The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

I'm new here but am very interested in what everyone has to say. With such an active thread it seems like it would make more sense to have a separate forum for natural chicken keeping rather than just a thread. Has anyone suggested this? Looking forward to learning from you all!

It is an active thread because it is a good thread with good people..and people tend to socialize and share. We go off topic sometimes, but, for the most part this thread has a wealth of information. We love for you to please share more details about your cocci solving. More learn if more share.

 

[aoxa]

Tons of great information in that spent grain article. It was a new read for me. I have glossed over it before, but, never reaally spent much time learning about spent grains..thank you for posting the link


Great score on the spent grains ..off grid

Aoxa..good decisions about culling are not always easy on you, but, trust me it is easier on them.

I did not ask about doing an autopsy on Carlton..however doing on one the naked neck might be something to think about.It is cold enough out that you should at least process the birds for the dogs. They will keep for you to make that decision later. Wrap them in a bag and put them in a container.

I have all 3 in boxes in the barn. The temps are freezing, so if I decide to do one in the future, I can. Not sure yet.

Thanks for all the kind words. I have come a long way to be able to cull birds when the time comes. I do not like seeing them suffer. Better to do it before it gets to that point. All the other chicks are doing great. The one I culled had no parasites or anything.. just drunk looking.

I added fresh shavings to the deep litter today. Scraped poop off of shelves.. Had dinner out with family. I feel better knowing that I have no birds suffering right now, I'll tell you that much.

X2
The day culling gets easy is the day I quit raising chickens. If it's easy it means I've turned into a cold hearted 'you know what'. I'm realy sorry for the week your having Aoxa. Truly.

Thank you so much Mumsy. It gets easier, but the moments leading up to it, is always so much worse than the deed itself.

 

[delisha]

Yellow and Blue are pullets - blue is Crested and will be beautiful (they'll all be beautiful, but you know what I mean... ). Black and Orange look to be cockerels, and fine ones at that! Beautiful birds, LM!!

Quote: Cockerel...pullet ....pullet...cockerel...my guesses!!!

 

[aoxa]

Mumsy

You have a really nice set up..I would like to have room like Aoxa, but, I do like having seperate buildings. My DH was talking about chnging the hospitol and making special silkie pens..lol..sheesh

I'd love to have a separate building. In time I don't bring in any chickens over a day old anymore though. Not sure I'd need an isolation area, but I have the very large garage I could use if the need ever came up. I do however plan to get another gander this week. I need backup. Losing Carlton made me realize that BIG TIME. This new gander is grey. He is one of the best ganders a friend of mine ever planned to sell. He kept two from that hatch and both are equally good. He usually only keeps one a season, so I lucked out.

Can't wait to get him. He's 2, so he's a seasoned breeder. Good... because Winston is very clumsy, and I need goslings this year

Yellow and Blue are pullets - blue is Crested and will be beautiful (they'll all be beautiful, but you know what I mean... ). Black and Orange look to be cockerels, and fine ones at that! Beautiful birds, LM!!


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Go with BDM on this, as I have never raised SFH. All really funky colours!

 

[aoxa]

Ok this is what I do..I also have a little giant

I have shot glasses filled with warm water at each hole. I have damp paper towel under the shot glasses and a wadded piece of paper towel in each shot glass. I use a straw through the holes if I need to add hot water.

I'm so lucky.. My Genesis doesn't need any additional water other than what is in the wells. I plug the vent to keep temps up until they start hatching. For some reason that increases both humidity and temperature. Then I remove. Never had any problems..

Though incubating is totally different from broodies, and it DOES matter if you open the bator after lockdown. I did this the day after lockdown to show friends the candled egg. Only 2 eggs hatched. Out of FORTY. Totally different. The high humidity to dry air creates a vacuum suction and shrink wraps unpipped chicks. Learned that the hard way

BDM, since your humidity was already low, I doubt you will have this same issue. My last hatch I transferred eggs the day before they were due to hatch because my sportsman went so low in humidity that it didn't even register, and all chicks hatched. 100%

I think it's the high to low that causes the issues. Just my thoughts on it.

 

[atmaclean]

Loving all this information on spent grains and herbs / heritage seeds. Great stuff here!

Just recently got back from picking up my new Dark Cornish - 4 hens and one very happy roo who has never had his own harem until now - LOL! One hen is SQ and all the others are hatchery birds.


SQ in front - she looks like a molting tanker truck.










Apparently this girl is an escape artist, according to her last owner. She has a great personality - very inquisitive and clearly intelligent (as chickens go). Not the best conformation, but I can't help but like her!


Escape artist on the left and tanker truck on the right. You can definitely see a difference!

These 5 birds have the entire 10' x 10' hoop coop to themselves. They'll stay in quarantine for the next couple weeks, and then they'll go on free range rotation. I have to rotate who gets let out to keep my breeding groups together - LOL. Once I get my new-to-me circa 1970's horse trailer (to be converted to a coop) the bantams will get the original Pollo Club blue coop and run and won't need to free range as much.

All my birds get FF with garlic and oregano added (smells like pizza). The new birds are getting a mixed bowl with both FF and dry until they acclimate. They were all sampling the FF already, though.

Old owner said the DC ladies were all in with a Barred Rock roo... if I get any eggs, I'll debate hatching or waiting until I know the DC roo is the eggie-daddy.

Congrats on your new flock members!! They are really beautiful. I didn't know the DC were that pretty.

Angela

 

[aoxa]

Congrats on your new flock members!! They are really beautiful. I didn't know the DC were that pretty.

Angela

I forgot to comment on the dark cornish as well! Beautiful.

I like the hatchery quality ones better than the show quality one. They look sharper. I guess she's molting, so I'll give her a pass

 

[Mumsy]

Thank you so much Mumsy. It gets easier, but the moments leading up to it, is always so much worse than the deed itself.

What you say is exactly true. Those moments leading up to actually putting an animal that is suffering down or one you plan to eat to the hatchet or knife, that's what I'm talking about not being easy. I grew up on a beef cattle farm. My closest neighbor was a commercial chicken rancher. My dad hunted for and I have eaten at my mothers table, Black bear, Grizzly bear, Mountain goat, Black tailed deer, Caribou, geese, duck, and elk. My brother trapped mink, beaver, fox, and musk rat. I know where my food has come from. I was raised on home grown and wild life. I know from first hand experience the right and wrong ways of taking an animals life. Yes. I believe there are wrong ways to do it. I've lived long enough and seen the stark life and death of an animals life on a farm and that taken from the wild to know the difference. And I still say...It. Is. Not. Easy. For. Me. If it is not easy for you and others...You have my deepest respect.

 

[Arkansas81]

Holy cheese balls batman!!! I just caught up from reading almost a hundred pages!! Well I raked about 10 wheel barrel full of dl today. We have been getting slammed by storms for days now. I feel so better about getting such a huge amount of soggy nasty mess out of the coop. Its still pretty smelly but I hope as it dries and I continue to clean it will only get better.

I made the beginning of my worm farm today, I hope to start my ff by this weekend. I had a friend tell me I can have his homemade incubators that he has had nearly 100% hatches out of. So I hope to get those this coming week so I can start hatching. I'm in the beginning stages of getting my broodies pen set up so she can start hatching. Man I'm starting to be a busy girl, just what I wanted!! I will very soon have baby pics to share as well.


:cd

 

[atmaclean]

Could someone send me the link on how to make your own ACV from apple juice and Braggs ACV? I know I read it somewhere back a few hundred posts ago but can't seem to find it. I've gotten the Braggs UP/ACV but am going through it at a very rapid pace! I definitely need to start making some of my own....

My little babies are really gobbling the FF now - my Rhodebars seem to go through it faster than any of the other breeds - not sure why. Waiting on the batch of feed for my outside birds to ferment. It is taking longer - maybe because it is a bigger batch - not sure...? Another question - I give my guineas and chickens some millet in the evenings. Do I need to ferment the millet as well?

Thanks so much!
Angela