shows & stuff.

 

[Sally8]

I could just cry! Not only do I have 40 eggs in incubator, I now have 3, (three) hens setting. Oh, the humanity of it all! I'm certain the only, maybe 1/3 of the incubating eggs will hatch, for a variety of reasons. One of the hens kept jumping nests, so not sure how many of those. The 2nd hen got on her nest and hasn't moved. The 3rd in on hers only 3 days but I put some of my pretty wooden begs under her and pull the real ones every day.

I already asked if they would accept day old baby chicks, but am wondering, hen #1 was found with egg yolk on her beak the other night.. Does she know if some weren't going to hatch or when they were double decking, another hens eggs got under her? Can she tell?

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa..
where are the chicks pics?

You caught me. I didn't take any. They weren't dried off until this morning

Father was not the barred rock. I initially thought chick was black with white dot on head, but is actually silverish. I think the father could have been Ameraucana bantam or the NN rooster. The NN got 2 babies out of the silkie hen.. They have his dominant white.