The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

I have a couple of things I've been wondering about. One is that my FIL raised chickens probably about twenty years ago. The eggs he gave us had the hardest shells I've ever seen. I mean I think you could have injured someone with them, lol. I wonder how he fed them to get such hard shells. Do you think he added extra calcium to their feed. I am not concerned about the shells on my eggs. There is calcium in their feed and I leave out oyster shell in case they want it. I have not asked him .....he is close to 90 and I'm not sure he would remember or that he would hear me. He refuses to wear a hearing aid. I am just curious about what he did.

My other question is about the color of my egg yolks. My chickens are free ranged. I feed them fermented feed with occassional scraps, scratch, BOSS and pumpkin seeds. I don't think the yolks are especially dark. It may be that they are darker than I realize because I don't see many commercial eggs to compare them to. Also,even tho they are free ranged I only began collecting them in september so the bug population was going down and they are eating more of what I am feeding them and fewer "wild things". I'm just curious if anyone has any ideas.

Also, one of my Doms is sitting on four eggs right now so she is not laying. It now seems that her sister has stopped laying, too. Is this normal chicken behavior?

And last, what is the best way to encourage the hens to lay in the designated area instead of hiding eggs. I cannot catch most of my chickens so I don't know how I could contain them...especially as most of the nests are not enclosed. I have closed off the last hiding g spot...I don't see any more places they could use but I know they may find other places that I don't see. I don't mind walking around the yard to gather eggs, but this last place was one I couldn't reach and would not due to snakes in the summer.


Just curious and I hope its ok to ask on this thread. I know that was more than a couple....can you tell I have no one to talk "chicken" with in person?

Yes!!! Ask as many and as often as you like!

about shell hardness: I know it varies by breed, age, and diet, and individual hen. I dont know anything else
egg yolk color: they get darker yolks from greens and bugs....and yolk color varies from hen to hen. Marigold petals can make yolks darker. I always think mine are paler in the winter when the greens they eat are limited but could be my imagination .

Your Dom has gone broody and wants to hatch those eggs. Very normal behavior. Do you have roosters? Do you want chicks? If not, you might want to remove the eggs and keep her off the nest. It is hard on the hen to go broody because they quit eating, drop weight, and get no exercise.

You could try salting the nests you want them to use with wooden or fake eggs, or golf balls. Keep the hens locked in the coop til mid morning for a few weeks to get them used to laying inside in the nests - this can be impossible to do if you have to go to work. Good to close off the hiding places.

 

[Mrs. K]

I'm a newby here.... My black silkie hen surprised me with serious setting on 13 eggs her first time around.
New Years Eve, there were 9 healthy babies hatched. Unfortunately, the 10th baby was rolling around stuck on its back so I nudged it back under its mother. That one ...got smothered somehow, I lost it and was sick about it.
Well, New Years Day, two more hatched and I put a paper towel down with sides to try to keep the robust babies from overwhelming the 2 newbys.
It has now been 24 hours or more. The dark one is eating and moving around more, but the light one is still a bit wobbly, not really eating, and seems estranged from the other chicks.
Should I pull it from the other chicks and try to feed it directly or just keep it with the group. I'm starting to worry. Also a friend read to feed new borns smashed cottage cheese and scrabbled egg mixed with water every half hour which was done some today. But this little runt is not interested in eating, except for a couple tiny sips. Also should I feed them through the night every half hour to hour?
Because I lost one, I want to make sure I am assertive in keeping these last two hatchers alive, especially the smallest one of the whole bunch.
I hope someone can advice me soon.
LadyRagz

Really don't feed them anything but chick feed. In the wild, only mammals eat milk, not birds.
The mama will get them to eat and drink.
New born chicks are fragile, and some are not going to make it, it is not your fault.
Chicks, and really chickens do not really benefit from being separated from the flock.
I agree with lalaland, not all chicks make it. Just celebrate the ones that do.

A very interesting thread that was on this forum a couple of years ago, had people send in their hatching rates. Each poster added the number of eggs set to the previous total, and then added the number of live chicks to that total. At first the data swung wildly, but the longer it went the more consistent it became, and roughly, 50% was the average. Now there were times where people had hatches way above that, and there were times people had disasters, but generally speaking it was about 50% and it didn't really matter if it was a broody hen or incubator.

So when I hatch, I do not count my chicks until they hatch, and I consider anything above 50% a good hatch. You are way above that, so celebrate.

Mrs K

 

[armorfirelady]

. The eggs he gave us had the hardest shells I've ever seen. I mean I think you could have injured someone with them, lol. I wonder how he fed them to get such hard shells. Do you think he added extra calcium to their feed. I am not concerned about the shells on my eggs.

My other question is about the color of my egg yolks.

Also, one of my Doms is sitting on four eggs right now so she is not laying. It now seems that her sister has stopped laying, too. Is this normal chicken behavior?


And last, what is the best way to encourage the hens to lay in the designated area instead of hiding eggs. I cannot catch most of my chickens so I don't know how I could contain them...especially as most of the nests are not enclosed.

I have always believed egg shell hardness has to do with the calcium intake. If you have the oyster shell free choice then they will eat it when they need it.

My hens are given FF. I find the yolks are a beautiful deep orange color. Much prettier than the commercial eggs which are a pale yellow.

You could try salting the nests you want them to use with wooden or fake eggs, or golf balls.

Salting nests?

 

[vpatt]

I have always believed egg shell hardness has to do with the calcium intake.  If you have the oyster shell free choice then they will eat it when they need it.

My hens are given FF.  I find the yolks are a beautiful deep orange color.  Much prettier than the
commercial eggs which are a pale yellow.  
Salting nests?

Thank you both Armor and Lala. Lol.....I know what you mean about "salting" with golf balls and I have done that. It makes me laugh though.....when I was very little someone told me if I could sprinkle salt on a wild birds tail that I could catch it. I can remember running around chasing birds with a salt shaker.

I think my yolks must be darker than bought....but I don't buy eggs enough to remember.....thnx

 

[COChix]

I'm a newby here....
LadyRagz

Welcome to the board and good questions. I have nothing more to add to what people have already said.

I have a couple of things I've been wondering about. One is that my FIL raised chickens probably about twenty years ago

My other question is about the color of my egg yolks. My chickens are free ranged. I feed them fermented feed with occassional scraps, scratch, BOSS and pumpkin seeds. I don't think the yolks are especially dark. It may be that they are darker than I realize because I don't see many commercial eggs to compare them to. Also,even tho they are free ranged I only began collecting them in september so the bug population was going down and they are eating more of what I am feeding them and fewer "wild things". I'm just curious if anyone has any ideas.

Also, one of my Doms is sitting on four eggs right now so she is not laying. It now seems that her sister has stopped laying, too. Is this normal chicken behavior?

And last, what is the best way to encourage the hens to lay in the designated area instead of hiding eggs.

Just curious and I hope its ok to ask on this thread. I know that was more than a couple....can you tell I have no one to talk "chicken" with in person?

Hi V, a familiar face from how many eggs today thread. Lol on your comment about not having anyone to speak chicken too, I am in the same boat. So my understanding of egg yolk color and things you can do to influence them is foods high in carotenoids. Here is a little chart I found awhile back.

Foods That Naturally Influence Egg Yolk Color
Yolk Color Ingredient
nearly colorless- white cornmeal
pale yolk- wheat, barley
medium yellow yolks -yellow cornmeal, alfalfa meal
deep yellow yolks- marigold petals, kale, greens, cabbage, spinach
orange to red yolks carrots, tomatoes, red peppers

Sorry did come through like a chart, but still helpful. So something I am doing and have been doing with ours is they get a daily ration of greens, typical favorites with them are kale and cabbage. Both of those help keep the yolks more colorful. I started this last summer and would take greens directly from our gardens. I also read Nasturiums can influence color as well.

Your Dom has gone broody as others have said, I have one that has been broody twice since November. I am holding off for spring hatching to let her sit on a clutch.

While any outbreak of Avian Flu should be taken seriously it is also important to keep everything in perspective and follow the guidelines outlined by the CDC and WHO which include to, as much as possible, isolate domestic poultry from wild bird populations. According to this report aprox. 245,000 birds in British Columbia have been infected. While that is a huge number of birds it is only a tiny fraction of the chicken population of British Columbia. According to http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/aboutind/products/livestck/chicken.htm 

"BC has over 323 commercial chicken producers. They produce almost 90 million chickens weighing a over 150 million kilograms (after evisceration) with a farm gate value of over $300 million. If all the chickens produced in 1 year in BC were standing in a line they would form a line more than 15,000 miles long."

So please keep those numbers in mind as well.

My birds are constantly exposed to local wild bird populations and that does cause me some concern. However, this time of year, it is migratory water fowl that cause me more worry. We live on a migration path so we do not keep unattended water in pools for our ducks and geese until the migrations are over. While it is unlikely that any of these wild birds would actually land and mingle with our domestic birds it is something I want to take steps to assure does not happen.

Take care of your flocks, protect them from ALL predators including those microscopic ones that move in and out of our environments daily and you should be o.k.

thanks for the link as well and for the reminders, being a newer chicken owner it is always a bit scary to hear of things like that and Marek's. However, it is all part of the chicken world and we should be well versed in those types of things.

I asked a question earlier but I guess it got missed. Can anyone tell me if I can use Lavendar oil on a chickens, topically?

 

[lalaland]

I don't know anything about using lavender on chickens. What would be the benefit? I've read of persons using lavender in the nestboxes, but that isn't oil.

 

[jtn42248]

I asked a question earlier but I guess it got missed. Can anyone tell me is I can use Lavendar oil on a chickens, topically?

Yes you can use Lavender Oil on poultry. There is some controversy as to it's benefits but it is safe if you follow a little direction. First, do some research, usually essential oils work best when blended with other oils as opposed to used alone. ALWAYS use a dilution of the oil, NEVER use full strength essential oils. Shop around and get PURE essential oils that contain nothing else. A lot of essential oils are sold diluted with solvents that can be very harmful. Done right, even with the controversy about their use, they are safe and if nothing else you will have nice smelling birds.

 

[COChix]

I don't know anything about using lavender on chickens.  What would be the benefit?  I've read of persons using lavender in the nestboxes, but that isn't oil.  

Lavendar oil is very medicinal it is an adaptogen which helps the body deal with stress and imbalances. Others benefits of lavender essential oil include its ability to eliminate nervous tension, relieve pain, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems. Not to mention its antibacterial and antiviral properties. It got me thinking as it is a go to in our house for us as well as our dogs. We use it a lot topically......

 

[COChix]

Yes you can use Lavender Oil on poultry. There is some controversy as to it's benefits but it is safe if you follow a little direction. First, do some research, usually essential oils work best when blended with other oils as opposed to used alone. ALWAYS use a dilution of the oil, NEVER use full strength essential oils. Shop around and get PURE essential oils that contain nothing else. A lot of essential oils are sold diluted with solvents that can be very harmful. Done right, even with the controversy about their use, they are safe and if nothing else you will have nice smelling birds.

Thanks you! So I have lots of experience using it on ourselves as well as our dogs. We use it topically for burns, cuts and things of that nature. Of course it is very strong and like you mentioned needs to be diluted. So it got me thinking about our roo whose wattles stuck together after drinking water in the frigid temps we were having. Anyway, he has a patch of skin that looks like it is dying, it is not an open wound. Anyway, I put some Terramycin on it yesterday and he seemed like he appreciated that and snuggled with me after his treatment. So I thought maybe I could use Lavendar on him like we do on ourselves. Of course sourcing the oil is important, but we have our own oils that I made this fall from our Lavendar so I know it is 100% pure.

 

[vpatt]

I have used lavender oil a lot on people...especially myself. It is great for burns, scar prevention and pain. It can help you relax and sleep. But I cannot use it on my lips. I have tried it and it always burns my lips. I don't know why.maybe I have not diluted it enough. Normally it does not need much if any dilution....it is one of the most skin friendly ego's. But I have never used it on animals.... I have a dog with a sore on top of her paw. I have been using blukote....I may try the lavender. Maybe alternate the two?


Lol....eo’s not egos