The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

That's funny, I like your least favourite the best... I'll take her off your hands

Yep...it's funny how folks have different tastes....and it's what makes life fun.

The nice thing about the SFH is that they are like a box of chocolates. There are so many colors and variations... yard candy.

Next time around I hope to get some blue based if I continue with them. The jury is still out for me as I want to own them for a year or so and decide if I like them. The personality is wonderful. Curious and friendly and just stand-offish enough. They forage well and prefer to forage...they're at their best that way. I just don't know what to expect in egg production yet as people state varying things on that. I shall see.... My main goal in chickens is having birds that forage well, produce eggs for the family, and possibly have enough meat on the bones to become stewing hens in the end.

 

[Leahs Mom]

And....for your viewing pleasure.... a variety of SFH and this is just the beginning. There are way more variations than this.

NONE OF THESE BIRDS ARE MINE...POSTED HERE FOR EXAMPLE ONLY.


Blue based roo.


Blue based pullet.



snoleopard cockerel .... this one belongs to @Melabella I COVET.

 

[hennible]

Yep...it's funny how folks have different tastes....and it's what makes life fun. 

The nice thing about the SFH is that they are like a box of chocolates.  There are so many colors and variations...  yard candy. 

Next time around I hope to get some blue based if I continue with them.  The jury is still out for me as I want to own them for a year or so and decide if I like them.  The personality is wonderful.  Curious and friendly and just stand-offish enough.  They forage well and prefer to forage...they're at their best that way.  I just don't know what to expect in egg production yet as people state varying things on that.  I shall see....  My main goal in chickens is having birds that forage well, produce eggs for the family, and possibly have enough meat on the bones to become stewing hens in the end.

Good goals. Orpington's serve those well for me, but I'd sure like something like that I could also call yard candy. I have an EE roo who is quite ornate, just need some girls to go with him.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Your SFH birds are very nice. I too like your least favorite!

As promised, here are pics of my converted dog house... plywood cut to fit the shape on the top half of the door. Then cut out as large a hole as you can for a window, cover with hardware cloth and frame with 1x2 lumber to hold the hardware cloth securely. I put a section of fence on the door so that when weather is being nasty, I can still open the door but hang their feeder so that it is inside. I use a brick on the floor of the "coop" to hold the door open. Plywood on the right side of the door is for the strap hinges to have something stronger than plastic to attach to.



A view through the hardware cloth to show the perch put inside. This is a piece of 2x2 lumber cut on an angle at both ends and secured with screws through the exterior wall of the top section of the dog house.


A couple of strap hinges to secure the door.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Lacy Blues

What is the size of your dog house? It looks similar to mine but I know they come in different sizes.

Are those hinges screwed into that piece of exterior wood?

 

[Lacy Blues]

It's about 24" x 36" by maybe 24" high and yes the hinge screws are screwed into the plywood on the outside. I have "hooks and eyes" to lock the door on the other side.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'll have to measure mine tomorrow. So far I've just set it out there with no "upgrades". This is what the boys may have to use. Okay in summer but I don't like it for winter time. So your upgrades are of great interest to me.

My husband got the dog house for $5 on the side of the road.

 

[hennible]

Has anyone dealt with favus in their flock... I have 5 birds with it. Treating with topical nystatin and AVC and colloidal silver in the water... Any thoughts

 

[Leahs Mom]

Has anyone dealt with favus in their flock... I have 5 birds with it. Treating with topical nystatin and AVC and colloidal silver in the water... Any thoughts

I have not. Often this is the result of having had antibiotics (it's a fungal infection that is comparable to ring worm in people) or it can be attributed to fungus spores either in feed or wet bedding....kind of like aspergellosis.

You can also swab with a 2 percent iodine solution every other day rather than the nystatin. It's supposed to take about 2 weeks. You can get the iodine at a regular drug store.



ETA: I always try to find out what the cause of something like this is so that I can take care of the source and focus on natural chicken keeping husbandry for PREVENTION rather than treatment. So it's important to try to figure out what's at the root of the symptoms.

 

[slayv4petz]

Subscribing

Now to go back and read this whole thread, new to chickens, this grasshopper has much to learn