The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

So sorry to hear about the losses. Today, my son and I put down the cat we adopted over 15 years ago. Very sad day at our houses.

Stony, I remember very well the pics you showed of the weasel you got. I've never heard of them being seen around here but saw that we have them from a DEC chart. We are not supposed to have Fishers (did I spell that right) but someone saw one down the road a couple of miles. I don't believe we can ever be too prepared. Sue

Sally, I am sorry about your cat - I put my Ginger down in November after 20 years, and I still find myself looking for her or thinking I hve to get cat food when I am out shopping. Miss her terribly. Not ready for another animal yet. I figure one will find me when it is time.

 

[lalaland]

Guess you missed one of my post that says. Crack egg in cup put in pan crack on other egg in cup put egg in pan etc. Never crack an egg directly into a pan. Especially if you have other ingredients in it. Don't think I need to explain why after that experience.

PS. Thanks great Grandma.

Pigeonguy, don't you know I was cursing myself out when that h appened, thinking, you dummy, didn't you just read about why you don't crack an egg into a pan! I am sure I will never forget it! I am not all that finicky but I think I am still abit queasy after that. thought it was also funny that it happened so soon after you posted that! you know what they say, can't cure stupid

 

[Mumsy]

A big thanks to Pullet Surprise & Delisha & Mumsy......

I ordered my heritage seeds this morning......I cant wait to get planting I never knew that there were seeds for turnips that you only ate the tops that the veggie roots was not good for eating. See you do learn something new everyday

Delisha- I couldnt picture clover in my mind.....I looked at the picture that goes with the seeds and was like duh......I have a lot of that already growing in my grass!! (blonde moment) But I did pick up a package of red clover seeds to throw in their winter run areas so it can reseed itself after I get the new coop built.

I am thinking I will plant some of the herbs in some of the extra pots I have as well......that way once it get big enough it can be a portable treat pot I can put in their area and remove it so It can regrow.

Your welcome armorfirelady.
I also plant heritage seeds. I like Territorial and Seed Savers. Other veggie I forgot to mention that the chickens love is collards and chard. Collards belongs to the cabbage family but my chickens are crazy for it. I plant it late summer and it grows slowly right to frost. Chard and collards can be harvested one leaf at a time. I don't let my chickens in my fenced potager garden until after frost. Until then I harvest for the house and root cellar and throw the leaves and stems I don't use to the chickens in the orchard or onto the compost pile for them.

@midnightroo: When we were talking about chickens ruining my blueberries some pages back...My blueberry, raspberry, and gooseberry shrubs are in the fenced potager garden. They are dormant here now and I thought they were ok with the chickens foraging in there. Those birds were jumping up to pull branches down and they were stripping the dormant buds! Bark, stem, and all! I couldn't believe it was the chickens ruining the bushes until I caught them in the act!

I always have spare chicken fencing so I formed little make shift cages for each shrub until the garden is shut to chickens in the Spring.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Leah's mom- (I wonder if you'll see this?) I was going to post that link, but we have changed a lot inside the coop and I was going to ask mod permission to clean up the original thread. I don't like the blurry photos, I would take some photos out, and we did some things differently than we had originally planned.

I did see! Well...I guess I sent folks over there to see the old set-up...and now you'll just have to show us photos of the new setup!!!

 

[lalaland]

Great ideas. Might have to try some. My woods is home to a breeding pair of hawks. They were here before my chickens. Chooks keep an eye on the sky at all times. Not much gets past those eyes. Neighbors radio contolled helicopter( I wished for my own minature S.A.M.) ultralight aircraft which throws them into alarm call,ducking and hiding. And then there is the Metlife and Goodyear blimp attacks. Which causes so much panic I thought they would just die in the yard.

lol, the blimp attacks made me laugh. Last spring I had my nieces and nephews up and we were all flying kites in the field and I heard a commotion and looked over at the chicken yeard, and the hens were hysterical trying to take cover. Kites dive, you know. THank goodness I had them in the yard penned up becuase of the visiting dogs, or I would have been retrieving them from everywhere for days.

 

[Melabella]

A big thanks to Pullet Surprise & Delisha & Mumsy......

I ordered my heritage seeds this morning......I cant wait to get planting I never knew that there were seeds for turnips that you only ate the tops that the veggie roots was not good for eating. See you do learn something new everyday

Delisha- I couldnt picture clover in my mind.....I looked at the picture that goes with the seeds and was like duh......I have a lot of that already growing in my grass!! (blonde moment) But I did pick up a package of red clover seeds to throw in their winter run areas so it can reseed itself after I get the new coop built.

I am thinking I will plant some of the herbs in some of the extra pots I have as well......that way once it get big enough it can be a portable treat pot I can put in their area and remove it so It can regrow.

Awesome! What herbs are you going to order?

With our small acerage, and 4 horses, creative pasture management is a must. Paddock rotation and using sacrifice paddocks for most of the day is imperative to keeping any grass here. My horses aren't compitition horses anyway, their work load is fairly light except for summer when we do a lot of trail riding, and my daughters pony is showing. Spring reseeding is essential to keeping any green here at all. The peeps coop and run are right out behind my horse barn, and their favorite place to go to is one of the small grass paddocks, as it borders the 100 acres out behind my property that they also have a blast in. I use it for the Thoroughbreds that come off the track, it's not big enough to really take off in. I was thinking that during the two weeks of seeding, and when the new seed is establishing, I will have to keep them in the pen. Might have to buy some of that plastic chicken fencing for a bit. I can see those chickens now chowing down on all those tender grass shoots.
MB
MB

 

[lalaland]

ok, just a short story about instinct. About 30 years ago, I had my baby daughter in a little shallow wading pool because of the summer heat. Lived near an airport, and those 747's come in pretty low. Well, one comes in and my daughter, 12 months old maybe, flattens herself in the pool, like a rabbit does. Most clear lesson in instinct I ever saw. so no wonder hens go nuts with blimps and kites

 

[Leahs Mom]

I don't know if I would add antiseptic herbs to my chicken's food every day as a preventative, but only when they need a boost like in the cold weather or at the beginning of the breeding season. I have such a variety of wild plants that my birds like to sample, I am sure that Mother Nature gives them what they need. But when the ground is covered in ice, they can't get it on their own. That's when I feed them extra greens and add top dressings to the food.

I agree w/that statement. I haven't wanted to put antiseptic herbs in the food as a "matter of course". It seems to me a bit "counter-intuitive" in that it would be like giving antibiotics preventatively....causing the stronger bacteria to grow immune by exposure.

Think I'll keep the oregano, garlic, and whatnot for when they are needed.

 

[off-grid hen]

I did see!  Well...I guess I sent folks over there to see the old set-up...and now you'll just have to show us photos of the new setup!!!

Haha, no problem! . I just moved some nest boxes and, really. Not much.

 

[Mumsy]

I agree w/that statement. I haven't wanted to put antiseptic herbs in the food as a "matter of course". It seems to me a bit "counter-intuitive" in that it would be like giving antibiotics preventatively....causing the stronger bacteria to grow immune by exposure.

Think I'll keep the oregano, garlic, and whatnot for when they are needed.

Well..I have a different take on it. Keeping in mind I don't believe there is only one right way. I personally don't think of apple cider vinegar, oregano, garlic, pumpkin seed, and others as 'medicine'. I feed these things every day, every feeding as a way to make my chickens bodies inhospitable to disease causing microorganisms and worms that can kill. Combined with reasonable flock numbers, FF, free ranging, fresh air, sunshine, (when we get it) and DL. These things are not the same as man made super antibiotics or other concoctions. If a chicken or chick gets "sick" on my flock husbandry it will be culled. Any chicken or chick that can't thrive on my feeding regime is not fit to be in my flock or breeding program. I would never save something back from their food to use for a just in case they get sick. I want to prevent them getting susceptible to disease to begin with starting on day one.
Part of this whole process begins with not bringing adult birds or chicks into the flock without a strictly followed quarantine period.