The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[flyladyrocks]

Yes that has happened to me as well. Seems like nothing a few capfuls of ACV doesn't cure, like you said.

A little salt also can help when it gets "off". Thanks to Leahs Mom for teaching me that! (just want to give credit where credit is due!)

I am interested to see what happens as things warm up (if they ever do!) b/c I've had no issues all winter but it was the warm summer months that it got off- yeast growing on the top, smelling wrong and attracting flies and fruit flies like crazy. I am keeping it inside this year to see if that helps.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: I've done mine inside all summer long. I have never had a problem with it being off or attracting fruit flies.

A little side note......when it warmed up the annoying little ants made their way into the house. The only thing that didnt attract them was the bowl & spoon I use for FF that sits on a paper towel which is dried FF *juice*. Guess they don't like their food fermented

 

[Leahs Mom]

If you're attracting fruit flies, you're producing alcohol (and later on, acetic acid) rather than lactic acid. So...for lacto-fermenting the feed, if you see fruit flies you have yeast in dominance rather than LABS in your mix.

That's an important indicator of the condition of your ferment.

 

[Lacy Blues]

So then, what would be a corrective measure rather than throwing the whole thing away?

Maybe a whole quart of buttermilk or yogurt to get the lactic acid back into the swing of things?

 

[Leahs Mom]

I've done a few things.

Some salt can work wonders.
Being sure that it isn't exposed to the air as much as possible. (The yeasts mostly proliferate with oxygen; LABs mostly proliferate anaerobically.)
Adding a little Avi-Culture 2 off and on if needed/desired.
Cultured buttermilk can help.


One time I had a batch that I had been using for almost 2 years and then all of a sudden, yeast overload. (I mean that I had kept the same batch going by feeding from it until it was almost used, then putting in more feed and water using what was left in the container as starter. I had never had a yeast over-load in all that time...it was easily fixed if I started to see kham yeast on the top, etc. Never had a problem keeping it in balance.)

It was just after I had purchased new grains (I make my own feed) and all of a sudden just couldn't get the yeasts under control. I chalk that up to more yeasts on that particular batch of grains that fall when they came in the bag.

What I did was finally started a new batch because nothing I did over a 6 or so week period of time brought it back into balance. I tried everything that would normally work but it just didn't respond.

I did feed the birds what I had as it wasn't so bad that it would hurt them; but I started a new batch so that I wasn't continuing to proliferate the yeasts into what I was making new. I actually tried starting it new 3 different times and that particular batch of grains just kept causing the same problem. I finally had to get a different kind of container to make it in which made it totally anerobic at the start and that did the trick. (Like making sauerkraut or fermented pickles in the anaerobic jars.) But prior to that I hadn't started a new batch in almost 2 years.

Sometimes there is a slight difference in the feed coming from the mill or in the bags that just can't be fixed.

I've also heard from folks that ferment pellets or crumbles that there are certain brands that just won't ferment well. I heard the same brand mentioned more than once, and when they changed to a different brand, they had no problems. So if you start having issues, it may just be some of those things that need some tweaking

 

[manicfarmer]

Hi folks, I am new to chicken keeping and am adopting a natural management style for my flock. I have one flock of about 31 (6 Barred Rocks, 9 Red Rangers, 1 Egyptian Fayoumi, 6 White Rocks "these were free warmer chicks from hatchery" and 9 Dark Cornish) that is out on pasture and about 7.5 weeks old. I have had some loss due to shipping stress, ignorance and my stupid experiment letting my Rottweiler puppy in the pasture to "guard" the chickens. He loves them but the ones that are intimidated by him get flighty and he chases them. So now he can only be in the pasture when I am supervising closely. I have another flock of Old English Games in the brooder that I plan to put out on pasture in the next week or so. They are just over 3 weeks right now.

The flock that is out on pasture seems very happy and healthy. I have not had any loss (outside of my dog which is my own fault) since I had a barred rock refusing to use the new nipple waterer. As closely as I watched them I didn't realize she was dehydrated until it was too late. I have this one chicken that eats and forages fine but has a horrible cases of what I call "poopy butt". I have read on here from some folks about different things to try which is why I am posting on this thread because I don't want to give the bird some kind of antibiotics or anything. I read from one person that I should segregate this bird from the flock and feed him scrambled eggs and buttermilk with his feed. I wanted to get some expert opinions from folks that are seasoned in this type of management style.

My Fayoumi is a roo and is always running around asserting his dominance on the flock. Nothing that I feel is out of line. Sometimes the other chicken squawks and runs off, other times he does. I figure this is typical chicken behavior defining their roles in the hierarchy. This morning I noticed he jumped on the back of "poopy butt" and grabbed her by the neck. Not sure if he was mounting her or just bullying. He stayed there for a good 30 seconds and obviously the other bird did not like it too much. The other bird seem traumatized now and just sits in the same spot with her eyes shut. Perhaps she was doing this already and I didn't notice and he is picking on her because there is something wrong with her.

I am just looking for some guidance on whether to cull this bird from the flock, or try and nurse her back to good health, or if it is ok to just let her grow to maturity and slaughter her for the table. Also let me know if this was the wrong area to post something like this. I just figured targeting folks with a similar management style would help give me a better options.

 

[Leahs Mom]

The flock that is out on pasture seems very happy and healthy. I have not had any loss (outside of my dog which is my own fault) since I had a barred rock refusing to use the new nipple waterer. As closely as I watched them I didn't realize she was dehydrated until it was too late. I have this one chicken that eats and forages fine but has a horrible cases of what I call "poopy butt". I have read on here from some folks about different things to try which is why I am posting on this thread because I don't want to give the bird some kind of antibiotics or anything. I read from one person that I should segregate this bird from the flock and feed him scrambled eggs and buttermilk with his feed. I wanted to get some expert opinions from folks that are seasoned in this type of management style.

I am just looking for some guidance on whether to cull this bird from the flock, or try and nurse her back to good health, or if it is ok to just let her grow to maturity and slaughter her for the table. Also let me know if this was the wrong area to post something like this. I just figured targeting folks with a similar management style would help give me a better options.

Hello!

We need to figure out what the problem might be before suggesting anything... So I have some questions.

-Is this just a "poop ball" getting stuck in the fluffy feathers around the vent?
-Does it look like runny poo or regular solid poo?
-Is the bird "raw" looking - red and irritated around the vent?
-Is there a strong smell (other than poop) that is unpleasant?

 

[Lacy Blues]

If she were mine, I would catch her up and take her in the house for some toilet paper treatment. Not really. I would bring her in and get her butt cleaned up. If it crusts over, she could die simply from not being able to pass the foods that she does eat.

Gently clean the area. You can use warm water to soften it and get it all removed. If you do, be sure to dry the area completely. A blow drier works well for this.

It sounds like you don't have an unreasonable number of birds so the treatment that was suggested (scrambled eggs and buttermilk) I would give to the whole flock. The point of buttermilk, I believe, is active cultures. You can also use yogurt, plain and unsweetened. If you were to scramble up a half dozen eggs and then pour buttermilk into the feed you give them, then stir in the eggs, they would likely scarf it up!

If the Fayoumi is trying to mount and not actually hurting the other birds then I wouldn't worry about him. Sounds like normal flock behavior to me.

Good luck!

 

[manicfarmer]

Hello!

We need to figure out what the problem might be before suggesting anything... So I have some questions.

-Is this just a "poop ball" getting stuck in the fluffy feathers around the vent?
-Does it look like runny poo or regular solid poo?
-Is the bird "raw" looking - red and irritated around the vent?
-Is there a strong smell (other than poop) that is unpleasant?

No poop ball, it is more of a diarrhea kind of problem. Ever since she started growing feathers I noticed her with a messy behind. I had a couple of issues with butts in the brooder and I would just clean them with warm water so they didn't paste up. This bird is always having the runs and it drips down her feathers. She has picked a lot of the feathers around her vent and it is raw and red. I haven't seen any of her droppings even though I have tried to look several times where she is hanging out. I have heard her go though several times and it sounds runny and gassy. She is acting lethargic today after getting mounted, she probably was before that too but I didn't notice. Now she is hanging out by herself on the other end of the pasture away from the chicken tractor and the rest of the flock. I went out to check on her and she is munching on grass but not vigorously like a healthy bird.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Does she stand in an upright position...kind of like a penguin?

What color is the dropping...is there any yellow in it?