The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[hoosiercheetah]

Yep...and I could still use it w/my restricted opening pie pans because most of the ones I have also have handles on each side that could catch on the bricks. I have enough of those that it would be block under it too...

Problem is that I need more than one feeder....

I think I'm only going to do heat for water. I think if I dish up the FF in the morning and in the afternoon, the chickens will eat it all before it freezes. I know when I was serving FF before, they ran through it pretty quickly. I'm going to use their dry-feed feeders in the short term, until I can find some glassware at Goodwill that will work.

 

[lalaland]

sigh.
just got in from morning chores. with the snowstorm (10-16 " forecast, and 3 " already on the ground) no one was willing to leave the coop, even though I shoveled and swept. So I took the broom and herded some out, but most had to be caught and popped under the coop, one by one. Even my 6 year old and 4 year old hens weren't having any of it.


The first snow of the season is such a chore with chickens. Their feed and water is outside, and I want to keep it that way. I'll have to be sure to be out there around roosting tme to help them make it into the coop - meaning, sweep and shovel off the ramp and landing.

 

[Leahs Mom]

You know.... I think I'm back at just feeding it 1x/day in the afternoon. Wishy washy me. I just don't think I want to have to heat it again. We'll see.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

You know.... I think I'm back at just feeding it 1x/day in the afternoon. Wishy washy me. I just don't think I want to have to heat it again. We'll see.

Someone else said they only feed FF once per day, as well. If I went that way, it would sure make it easier to fit into my schedule. Am I right in thinking that I'd also need to leave some dry feed out for them?

 

[JackE]

Very intersting. Thanks for posting that.

At first I thought they were going to use that electric unit and I was thinking "fire in the making". Then I saw how they redid it.

I like the ceramic and metal. What concerns me is the wiring. Which is always what concerns me in those cookie tin heaters. I imagine you could get a heavier wiring that is really made for outdoor use...

I have one of those cookie tin heaters. This will be the 5th winter it is put to use. I don't think it cost me $5 to build. It has proved to be one of the cheapest, and most useful thing in my coop, for the winter. When building one of these, you don't want to use the thin cheap wire that is used in the popular link around here, for the heater. You should use a heavier gauge wire like this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cerrowire-250-ft-14-2-NM-B-Wire-147-1472G/202304609?N=5yc1vZc57a You want to have that copper ground wire, connected to the tin. You don't want to go with a thin, cheap, two strand wire, with no ground.

I had a scrap piece laying around from some other home project, and put a 2 ft, section of it to use for the heater project. You can buy a plug at the store for a coupla bucks. Or you could use a short piece from the plug end of an extension cord, if you don't have any Romex laying around. Then, so as not to just waste a good extension cord, you go to HomeDepot, and get a new plug for it. Where the wire passes through the side of the cookie tin, you want to have a proper clamp there to hold the wire. Like this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Halex-3-...C-_-NavPLPHorizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-100133208-_-N You don't want to just cut a hole and jam the wire through there, and let it it rub/wear against the cookie tin. The cool thing about a properly made cookie tin heater, is that the bulb is totally enclosed. You, or one of your chickens spills water on it, no problem, because the bulb is enclosed and protected. You would have to dunk the whole assembly under water to have a problem. That may not be the case with a pile of concrete blocks.

You could just buy a heater at TractorSupply, for what? $50 now. Then you will have a fine piece of ChineseEngineering, that may last a day, or a year. But when it craps out, and it will, all you can do is toss it in the garbage, and buy another one. With the cookie tin, the bulb burns out, pull off the top, put a new bulb in, and you're back in business. You can't beat it. I've seen there are more elaborate, and involved versions of the cookie tin heater. But for me, a simple bulb in a tin is the way to go. It just flat out works.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@lalaland

Sigh. Not looking forward to that. (And the reason I'm putting them in the barn for a trial this year.)


@hoosiercheetah

It was probably me that mentioned that. In prior years I fed wet all winter but because I leave before sunup I HAVE to have a heater as it freezes solid otherwise.

Yes..I would put out dry for the morning and than give them an afternoon meal of wet when I'm home for the day. Not sure how that will work out as I haven't done it before. I'll probably bring back in any wet feed that hasn't been eaten and then just put it back out in the pm again.

We'll see.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

We'll see.

Yep. Trail and error is my standard MO.

 

[armorfirelady]

BEWARE PICTURES OF PROCESSING A CHICKEN. IF YOU DONT WANT TO SEE THEM THEN SCROLL RIGHT BY (I don't can't use the spoiler option on my IPad)



Well I have sad news. Zorro just got louder and the neighbors were noticing. I tried to find him a new home but had no luck. So I put him in a dog crate last night and covered the windows in the hope he would be quiet. He was. So I did the right thing and culled him this morning, I used used milk jug to hang him in. Had to cut open the pouring end so his head fit through it. And I put a heavy duty leaf bag under the milk jug to catch the blood. He didn't fight after I sliced his neck. I let him drain about 20 min and then worked on feather removal. water temp was 150 degrees and the feathers wiped right off. I removed his feet and head then cut him open to take out his organs. He is currently reading in a milk bath in the fridge. I put a towel over him just because I know my son will yell if he sees the carcass. I took some pics of the organs. I've processed a chicken before when I was a kid but my job was feather removal.

Carcass as I opened it, I was surprised to see the fat.

More fat as I pulled out the organs

the organs outside the body cavity

I believe the lungs, liver & ? I cant remember what the small dark organ is. Gallbladder?

I believe this is the crop. It was covered in yellow fat. Not thick fat just a layer around it.

the intestines

I have no idea what this is. Its at the opposite end of the anus.

crop cut open. I would have to say the crop was the size of a tangerine. Solid. Inside was what he had to eat last night.

Heart & testicles

What was inside the crop that I took out. Fine & grainy. I could see little pieces of corn in there. He last ate last night around 5. I put him in a dog crate in the garage for the night.

Heart, lungs, kidney? & testicles

If I have mislabeled something please let me know. I couldnt label them on the pictures because I dont know how.

I'm cuious to hear from the old timers is that fat is normal? I didnt see any in the breast area just when I cut him open to remove the organs. He was 21 weeks old and on FF once a day since he hatched. He has been foraging in their space since then. And of course leftovers as we had them. I thought he was real skinny. But being so young I was surprised he has some good meat on his breast. He is currently resting in the fridge in a milk bath. His hatch mates were enjoying his heart. If I cant eat him he wont go to waste. His hatch mates & the other hens will enjoy him.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@JackE
Thank you for that. You are absolutely right on the blocks and the bulb being open. Thanks for the warning and also thanks for showing the way to make them with heavy wiring. That is always my biggest concern. Kudos for a great post.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@armorfirelady
Sorry he had to go. You did a great job. I still think it will be hard for me to do one of my own birds since I have so few and I "know" them all.