The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

It's time consuming, but I used little wooden stakes and a spool of construction string... I strung off my entire area to be fenced then went 25' at a time (longest tape measure I had, lol) and marked the string with a black sharpie.. then did the math to figure out how many linear feet of fencing I needed.

Good idea!

 

[delisha]

Why do you hope I get paint?

 

[JeffOeuf]

Aoxa,

Rather than thinking in terms of fencing the whole area, which would require a lot of netting and a few chargers, think about creating paddocks. If you had 4 or 5 sets of net you could lay out a large area for the animals to graze, then when it gets a bit eaten down, move 3 of the 4 sides and herd them into that area.

Each section 164 feet, so four sections would allow you to fence a little over half an acre at a time.

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa,

Rather than thinking in terms of fencing the whole area, which would require a lot of netting and a few chargers, think about creating paddocks. If you had 4 or 5 sets of net you could lay out a large area for the animals to graze, then when it gets a bit eaten down, move 3 of the 4 sides and herd them into that area.

Each section 164 feet, so four sections would allow you to fence a little over half an acre at a time.

Jeff,

I don't know why I wouldn't have came to this conclusion... Duh...

I could fence the turkeys and sheep separate from the chickens. That way I wouldn't have to purchase so much...

Great idea. One I should have thought of

 

[aoxa]

Why do you hope I get paint?

Because paint silkies are very pretty.

They have big dark spots on them. Very neat.

 

[chickiemomy]

I also only feed once a day. I fill their feed trough once, and that's it. If they're still hungry they need to go out and find something to eat. Once spring is here and there's more to forage, I'll feed once in the late afternoon. I had stopped throwing scratch out, thinking they were getting too much, but ive been thinking I'd like them to have a little extra while it's so cold.
I had mentioned a while back that our Cochin girls are super lazy and mostly hang out in the barn. Hubby said we'll try shutting them out of the barn in the Spring and see if that changes their behavior. If not, even though they're beautiful, I'll have to find a new breed. I really wanted birds that wandered more, and the benefit of free ranging makes me want that even more.
So, what breed does well in the cold and free ranges really well? Our barred rock, and sex links are pretty great, but I'd like maybe one or two more breeds. Wondering if hatching some Cochin barred rock mixes would help with the Cochin laziness? Or if being broody raised, by a good forager, would help?

My buckeyes are good foragers & very curious - will range almost further out than I'd like, if given no fence boundaries. My black austalorps are also into following them out & around everywhere. Have to say the BA's are fairly loud when they are sounding an alarm - but are not as vigilant as I am reading the guineas are! Love my buckeyes - nice birds, & very hardy breed - I've read they are the only recognized (?) breed that was developed by a woman. I also like that the 2 are on the larger size of the breeds. I need chickens that can do a little to protect themselves out here.

 

[jockeyeba]

Thanks Aoxa......I need to work on my breed acronyms


I have a question for those who use electric fencing.  I am looking to get some in March to put around the new coop I am building.  I would like it to be solar powered since its not convient or cheap to have to plug one in.  

I have ample space so thinking of buying 3 so the hens have a large area to roam in.  I cant free range because of living on a busy street and my 2 dogs

I have the electrified poultry netting from Premier and would highly recommend it. I have 4 100' lengths, of their PoultryPlus netting. It's 4' high and has the double mount spikes. I am using a 115 VAC charger for it. Premier has and sells solar chargers if you want one of those. The electric draw of my charger is like a low watt bulb, so it is not really expensive to use. According to my fence charge tester, I'm getting 7000Vs out of it. I think I'm getting more than that, but the tester only reads to 7000Vs.  I don't use anything over the top, because it covers a big area. But, my birds have the coop itself to get under, as well as a brushy area contained inside the fence. They have gotten pretty good at identifying airborne  threats. And stray dogs, and the fox that I have around here are no longer a worry. 
Jack

Nice setup I wish we had that much land, we have a horse barn, arena, and 2 houses on 3 acres and sheep running on it along with the chickens

 

[JeffOeuf]

It's time consuming, but I used little wooden stakes and a spool of construction string... I strung off my entire area to be fenced then went 25' at a time (longest tape measure I had, lol) and marked the string with a black sharpie.. then did the math to figure out how many linear feet of fencing I needed.

For the purpose of estimating materials, working at 3 feet per pace is the way most people do it. If your pace is greater or less than 3 feet, you can adjust accordingly, but unless you're dealing with several thousand feet, you won't be off enough to matter if you just do it at 3 feet per pace. For me, a normal, not exaggerated pace is almost perfectly 3 feet. My wife is 5'9" and she has nearly the same pace I do at 6'. If you're under 5'9" you might have to exaggerate your pace slightly to hit a consistent 3'. Try it with a 25 foot tape and see if Jack and I are not right.

 

[jockeyeba]

The last couple of days have been tough on me friends. I raise pigs for my family and friends/customers. I understand that I raise them differently than institutions, and I tell myself that they have wonderful lives with 1 bad day.... but.... I raised them from when they were young, and when I hold out baked goods to coax them onto the trailer, they are only responding to what I have done with them from the beginning. I feel like a traitor. Worse yet, when we got to the processor last night, they didn't want to come off the trailer and who could blame them.... dozens of bawling animals in a strange place so far from home, lingering smells of the previous animals that had gone before.... I hunt, I fish, I kill and eat animals, but this time, when my treachery to them spells imminent death.... gives me pause, realizing the dominion we humans have over the lives of our charges. Yes, I will enjoy the fruits of my labor, but a part of me cries for my babies. Most remain nameless, but even so, when you have an animal that will take food from your hands, there is a measure of trust..... that I have broken.

I know how you feel We raised 2 pigs last year + raise sheep & put them in the freezer. I just have to tell myself that they had a better life with us while they were here then they would have had elsewhere

 

[JeffOeuf]

Yeah, well, I have been thinking about it a lot lately. I'm trying to figure out how to keep my garden safe from my chickens, keep my patio poop free, and still let the girls have the run of most of the property.

Check out the installation video on Premiere's web site.