The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[jendodd79]

Ok stony..got chicken related info here....stirred the ff today. Added lots of yummy stuff to it. I think I will wait till Sunday to give them the first taste. Let them free range all day. They seemed to enjoy that. Got 8 eggs today so I'm happy, almost got to full egg count.

Got almost all of this month full of orders for eggs. So everything is going swimmingly

What yummy stuff did you add?

 

[armorfirelady]

I had two pullets lay over 3oz eggs today. I bet they they are going to be some serious jumbo egg layers.

You know when I collected eggs today I swore one of the eggs seemed heavier......I didnt think their eggs would get larger as they got older? zMine wont be a year till May and they just started laying in December.

 

[delisha]

Quote: They are the Cornish crosses that I bred back to there dad. They just started laying a few week ago..I no longer have the male, he grew to big and I decided to eat him before I lost him this last summer. He was huge. He did not fit in a cake pan.


Large pullet..she is really pretty. This pic is when she was about 12 weeks old. I love her head and body. Just a large beautiful bird.

The two pullets on the right are the egg layers of the 3 oz ers., left is a cockerel..I will be butchering him out soon I debated keeping him to replace dear ole dad..

Dear ole dad..he was yummy..larger than some turkeys. I think he weighed close 18 lbs and and almost 13 lb. dressed

 

[Arkansas81]

What yummy stuff did you add?

I found out that my local co op sells all kinds of seeds and natural grains by the pound..boss, wheat, barley, fental, cracked corn, wild / exotic bird seeds. They even sell freeze dried mealworms by the pound. So I got a pound of this and that to add to it.

I also got the norm stuff, parsley, orageno, pumpkin, cyanne (dried) seasonings. I put a little scratch and crumbles, and a splash or two of acv. Stirred it all up...I really hope they like it. I'm excited to get them started on it.

I'm pleased they have done so good this winter, its been a tough one, this past summer was brutal too. They are troopers! I'm always fussing over them, but I do with all the critters.

I hope this summer isn't such a pain ...but I am looking forward to it getting here!

 

[countrygirl74]

In this day and age ANY farm animal is rare and exotic. Folks think food comes from the grocery store.

Tell me about it! I had an adult woman walking through my garden, saw the broccoli and said, "I didn't know this grew!" What I want to know is where she did think it came from besides the grocery store...

 

[Bulldogma]

Delisha,
I'm curious to know what your Cornish was crossed with to get those big birds that lay 3 oz. eggs?? Lovely looking birds!

Tanker is on the mend. No wheezing or watery eyes to speak of today. I am keeping her in until it warms up a little, though. Also treating her legs - damage from scaly leg mites. The others showed signs but were nowhere near as bad. All got NuStocked on the first day. Tanker's legs need a bit more attention. We did an Epsom salt soak tonight and scrubbed with a toothbrush. She lost a lot of the nasty scales and has some raw areas. I'll be treating her the next few nights, too.

Here are some pictures from today... she is very photogenic! LOL!

Her pretty and coy look. She bats those lashes and knows the boys will come running!


Playing hard to get...


Being inquisitive...


Extreme close up!!


And finally, the tough girl look.


She really is a sweet bird! She was so good while I was working on her. I think she's going to feel worlds better in the next week or so once those legs start recovering.

 

[lalaland]

I'm going to be real interested in seeing how you do with those danged scaley leg mites. You know another - non-natural obviously remedy that I haven't tried is wd40. I am going to try the kerosene first....I can see the newest pullets starting up with the mites, and one of my old girls having a reoccurence. I sure rue the day I brought that rescue hen home. quarantine would have to be what, months, before you would see mites.

good luck!
and love the tough girl pics

 

[Leahs Mom]

On scale mites...how do you know when they are just starting? Are there "just starting" leg mite photos? I noticed that one of my girl's legs look a little different than the others but I'm not sure what I'm seeing.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to put some oil on preventatively... or some nustock or bag balm, etc.

 

[Leahs Mom]

You know, BDM, she kind of reminds me of an eagle.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Look what I'm getting.... just bought 2 of em.