The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Mumsy]

New pictures of the NY hatch..
Only one hatched NYD..the rest hatched in stages through three days.












I missed two birds..they are very flighty and hard to catch. Stinkers
Almost all feathered out..almost 3 weeks old.

Wow! Look how big and healthy they are! Nice!

 

[delisha]

Thanks Mumsy!


Blood in eggs..
Normal..happens for time to time. Nothing wrong with eating it.

 

[delisha]

I am a little concerned about one of the RIR's. It has a damaged neck, spine. I think it is muscular because it eats and drinks and plays normally. Just that it turns the neck to one side often. Been doing that for a week now. At first I thought it was cute the way it tilted his head and looked up at me. But now I notice it more often.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Tons of house work and chores to be done...and I am reading threads and sorting wood for my new pens

I will post pics when done. I am incredibly proud that I am building stuff (and using power tools LOL) I could barely hit a nail before moving to the sticks! It'll be a year in three weeks and we've never looked back. I hardly recognize my farmer-self these days

quite a leap from my previous corporate life.

Wow..you must be proud!!! What a wonderful life!

First day of


Eggs!!!!


​

 

[ocap]

I'm in the middle part of the country so it doesn't get as cold and frozen as other places but when I had the mites this past early fall, I did not treat the deep litter, I raked the bedding back from the walls and i did it a section at a time because my litter is probably 10-12" deep then I sprayed Neem oil mixed with warm water all along the cracks in the walls an along the floor. I even sprayed the ceiling because it's wood too with crevices. then i sprayed the roosts down top and bottom and where the roosts met the wall. then as my birds came in for the night I caught them inside the duck house before they went into the coop and used frontline for dogs on them 1 tube of frontline lrg dogsmixed with 8 oz of alcohol sprayed under each wing and close to skin as possible around vent. { Not on vent] , sorry but i was determined to get rid of them, after that initial treatment 10 days later I slathered their legs feet and around their vent with Nu stock, no mites since. I did add wood ashes to their nest boxes and their dust bath area. and I check weekly by fluffing their butt feathers and waiting to feel something crawling on my hand, those mites are so tiny very hard for me to see them. Now I spray down the roosts once a month. A friend on BYC who is a breeder gave me the recipe for the frontline.

how long do you wait to eat the eggs after a frontline treatment?

 

[SandBsmom]

I am a little concerned about one of the RIR's. It has a damaged neck, spine. I think it is muscular because it eats and drinks and plays normally. Just that it turns the neck to one side often. Been doing that for a week now. At first I thought it was cute the way it tilted his head and looked up at me. But now I notice it more often.

Delisha I may have the opportunity to help you out with this one. I had a silkie about 4 weeks old that started doing this. I thought it was cute too until it folded completely over and the poor guy started going in circles backward. It had wry neck. I fixed it though! He is now a happy healthy little roo with his own harem.

I gave my little guy a mixture of poly-vi-sol, vitamin E and crushed selenium. In his dire state I had to dropper it into his mouth but your little guy would probably eat it in a little mush. I did this 3-4 times a day for about 3 weeks. He got worse before getting better but he did get better.

Do some reading on here about wry neck and see what you think.

 

[Miss Lydia]

how long do you wait to eat the eggs after a frontline treatment?

I was told 14 days.

 

[delisha]

Quote: I have read about it and I am confident that is not what I have going on. If you have any other ideas, I sure would appreciate it. I do think it might be muscular or neurological in nature. I hope it is not hereditary. No star gazing, no loss of muscular control. It does not increase with excitment. I took those pictures today and he did fine.
Lack of nutrients is not what is going on either.I put chick vitamins and ACV in the waterer. He eats well and plays ruff. Flys. etc
I am not ruling anything out. As long as he eats, drinks and grows he can stay for now.

 

[Bulldogma]

MB - Congrats on 7 eggs! WOW!

Mumsy - those Silkies are too cute! Love the coloring. As you know, we got 2 for my daughter, but those little buggars are stealing my heart. I love their personalities, curiosity and of course, their fluff! I may have to add more!

Delisha - love all the chick pictures! What healthy looking babies! Sorry to hear one has a neck issue - hope it rights itself!

As for me - I spent the morning checking out a horse trailer that may become my newest coop - has enough room to divide into 3 pretty large pens, 2 chick/broody areas and doors and windows all over it. It's old as the hills, but I think it will work - - and for cheaper than buying a much smaller coop.

Then - spent the afternoon working on the 8'x10' hoop coop which is almost done... and not a minute too soon as I'm expecting 5 Dark Cornish (4 hens and a roo) on Saturday. And now... now I'm trying to thaw out. Yeah - I know it was only in the 30's today in VA... but that's COLD as far as I'm concerned!!

 

[delisha]

MB - Congrats on 7 eggs! WOW!

Mumsy - those Silkies are too cute! Love the coloring. As you know, we got 2 for my daughter, but those little buggars are stealing my heart. I love their personalities, curiosity and of course, their fluff! I may have to add more!

Delisha - love all the chick pictures! What healthy looking babies! Sorry to hear one has a neck issue - hope it rights itself!

As for me - I spent the morning checking out a horse trailer that may become my newest coop - has enough room to divide into 3 pretty large pens, 2 chick/broody areas and doors and windows all over it. It's old as the hills, but I think it will work - - and for cheaper than buying a much smaller coop.

Then - spent the afternoon working on the 8'x10' hoop coop which is almost done... and not a minute too soon as I'm expecting 5 Dark Cornish (4 hens and a roo) on Saturday. And now... now I'm trying to thaw out. Yeah - I know it was only in the 30's today in VA... but that's COLD as far as I'm concerned!!

Yummy on the dark cornish..good eating birds.