The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[kian]

Sorry, I meant one single row, three little peas showing (on the one I think is a pullet). On Marigold/Marvin I can't see much of anything, nothing raised yet.

 

[delisha]

She looks good Mumsy..

Kian..your EE looks like a pullet to me..

Your SLW is male

I have a brooder full of males..sheesh
My BCM are males
My other marans I have one female
I think my Silkie is a male..too cute.and keeping
I think my Ameracuana is a male to cute and keeping..I should have more by Friday
I think my Cochin is a male..I am keeping this adorable tiny little thing..nice yard candy He is so cute!!

I need to take updated pictures soon..they grow so fast

 

[kian]

Marigold/Marvin on the left. Moneypenny on the right.


Moneypenny. Her feathering looks terrible. She looks like she got caught in a blender


Marigold/Marvin

All taken on my phone sorry about the quality.

 

[Bulldogma]

Mumsy - so glad to hear your sweet girl ate something today!

Last evening I moved my Swedish Flower Hen flock into the new trailer coop. I got my new poultry netting (couldn't afford the charger - just the netting) and put it up to give them a yard. Threw scratch in the new yard and just shut the makeshift gate behind them. They had time to check everything out before dark and took the opportunity to fully inspect their new coop. No issues getting them to go to bed. Good birds!

It was really funny - I went out this morning to watch them quietly through one of the hardware cloth covered windows as they were hanging out in their coop. Gunnar would go into a nest box and call... and all the birds would try to pile into the same 12" x 12" box!

(Sorry the quality is poor - I was shooting through the hardware cloth so as not to disturb them.)


("Ladies! C'meer! Check out this nice nest box!")

("Ooooooo! Ahhhhhhhh!")







I was expecting the changes to cause a lull in my girls laying... but apparently they all had eggs on the way and surprised me with 3 eggs today all in the same nest box. I still won't be too disappointed if they go through a lull in the next few days... but at very least they seem to like their new digs!

 

[Mumsy]

What a day for good news!

Justine..Mumsy..and Countrygirl!!

Mumsy..how about sand and dirt?

Yes! Good news is great!

I have been thinking about both. Here's what I am dealing with. My Catdance White trio are in a bottom level breeding pen with a pop door to the outside run under cover. The run is where the wood ash/dirt dust bath is as well as fresh air and morning sun. The inside pen has a wood floor that I can pry up and expose base dirt. The problem with dirt floor pens in my barn is that over the years from cleaning, they become lower and lower that that of the level ground outside the barn. This creates drainage issues during our frequent rain. I can do dirt or sand on top of the wood if I can keep it dry enough. Now the real issue. My little disabled Silkie Dumpling is truly a special needs girl. She is beautiful in type. Sweet disposition and a perfect member of the trio with the roo. She lays now too. Her problem is those curled toes and deformed feet.


Left foot.



Right Foot.

Karen of Catdance gave her to me. She has a forever home under my care. Karen showed me how to care for her feet. The toe nails must be kept trimmed to prevent them from growing inwards of her feet and they must be kept clean of poo and caked matter. I bathe them and massage her toes. Shavings were horrible because not only does she eat them but they were getting stuck to her feet. A real pain for her and me to get them off.
While she has been in the house under intensive care, I have lined the tub with paper towels and topped with those shelf liners I like to use as flooring in my incubators. They give her grip with those feet. She is able to scoot around and if she has traction for her feet she can get her legs under her body quite well. Plain paper towels, news paper or those wee pads give her no support and she goes splay legged. Hay as litter tangled her feet and she would just sit in her own poo all day. Not good. So...Sand or dirt. Which would be best?

 

[delisha]

Ameracauna

look at the feathers on these cochin feet!!






serious feathers coming in..this lil guy should look so beautiful in a very short time..

 

[delisha]

I would try her on sand..the sand will help keep her cleaner. I think it will keep her feet conditioned better, and she should have better cushion. Easy for you to clean too. At her age I do not think eating sand would do anything negative.

 

[armorfirelady]

BDM- I love your swedish hens......I wish I could add a few to my flock because I love their coloring. Glad they like their new coop.

Delisha- your chicks are so cute & getting so big

Mumsy_ could you make a *shoe* out of vet wrap you could change weekly? It might keep her toes straighter to help her get around easier, give her some grip when walking & then maybe you could use straw or hay? Do you think she would eat the sand to?

 

[delisha]

BDM...your sfh look like they are so happy to have the new digs!

 

[aoxa]

Yes! Good news is great!

I have been thinking about both. Here's what I am dealing with. My Catdance White trio are in a bottom level breeding pen with a pop door to the outside run under cover. The run is where the wood ash/dirt dust bath is as well as fresh air and morning sun. The inside pen has a wood floor that I can pry up and expose base dirt. The problem with dirt floor pens in my barn is that over the years from cleaning, they become lower and lower that that of the level ground outside the barn. This creates drainage issues during our frequent rain. I can do dirt or sand on top of the wood if I can keep it dry enough. Now the real issue. My little disabled Silkie Dumpling is truly a special needs girl. She is beautiful in type. Sweet disposition and a perfect member of the trio with the roo. She lays now too. Her problem is those curled toes and deformed feet.


Left foot.



Right Foot.

Karen of Catdance gave her to me. She has a forever home under my care. Karen showed me how to care for her feet. The toe nails must be kept trimmed to prevent them from growing inwards of her feet and they must be kept clean of poo and caked matter. I bathe them and massage her toes. Shavings were horrible because not only does she eat them but they were getting stuck to her feet. A real pain for her and me to get them off.
While she has been in the house under intensive care, I have lined the tub with paper towels and topped with those shelf liners I like to use as flooring in my incubators. They give her grip with those feet. She is able to scoot around and if she has traction for her feet she can get her legs under her body quite well. Plain paper towels, news paper or those wee pads give her no support and she goes splay legged. Hay as litter tangled her feet and she would just sit in her own poo all day. Not good. So...Sand or dirt. Which would be best?

I'm so glad she has someone like you to care for her. You are obviously doing a really good job with her.

I caught Margaret SCRATCHING yesterday. I forgot to mention that. It sent me into a fit of laughter. I am so proud of her. There was one point that I thought I had to put her down. She was only walking backwards and I was TERRIFIED. So glad I didn't. She was just learning how to get around. Now she walks really well, and scratches. That is a very good improvement. Her feet do not hurt her at all, she walks on both. Even the one that has barely anything left to stand on.



Here's her good foot.