The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

this worming advice below refers a couple of times to fasting the hens, treating, and then "followed by a laxative period". Well, isn't that just, they'll poop again after a while? or what?


Nutritional Treatments
• Give a laxative diet: mash of pumpkin seeds and milk after a 12 hour fast, follow with
a warm mash of bran, middlings, and milk. (8)
• Give finely chopped onions and garlic. (11)
• Feed finely grated raw carrot, garlic, onions, and parsley. (1)
• Feed mustard; squash or pumpkin seeds; carrot and fennel seeds.
• Add DE and charcoal to feed all preceded by a fast and followed by a laxative period.
(19)7
Herbal Treatments
• Give a course of garlic for ten days (1 clove/hen/day) and add to the diet bramble
leaves, elder leaves, wormwood, wormseed, cotton-lavender, rue, hyssop, (1)
• Give powdered cayenne or senna after a fast. (1)
• If tapeworms are very bad give 1/2 tsp. grated male fern root mixed with bran, castor
oil and molasses daily. (1)
• Give garlic (pills, powders, fresh, tinctures),wormwood (Artemisia spp.), wild ginger,
snakeroot, goosefoot, conifers (pine, spruce, firs), fennel seeds, or pyrethrum all
preceded by a fast and followed by a laxative period. (19)

 

[atmaclean]

Our LGD is invaluable. I wouldn't take anything for him. He knows his job and does it. With a good LGD, you DO NOT have to "train" them to do their job. It is just natural instinct for them to protect the livestock. Like any dog, they must be taught manners and what is expected of them as far as jumping, walking on a lead, etc - mainly when they are puppies. But when it comes to guarding your livestock, it is pure instinct.

There are some good resources out there on the different LGDs and what they are best suited for. I have had Great Pyrenees and Maremma. I prefer the Maremma as they stay close to the livestock and don't wander as much as the Pyrs do **this is just my experience - I am sure there are others with different experiences** Just be sure to look for good quality stock with parents experienced with guarding livestock. They won't be cheap, but they will certainly save you in the long run!

My husband is a farrier and trims a lot of donkeys that are used as livestock protectors. Interestingly, some of them prefer to be pets and aren't aggressive toward intruders while others are pretty nasty to them. There is a gentleman nearby that raises donkeys specifically for cattle protection and the donks don't see anything else. He believes that bonding them strictly with cattle makes the very good protectors of them..... If I had to get a donk for herd protection, I would probably get one that had been raised around horses and chickens. Unfortunately, our chickens are not in the pastures with the horses so a donkey would not do me any good. He/she would just have to stand there and watch the attack from the other side of the fence. Thus, we have the LGD who can go anywhere on the property

OTOH, I've got a mustang mare that is pretty nasty with dogs (other than our dogs). She once cracked the skull of a dog that went in and started sniffing at her. I wonder if maybe she had seen a dog/coyote/wolf attack during her life living in the wild.....

Angela

 

[farmerfogg]

If you ever need to talk just drop me a line..hugs
What is your roo? I like his color

Thank you! He is a Plymouth Barred Rock. His name is Foxy. And I think he's a nice looking fellow.

 

[aoxa]

the outlets rated for outside now have large plastic covers that snap over them (at least in the states) -- they only partially cover the outlet if you have something plugged in - but are closed when not in use & thereby limit any dust, or etc getting into the outlet plug area. May want to think about using items rated for outside, even if it is inside a barn. GFI's are a must - will pop with any interuption or spike in electricity - now required in any wet areas of any house - kitchens, bathrooms. Sometimes are a pain, as they pop at the slightest mis-step -- but compared to the alternative. Consider putting outlets much higher on the walls than normal - keep the plugs from floor dust animals, etc.. DH is a high voltage electrical worker - I appreciate his over cautions w/respect to power - and everything else for that matter. He's very safe - over-builds, etc - sometimes makes me crazy - but I appreciate it very much.

we also have a fire alarm / smoke alarm system in our house - one of the monitored types, that if set up right, will sound an alarm from the main alarm - very loud - whole neighborhood would likely hear -- but it is on a monitored-type system -not sure how available it might be outside that. think the baby monitor is a good idea for on-the-cheaper. you could set the alarms up in a sequence - if one goes off, they all go off - again, required in new houses here - so if a fire starts in one bedroom, the people in the rooms on the other side of the house get an alarm also. Seems like you could set up a sequence, with one alarm high, in the attic, near a vent in an area directed towards the house -- you'd have to test - not sure if you'd hear through the windows & insulation of a house tho???

Thanks for all the detail. The outlets were not GFIs

guinea fowl , will protect a flock where it's snakes or hawks, geese will protect a flock and eat snakes, and donkey's. However a donkey is not fool proof--my husband witnessed the next door's dogs trying to dig into our dog lot to get to the chickens Saturday- Jay-jay missed them, and he not much help with air attacks. We will be adding Guinea's some time in the future. most Donkey's will get used to a farm dog, and ignore it--But when the dog is in the pasture a donkey ( at least a jack) does NOT want anything in his territory and you could have a problem. I highly suggest you DO NOT buy a intact Jack, they are considered dangerous and unpredictable--read Bull here. Yes, I have one- and wish he was gelded--he almost always sweet. Jennies and geldings bray less and are much calmer. A LSG, a llama, and a donkey are the best a larger animal protection--ie,coyotes. I love both barns, in the Mennonite community in Delano, Tn -they have a ingenious 3 sided peaked roof a the tip of the barn, long on the top and cut back to the sides--great to protect your steps/landing and barn face, if you go that way. found out they are called a hay hood--can't find a picture like they have in polk county TN

So glad you chimed in. Thank you.

Our LGD is invaluable. I wouldn't take anything for him. He knows his job and does it. With a good LGD, you DO NOT have to "train" them to do their job. It is just natural instinct for them to protect the livestock. Like any dog, they must be taught manners and what is expected of them as far as jumping, walking on a lead, etc - mainly when they are puppies. But when it comes to guarding your livestock, it is pure instinct.

There are some good resources out there on the different LGDs and what they are best suited for. I have had Great Pyrenees and Maremma. I prefer the Maremma as they stay close to the livestock and don't wander as much as the Pyrs do **this is just my experience - I am sure there are others with different experiences** Just be sure to look for good quality stock with parents experienced with guarding livestock. They won't be cheap, but they will certainly save you in the long run!

My husband is a farrier and trims a lot of donkeys that are used as livestock protectors. Interestingly, some of them prefer to be pets and aren't aggressive toward intruders while others are pretty nasty to them. There is a gentleman nearby that raises donkeys specifically for cattle protection and the donks don't see anything else. He believes that bonding them strictly with cattle makes the very good protectors of them..... If I had to get a donk for herd protection, I would probably get one that had been raised around horses and chickens. Unfortunately, our chickens are not in the pastures with the horses so a donkey would not do me any good. He/she would just have to stand there and watch the attack from the other side of the fence. Thus, we have the LGD who can go anywhere on the property

OTOH, I've got a mustang mare that is pretty nasty with dogs (other than our dogs). She once cracked the skull of a dog that went in and started sniffing at her. I wonder if maybe she had seen a dog/coyote/wolf attack during her life living in the wild.....

Angela

Angela,

It took me forever to train Clem basic manners. She was hard headed and independent. I have heard of others who didn't have trouble, but seeing as I did.. and how little time I have to work with them.. I just can't go through all that again. Especially with a family on the way. Susan is also very heartbroken and doesn't ever want to think about another one. Clem was the hardest loss for her.

They are also incredibly expensive to purchase and maintain. After costs and training it is very worth it, I agree. We are lucky that we are in an area that sees very little in the way of predators. We had a stray dog once and a goshawk once. I'm thinking a LGD isn't highly needed for our situation.

 

[Mumsy]

Well here is the picture of the remains of our barn. I want to document before and after. Some people asked to see the damage. My FIL actually took pictures DURING the fire, but it is really horrific. I can post if anyone cares to see that, but anyway..

I have to say the AKC really creates their kennels very well. It's the only thing that can possibly be salvaged.

This is gut wrenching. I wasn't ready to see this but I understand it is part of the healing and coping process.

My husband is an electrician with 30 years experience. His speciality is commercial buildings and alarms and such. He tells me my barn is safe. I've asked him to hook up smoke detectors in it that set off an alarm in the house.

I am still thinking of you and Susan every day. I cry easily thinking about what happened. Your horrific experience has probably touched more people and got more barns and coops wiring looked at than you can possibly know.

 

[Sally8]

When we put electric in our chicken coop hubby put in a GFI outlet. It works great and makes me feel so much safer. My concern is how flammable all that chicken dust is. I sweep now and again but it's not getting more attention than my house. I'd be divorced. ,lol GFI's are supposed to have safety features that if there is a short, it get's wet, pretty much anything will trip it. I know that in our kitchen we have one that is very sensitive and will trip very easily.

 

[PeepsCA]

Thanks for sharing the pics Justine, and the reminder about blowing out the dust in the outlets.

I have a donkey and I have not seen a coyote, fox or bobcat inside my fenced 10 acres since I got him. So he definitely earns his keep watching over my goats, poultry and horses (other than that he's a jackass tho, lol). The other night some kids on a 4wheeler broke down out on the road below my lower pasture at about 10:30PM, and the donkey went down there and brayed at them from his side of the fence for about 20 minutes until they pushed the 4wheeler down the road further, lol.

The one drawback to having an animal that grazes for guarding your livestock is that they eat a lot of the grass/vegetation that your livestock/poultry should be grazing/browsing on, and when you are on small acreage it goes fast.

 

[Bulldogma]

Aoxa - HUGS!
I know those pictures had to be very hard to share.

More hugs!

 

[Leahs Mom]

As I am dealing with bumble foot issues...

I keep reading everywhere that flat roosts (as in 2x4 or 1x4), even with curved edges, can cause foot injuries.

I'm sure that many - if not all - of us were told to use a 2x4 with the 4" side flat for them to roost on. I know plenty of people that are using those successfully with no problem so I'm not totally convinced that flat roost boards are a problem at all.

That being said - I also know that many folks use branches from outdoors for roosts.

The Question:

If you are using branches, what size diameter works best?
Give me some "branch roost testimonies"

 

[JeffOeuf]

Did one of my favorite winter chores today. I started 6 kinds of tomatoes, tomatillos and 12 different peppers. About 8 to 10 weeks from now, I'll be putting them in the ground. Love to watch the seeds sprout and turn into plants.

To keep this on topic, my chickens watched and -- I swear -- reminded me several times how much they like tomatoes.