The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

I wanted to get the new boys on the grass as soon as possible so I did some rigging.....




Have an old swingset frame here from when I was a kid!!!!! Yep, I said old.

Had a few kennel panels around waiting to be used elsewhere. Add some plastic netting I also had around. A few clips. And bedsheets just to shield from hawks since I didn't have a top. And.....

 

[lazy gardener]

I absolutely LOVE old swing sets. I have the one my children used... (they are now 33 and 35 years old!) in the garden for a bean trellis. My grand dtr still uses her swing set, but, every time I walk by it, I lovingly wrap my hands around the cool metal of the bars, just waiting for the day when she tells me that she's too old for a swing set!!! I have a set of Alpine skiis that have been stripped of their hardware. They would be perfect on that swingset!

 

[armorfirelady]

armorfirelady, I was wondering what breed your birds are. They sure are pretty.

Thank you. The pullets are mixes. They all had an EE daddy.(if I remember correctly) 1 is a BCM The other 2 black pullets have poofy cheeks. I am hopefuly the BCM mix lays a nice dark egg and curious to see what the other pullets lay. Mr Grey is an EE. I really think he is going to be HUGE. I am curious if Sally8s boys are getting as big. All the pullets and chicks I hatched are from her and they all have a great dispostion and are very healthy. Well except Stella but she is just mean to the peeps. SHe will get her payback when Mr Grey realizes he is as big as her & stops running from her

Quote: The first year for the old pullets they stopped in the fall. It took them a couple months to get back up to speed. I have found that chicks who don't start laying till late fall/winter tend the following year to lay right thru the winter as well.

I agree with Lacy Blue. Plain yogurt for a few days. I usually add garlic & cayenne peppers to mine. During the winter I will add some herbs as well. Also it might help to up their protein levels. raw meat is a good source. I tend to up the meat amount I give them in the fall so they have that extra protein when they are molting and the weather gets cooler. I also give them some suet cakes. Sometimes pullets take a little longer to start laying on a regular schedule.

I would NOT give an anti diarrheal. Chickens do have loose watery stools at times. I do not worry about watery stools if they have water, good food, and are acting ok. I don't watch/look at poops. Ok that's wrong I do notice them as they pile on the logs they use to get on the roost. But since there are no worms crawling out I don't worry. I even seen black tarry ones from the peeps but they are acting ok. I sometimes think their poops change because it depends on what they are eating at the time

Always think.
Always learn.
Always use common sense.

These are great tips & I try to follow them

I wanted to get the new boys on the grass as soon as possible so I did some rigging.....




Have an old swingset frame here from when I was a kid!!!!! Yep, I said old.

Looks great !!!!! Great way to reusue what you have on hand

 

[Lacy Blues]

Love that swing set set up! Very good idea!

Regarding using anti-diarrheal foods... if there's only one or two birds spraying water that's one thing. If its summer and quite hot, that is one thing too. But if its not hot and they're not laying and they're all spraying water, I think its cause for concern and treatment. I don't use medicine/drugs in my flock. I try to use foods and herbs to bring about a change to something I may see that concerns me.

I don't hunt around to see how droppings look. I just pay attention as I'm walking through pens and I see this or that. I've seen some black ones too and they cause me to frown a little bit but I don't go running for correction with every different thing I see. If the entire flock is doing it for extended periods, then I would get concerned.

I can never say enough about yogurt though. It is definitely good for intestinal health and intestinal health affects the health of all the other systems.

 

[delisha]

I quarantined these also - and no it didn't sound bad.

The issue as I see it is that my birds may have immunities to what is in their environment; the new kids may have immunities to what's in their environment. But the things they've been around may be different for each group. So after the kiddos are around a couple of weeks with no incident, I will test out one of my own together with them.



I know other folks who free range their birds that feel that THEIR flock would pose more of an issue to any new bird coming in that may not have been free-ranged. Their thought is that theirs are around wild birds, mice, snakes, toads, squirels, ete.etc..... and that the newcomers may have been more sheltered and not had that exposure. Since they range, they put the new birds right into the flock area, penned in a "see, no touch" environment long enough for the new guys to become familiar w/everyone. Then they let them out into the flock.

That is a thought that I never really considered...but she may be right that the newcomers in that kind of situation may be more at risk than the current flock.

Since Leigh's boys and my girls all range in their respective environments, it's likely that they are of strong constitution. But I'm not ready to take that risk just yet. That being said, it really seems almost impossible to keep things COMPLETELY separate here. Though I'm using different shoes, I don't think I'll be changing my clothing several times a day!!! I'll wash hands and maybe put on a different "overshirt" when I'm around the boys. Use different shoes and try to be aware of crossing paths where I walk. Roll up pant legs.

But really, unless I was a whole lot more careful, the reality is that the current flock will likely have some exposure anyway.

I would not change shoes and cloths for started birds. They need to pick up small amounts of bacteria from your birds. Just do your birds first and them last. Your birds are strong and will be better off with few exchanges too. When doing chicks you can't do this. They do not have immunities and it will cause all kinds of issues.

I wanted to get the new boys on the grass as soon as possible so I did some rigging.....




Have an old swingset frame here from when I was a kid!!!!! Yep, I said old.

Had a few kennel panels around waiting to be used elsewhere. Add some plastic netting I also had around. A few clips. And bedsheets just to shield from hawks since I didn't have a top. And.....

very inventive idea, and pretty birds.



As far as Mareks. .. Most illnesses are probably Mareks based and the bird is showing secondary infections from weakened immune systems. You can bred out Mareks by not vaccinating and not using antibiotics and breeding only male birds who have never been sick. Males seem to be the carriers that perpetuate it in the genes. Too many are breeding birds who have Mareks and just bred to bred. If you have ever had sneezing, coughing, and wheezing in your coops, you most likely have Mareks and the secondary infections are ILT, MS, and MG. If you use antibiotics in your flock, you hide the disease, you don't cure the disease. You make the disease's more resistant and harder for the birds to become immune as future generation are hatched. Having a healthy flock might be a challenge, and you might be pouring money into your flock and the joy of owning chickens will be changed.

I vaccinate chicks that are purchased and costumers request the vaccines. My believes belong to me and I respect other people choices.
I have culled for Mareks in birds I have purchased. Knock on wood I have not bred any birds that have Mareks. It does live on my land..I want strong birds that resist the disease.

 

[Turk Raphael]

Love that swing set set up! Very good idea!

Regarding using anti-diarrheal foods... if there's only one or two birds spraying water that's one thing. If its summer and quite hot, that is one thing too. But if its not hot and they're not laying and they're all spraying water, I think its cause for concern and treatment. I don't use medicine/drugs in my flock. I try to use foods and herbs to bring about a change to something I may see that concerns me.

I don't hunt around to see how droppings look. I just pay attention as I'm walking through pens and I see this or that. I've seen some black ones too and they cause me to frown a little bit but I don't go running for correction with every different thing I see. If the entire flock is doing it for extended periods, then I would get concerned.

I can never say enough about yogurt though. It is definitely good for intestinal health and intestinal health affects the health of all the other systems.

All of my birds get cultured buttermilk at least once a week...sometimes three times...It all depends on what my 'supplier' has for me. Don't know if it makes a difference either way but it is made with goat milk.

We've been getting some slightly loose stool now and again with all flocks but I KNOW what's causing that. Apples. And every bird on the place has access to them. They hit very hard this year and we can't get them picked up fast enough. Our helper has been carrying a few home but most of them are taken to the pigs and flung into them every day, about half bushel ore more each day and we have a huge pile in the back part of the storage area for the pig building. Don't matter how rotten they get...the pigs love them best when they are beginning to rot. As the pigs grow, they can get more of them. We only have two that are about 4 months old and the apples don't scour them at all.

I agree with you with regard to the meds, at least in part. I do use chemical wormer but if I could find something 'natural' that is reliable, that is what I would use.

Turk

 

[RedRidge]

Well, boys and girls.... I did something that I said I'd never do. Well, really, I did something I said I would "probably never" do. This post is a confession of my doings. Ready? | | | | | | | I had 2 16 week old cockerels SHIPPED to me. There. I said it. SHIPPED. THROUGH THE MAIL. Besides that, they are "started" birds. Another thing I always recommend that folks don't do. Now I have to admit the I don't recommend folks that are NEW to chickens get started birds. When we have no experience we have no idea of what to look for. And when you're getting started, I think starting with chicks that are on the new area is best. Unless you are SURE you know the folks you're getting them from like @SallyinIndiana who raises started pullets for new chicken keepers that want to have eggs as soon as possible and don't want to raise chicks. Anyhow...I got the cockerels from Leigh @Bulldogma (starter of this thread), and I know her husbandry methods very well. They were supposed to be here yesterday. Came today. So these boys were in a box for almost 48 hours (I hate shipping). I only wanted 1 cockerel but good common sense said that 2 hatch-mates in a box would be way less stressful than one traveling alone so... behold! 2 Cockerels These are my NON-CRESTED Swedish Flower Hen boys. The boys are in quarantine in the garage for now. Even after a long ride in a box, they seem to be in good spirits! These were some hungry boys! First thing they did was eat non-stop for about 20 minutes! Now they're checking things out. Speaking of quarantine....it seems like some chicken keepers have more sense than the CDC.....

Awe. I've had some of Leahs sfh before. Very neat birds. Congrats. And yes...quarantine "should" be common sense. I have a new broken red NZ doe coming tomorrow and her 30 quarantine cashew is already set up. ;-)

 

[armorfirelady]

I am looking into heated waterers. I thought I had bought one on Amazon but when it showed up its not heated. My error so back it goes. Most I have reviewd have poor critiques so I started looking at the heated bases and then looked at the galvanized waterers to set on top of it. Any one ever used these before?

I was also wondering Leahs Mom if you though one of your glass waterers would work better on the heated base? The only concern I would have is them knocking the top glass jar from the glass base when they are all crammed into the feeding area. Thoughts?

ETA: meant to add the link to the base I was looking at
http://www.tractorsupply.com/product__10151_-1_10001_7241

 

[Leahs Mom]

@armorfirelady

I found that the glass waterers DID NOT work for the winter with the heating base. They had enough surface that they would get a freeze over the surface even though the jar and water below stayed thawed.

I am going to try a new water system this year but didn't want to mention it until I tried it to see if it really works well. But.... I'll show what I'm trying.



Horizontal nipples. Not the vertical kind that drop tons of water but the newer horizontal kind. It's a more natural way to drink and they won't get the wattles and front of birds and ground wet. But will they stay thawed?

Many people that used them last winter are liking them and said they did stay thawed with a heater in the bucket. I'm going to try them with my 50 w fish tank heater in the bucket. The nipples recede farther into the water than the type I used before and the potential of them staying thawed is pretty good. We shall see.

I already have a test bucket set up for them to start learning how to use them. Here's a thread that you can look at to learn about them:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-vs-horizontal-spring-loaded-watering-nipples

This is not mine but it looks similar to this:

Quote:

I got mine at the only US distributor:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Solway-HO...286?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33969f0236

The seller's name is Rich and he is very helpful.

I'm hopeful...

but the jury is out.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: By @pawtraitart