The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

OH, NO!! I FOUND LEG MITES ON ONE OF MY OLDER HENS. Does it ever end? I've been battling mites ever since I started with deep litter. I use preventative (wood ash dust bowls and physically dust a few every few days), in the beginning I used DE, Frontline Plus, Sevin. I can't really scrub the coop out until warmer weather but between now and end of week end all the DL is going. Ill try scrubbing the walls, floor, etc with wood ash. The roosts with an oil. I have a broody that has been on her nest for almost 3 weeks. I'm going out to dust her now. Ugh! I'd go back to raising goldfish but my grandson doesn't like the fancy fins and tries to pull them off when I'm not looking. (We're missing a gene in this family!)

Have a great day all! Sue

when you say leg mites....do you mean scaly leg? or do you mean you saw a red mite or a tan louse? Just wondering because with scaly leg, ash won't help prevent. The only thing that helps is topical treatment on the leg and/or ivermectin internally. If it is leg mites, don't want you to have to do the work you are describing because it wouldn't help.

but, am guessing you mean you saw a mite on a leg....?

 

[countrygirl74]

Just thought I'd mention that I used to use close to 100lbs of feed a month... now that I am using FF, it has dropped to closer to 50lbs! The ducks are the piggiest - the chickens will have feed in their feeder for days. I expect that amount to go back up as I am adding about 8-10 new chicks pretty soon but it sure has helped!! Also, as soon as I can get things growing again around here, the feed should drop again.

 

[aoxa]

Just thought I'd mention that I used to use close to 100lbs of feed a month... now that I am using FF, it has dropped to closer to 50lbs! The ducks are the piggiest - the chickens will have feed in their feeder for days. I expect that amount to go back up as I am adding about 8-10 new chicks pretty soon but it sure has helped!! Also, as soon as I can get things growing again around here, the feed should drop again.

That is a lot of feed for 12 birds (if you haven't updated your signature yet). The winter prior when I had 21 - I would go through 50 pounds every 2 weeks (dry).

You have really heavy weight ducks, so they are probably eating their fair share. I only had a muscovy and a runner x mallard mix at that time, so they weren't eating any more than the chickens.

 

[Ashdoes]

You will have to put more than just one initial cost out. It shrinks really fast. I was going through a lot of shavings. It was pricey but the alternatives I hated.. I did not like straw or hay - both smelled up really quickly. The shavings are my favourite. Other people use leaves - but I forgot to before they were all in the compost pile and soaking wet. 

We use Irving Kiln Dried Pine. It costs 5.99 a bale here and we bought it in bulk (10 bales). We went through at least 10 a month. Never ever cleaning any out. It was crazy how much we were spending on pine shavings. If you can find it how Stony does (free from carpenters) - I would go that route. 

I am not willing to risk having cedar in there, so I just pay the money. It took 4 bales to even cover the floor an inch per area I used. We had a lot of square footage. We worked it out to be 800 square feet of used space for all of the animals (sheep, turkeys and chickens) not including the breeding pens and brooders. The dirt pen area always shrunk down much faster. Our new barn will be dirt in the chicken and larger livestock area. 

Like Mumsy said, sand is really heavy.. I wouldn't use it for a big area. For brooders - I am still thinking on it. Maybe.. maybe not.. But I will stick to shavings because the bales are manageable to move around, and it smells nice. 

Someone on another thread mentioned wood pellets, and I've been wondering how well those would work? I just want to make sure everything is compostable, and I don't know how the poo would break down in pellets. Also, I figure for the duck stall I'd throw some scratch in once a week and let the chickens do my work for me, and I'm not sure how pellets would work for that either.

 

[aoxa]

Someone on another thread mentioned wood pellets, and I've been wondering how well those would work? I just want to make sure everything is compostable, and I don't know how the poo would break down in pellets. Also, I figure for the duck stall I'd throw some scratch in once a week and let the chickens do my work for me, and I'm not sure how pellets would work for that either.

I tried pellets. I removed them after a week. I HATED them. So much.

Just my opinion on the matter....

 

[Ashdoes]

I tried pellets. I removed them after a week. I HATED them. So much.

Just my opinion on the matter....

Lol, that was quick. We get a pretty good price on the wood shavings, it think they're 14 cu ft bale for $7. Since the chickens spend most of their time outside, and I'm guessing the ducks will too, shavings seem the best way to go. Thanks!
Here's a question about the ducks, since they feather out faster, at what age do you put them outside? Some people love baby chicks and ducks, I really prefer to get past that stage as quickly as possible.

 

[countrygirl74]

That is a lot of feed for 12 birds (if you haven't updated your signature yet). The winter prior when I had 21 - I would go through 50 pounds every 2 weeks (dry).

You have really heavy weight ducks, so they are probably eating their fair share. I only had a muscovy and a runner x mallard mix at that time, so they weren't eating any more than the chickens.

Yes, Aoxa, my ducks definitely eat their fair share! LOL - Those 4 ducks eat the same amount, if not more, than all the chickens combined!! So, I guess it's like actually having closer to 20 chickens! As of a couple weeks ago, I am down to 8 chickens and so it's been even less. I will be adding about 8-10 more new chicks (depends on chicken math) next week. All the birds have been finding some small amount of green here and there as Spring is trying to come so this month I didn't even finish the 50lb bag. It seems to be less and less all the time, which is great for the feed bill! I just definitely noticed a difference when I switched from dry crumbles to a fermented organic mash. The savings make the cost of the organic worth it to me.

 

[aoxa]

Lol, that was quick. We get a pretty good price on the wood shavings, it think they're 14 cu ft bale for $7. Since the chickens spend most of their time outside, and I'm guessing the ducks will too, shavings seem the best way to go. Thanks!
Here's a question about the ducks, since they feather out faster, at what age do you put them outside? Some people love baby chicks and ducks, I really prefer to get past that stage as quickly as possible.

Your ducks feather out faster? Wow..
Mine feathered out much slower.

The calls were still half naked at 4 weeks. I threw them out at that time. Couldn't handle raising them in a brooder all day. they made such a mess and stink. That was in early August.. so it was warm out. They hadn't had any heat lamps on them for a week by that time, but I was worried about the older birds bothering them.. They were the ones who harassed the chickens. Little boogers.



This is them the first day outside (all but three were sold and are alive and well).

They hardly had any feathers as you can see. This was at dusk. They weren't sure where to go in to bed, so I corralled them in. It was so easy. They follow the leader

 

[aoxa]

Yes, Aoxa, my ducks definitely eat their fair share! LOL - Those 4 ducks eat the same amount, if not more, than all the chickens combined!! So, I guess it's like actually having closer to 20 chickens! As of a couple weeks ago, I am down to 8 chickens and so it's been even less. I will be adding about 8-10 more new chicks (depends on chicken math) next week. All the birds have been finding some small amount of green here and there as Spring is trying to come so this month I didn't even finish the 50lb bag. It seems to be less and less all the time, which is great for the feed bill! I just definitely noticed a difference when I switched from dry crumbles to a fermented organic mash. The savings make the cost of the organic worth it to me.

I was thinking about getting Rouens. They are so fat and adorable. But I may just stick with Muscovy. I like their quietness.

 

[kian]

No. She is not crazy but passing off a current fad going around the internets. It works 50% of the time.

I tried this myself on the last batch of "pullet" chicks that I got. (sold to me as pullets). They were one week old, and all of them pulled their legs up.

I tried it again on them yesterday. 3 of them stuck their legs out straight.

So. Yeah. I don't think it works