The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

Yes he is, and yes he does. I live in suburbia, so it's just the back yard and the house. We have a drool towel constantly at the ready. It's disgusting, but he's wonderful so we try and ignore it, though some of his favorite things to do are:

walk up and just touch the side of his face to our leg, usually just after we've put on clean clothes
drool heavily whilst staring at the table (he is no longer allowed in the house during meals. I don't want to elaborate on why)
drool into the water dish, ensuring that the other dogs won't touch it
drool on the smaller dogs (which is just funny, and gross)
fling it. Anywhere. So, so disgusting.

He probably drools so much because he's hot. Those dogs get hot easily. Your description of him made me laugh out loud.

Koda used to get drooled on all the time by his Great Dane buddy Cody. They would play fight and romp around and he'd come home all gross and full of drool

Since then all of his buddies have passed away (Koda) so no more drooly Koda.. He takes FOREVER to accept a new dog. I am dreading that part. I have my trainer on call to help with the introduction. We need to get Koda better with that.. He is fine unless another (New) dog were to get too close... He always was good with dogs until he got in the middle of a pitbull fight at the dog park. Since then he has not been the same.

 

[armorfirelady]

Del & Leahs Mom congrats on the new chicks

Luvin' all the pics.....

Aoxa the puppy is ADORABLE & I love the name Henry. It def suits him

I went to TSC to buy fencing for the new coop & stood and drooled over the chicks & ducklings they had. I was good & didnt bring any home......If I could I would of brought a couple ducks home.....the chicks were a mix & match version and I didnt like the selection they had.

But I did order the new electric netting and automatic pop door tonight.......hopefully Wednesday the man door will go on thenew coop with some wood supports to make it sturdier (Im worried about the weight of snow on it) Now I am off to look for billboard canvas (?) and order some tarps for it.

I think I am more excited than the hens about their new digs

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'M WAY BEHIND....What happened yesterday anyway? There was an explosion of posts

My personal and work life has been CRAZY...Wish I could just rest for a whole week with no responsibilities.

Hey all. I just wanted to introduce myself to this thread. I just stumbled on it last week, and I can't stop reading! I keep going between this thread and the Natural Chicken blog - so sorry
to see Bee gone. But, this looks like the place for me! I have always wanted chickens, and now I can finally have them. I am frantically trying to finish my coop..8x8 converted shed. I will pick up my chicks this Friday!!! I can hardly wait. I just wanted to say thank you for all the contributors here. The amount of knowledge for us newbies is priceless. Thanks for sharing and letting us live vicariously thru you. I know I'm gonna have lots of questions !

Glad you found us!

Re: Deep Litter in the winter. I've been adding leaves once a month to the deep litter in my coop and stirring it up, and there was no ammonia smell, but today it got up to 50 degrees so I decided to do a little clean out. Definitely smelled ammonia. I have an enclosed covered run that is also filled with leaves. I moved some of the deep litter from the coop into the run, added peat moss and gave it a good stir, put fresh shavings in the coop and all seems to be well. I thought about the poop boards when I was building my coop but just can't beat DL for convenience.

Welcome to all the newbies. Delisha congrats & hoping to see cute chic pics soon

country girl congrats on your 1st egg.
Aoxa beautiful pics as always

I Was gone all weekend and when we got home today spent the rest of the day outside working on taking the old garden fences down so the veggie garden will be triple the size this spring. Hens loved me pulling the fence out as they thought the good stuff was there. I moved the pallet the pumpkins were on all winter and found out a fat mouse was living under it. My mom started laughing and I tried to draw the girls attention to it (they were enjoying Johnny cakes) and finally one saw the mouse and started chasing it. Talk about comedy relief.....that mouse turned around quick and the hen jumped 3 ft in the air. But then she started chasing it again but the mouse buried itself under the dirt in the garden so she lost interest in it

I also repurposed the old weathered wooden fencing to make hawk huts (areas hens can run to when hawk out). While they won't survive if the girls roost on them or with heavy snow on them I couldn't beat the cost FREE



The skeleton of the hut using old fence post and extra wood post


Hut covered in some camo duck blind material I bought last fall on sale. I thought it would work to deter Bear my dog from staring at the chickens all day but it didn't so it was repurposed. But the material survived the snow so maybe I can use other stuff around perimeter of the hoop coop for shade that will let air circulate.

Those are a great idea. Could you keep us updated regarding if they do go under them? I've put out some things and it doesn't seem like they get it. I even have a dog house I got free that they seem to be afraid of! I think this spring I'm going to put goodies in the dog house to lure them in there so they get comfortable going in it. I put it in an open area so they have somewhere to run to in danger out on the open pasture.

Wow! Great find! Do you have some photos?

Leah's mom your sfh chooks are just gorgeous!! Wow!

Thanks...I love the blue!



Del - that puppy is amazingly cute. Has to be Henry.

 

[armorfirelady]

About 5 minutes after I put it down one of the hens went under it but she was to quick for me to get a picture. I have had plastic adirondack chairs in the area all winter so they are used to going under them. So maybe that helped with them going under the huts? I just hope they use them when they are suppose to lol I am going to make up a few more for their new run area just because its so large (I ordered 200ft of electric netting) to make sure they have enough hidey spots. Plus I couldnt beat the price

 

[delisha]

Quote: I added hot water to sponges after first pip..worked great for me.

Quote: Sorry about your chick problems. That chick needs to be washed, and dried. If it is just that white cottage cheese looking stuff it will be OK. I am learning about shipped eggs..I think they need low humidity. Setting in a cool place for 24 hours before setting. Putting in the incubator and not turning for the first 12 hours. Check air cells and if attached, start turning. Shipped eggs need to be handled differently. It sounds like to low temps and to high humidity.

thx aoxa -- I've heard the canon rebel is a great camera. I've got an E-Volt Olympis DSLR - w/ similar lense ranges - do love the telescopic capabilities for getting in close & being able to frame the subject. I've gotten tired of lugging such a heavy camera around, & since the prices have come down & technology has improved so much -- I just recently purchased a 4/3 mount Olympus, PEN - it's also a DSLR with changeable lenses - but is about half the size. Haven't begun experimenting with it, but hoping it will travel much easier than the Olympus with 3 lenses... on my list... too many projects, too little time.

& thx all for the feedback for ALC - my brother. I asked him to post here because you all are so helpful, non-judgmental & knowledgeable. He's a very caring guy, as you can tell, & wants to do right by his chicks. -- ok you can blush now bro!

He & I were thinking the closer to heritage they are, chickens would be longer-lived than the chicks bred for production. I'm basing that on some things Bee said - & it just makes sense that if you are breeding for egg-laying for the first 2 years or so - that you could easily breed out longevity. We still want eggs, but thinking that 200 eggs/year for 5 years is better for us than 300 eggs/year for 2 years.

Does anyone else have an opinion on hardiness (healthwise, not climate-wise) of some of the older breeds, vs the production breeds? I know my GSL is way too food-focused, and not predator-wise enough for our rural area - I lost her sister to a coyote, or bobcat a couple of months ago. That alone makes me appreciate my vigilant BA's & easy-going, but sensible Buckeyes. I need to have large birds for them to do a little self-protection (no roosters - yet anyway)

Thoughts?? Input from any O-T's??

You can't beat BA RIR WR and BE. If you want a good meat bird..go Cornish. Heritage breeds!!!

We have a new member in the family.. I am so excited to announce it here.. Susan already did on facebook, but I had to wait to get home before announcing it to you guys...



We still haven't decided on a name 100% yet, but I am stuck on Henry. I just love that name and I feel like it fits him.

He is a Bernese Mountain dog. We did not want to get another Great Pyr. Too much like Clementine.. We were torn between the bernese and the Newf. Decided on the Bernese because of the drool factor. This line has been imported from Sweden, and the breeder has been breeding these guys for 20 years. They are registered, guaranteed and microchipped (with first shots and check-up).

Her last 3 she had to put down were 12 years old. That is a really good age for a Bernese Mountain Dog. They typically have short lifespans because they are more prone to fatal cancers. Also can have hip and elbow issues, but this line has been thoroughly tested, and again - he is guaranteed to be joint/hip issue free until 2. She said if they are going to have these issues, you find out before a year old for the most part.

His parents.. oh my.. so loveable. His dad is named Rico and is stunning. He is 7 years old. His mom is 6 and he was her last. She was just spade. He was the only pup in the litter. The remaining sibling was still born.

I'm in love.

Oh we won't have him until Saturday. Time to get the house ready for the pup!

Looks like a Bernie/ Mac/ Henry to me.

As far as colors go..non of my egg shells say blue..

 

[delisha]

Good job Judy the broody!!

 

[PeepsCA]

Here is a pic of 2 new babies today. The chicken is a White Leghorn mix and the turkey is a cross between a Royal Palm and a bronze/Royal Palm. Before I got Chuck and Rosie I was told that poults spend the few months of life trying to find ways to end it. At this age, they are not terribly bright.

Sally, start feeding that poult some live meal worms... it'll get smart REAL fast! (And turn into a puppy that's always happy to see you

). Poults are the best babies I've raised.

 

[AlCamus]

Mumsy
That is a great link - I believe that is where my RIR was headed - the cavity was liquid filled but not as yellow and I did not find the yolk evidence (but the RIR was 3 yrs and was laying every other day - given that it had not laid in a week then it is possible that some of the yolk was reabsorbed and the absence explainable) but the intestine and gizzard were full as in the pictures - I put down the RIR as it was suffering - so I did not wait. Given the age (3 yrs), I am fairly certain infection was the primary cause - EYP is a diagnosis from exclusion eliminating what little I could conjecture - there is a possible intestinal obstruction but there was nothing unusual in the contents (staples, feathers ...) - my best guess is that the EYP infection (and it might have been sterile at the time of detection) caused the fluid (what I read is called ascites) and the excessive fluid closed off the vent (possible prolapse - causing the intestines and gizzard to harden) as well as pressing the other organs.
I am getting more of an appreciation of the value of pictures and will not make that mistake again. I am also coming to a realization that heritage breeds are best for the urban chicken flock - longevity in egg laying works for me

Thanks

 

[mrsamplias]

I don't remember if I shared these pictures with you guys or not.. I did on another thread..

Isn't my nephew beautiful? He's going to be a heart breaker. He said to me upon arrival: "Farmers are the best ever because they take care of God's creations."
Now I'm not really a religious person - but that was cute and heart warming. Little boy is a sweetie.

Your nephew is adorable. Your photos capture his amazing spirit.

My experience with shipped eggs has not been good and I won't do it again.

I've fallen to peer pressure and just ordered some eggs to be shipped. Have others had better experience with shipped eggs? The shipping is from Northern California to Southern California (5 hour drive).

Many of us on this thread have hatched or are getting heritage RIR eggs from breeders on BYC this year.

Yes, add me to the list, getting SQ/BQ eggs...

Quote:
Sorry about your chick problems. That chick needs to be washed, and dried. If it is just that white cottage cheese looking stuff it will be OK. I am learning about shipped eggs..I think they need low humidity. Setting in a cool place for 24 hours before setting. Putting in the incubator and not turning for the first 12 hours. Check air cells and if attached, start turning. Shipped eggs need to be handled differently. It sounds like to low temps and to high humidity.

Is this something that we could get a blog post on? Incubating steps for local v shipped eggs?

I am also coming to a realization that heritage breeds are best for the urban chicken flock - longevity in egg laying works for me

Thanks

I'm joining in and starting to look forward to breeder quality v production quality. We've been content with our production rir, but we're ready to try for quality and health.

 

[aoxa]

I added hot water to sponges after first pip..worked great for me.
Sorry about your chick problems. That chick needs to be washed, and dried. If it is just that white cottage cheese looking stuff it will be OK. I am learning about shipped eggs..I think they need low humidity. Setting in a cool place for 24 hours before setting. Putting in the incubator and not turning for the first 12 hours. Check air cells and if attached, start turning. Shipped eggs need to be handled differently. It sounds like to low temps and to high humidity.
You can't beat BA RIR WR and BE. If you want a good meat bird..go Cornish. Heritage breeds!!!
Looks like a Bernie/ Mac/ Henry to me.

As far as colors go..non of my egg shells say blue..

Are you sure this breeder did not mix their colours? I always did until recently. If those aren't blue than I'll be a monkey's uncle.. Look exactly like every blue I've ever hatched (in colour at least)!