The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

Gale...did you talk to Al? That just sucks..sheesh

 

[dawg53]

And if earth worms are bad for chickens, I probably would have figured that out by now. I have never seen a tape worm in my chickens.

You never will see a tapeworm in a chicken, only segments in their feces that look like white rice. I've dealt with tapes many times...they are tough to get rid of, not fun.

 

[mlowen]

I am wondering why anyone thinks adults need a nanny or referee. I would hope all of us can discern what suits us or not and glean information we want to use and leave what we don't. No body can "hurt" anyone in the virtual world for heaven's sake! I don't have to agree with everything someone says to learn great stuff and contribute if (ever) I have any knowledge worth sharing. We grownups can handle other people's opinions just fine. Doesn't affect us at all, unless we let it/want it to.

 

[Ashdoes]

You know the whole thing is getting out of control. If anyone read the Road thread, no one ran anyone off. I was shocked it was shut down, although I read why they thought they needed to. But I don't understand why people are blaming anyone for other people leaving? It's getting old, and I've seen some pretty rude comments stemming from all this. Huggers and unicorns? It's just rude.

 

[zinia8]

OT thread is now locked. this isn't right

 

[mrsamplias]

OT thread is now locked. this isn't right

yikes...I just want some help with my chickens... deep, sad sigh!!

Well...I'll ask here: should I be concerned that my hens want to sleep in the nest box? They just started laying, today, as a matter of fact. We had read that we must be vigilant to keep them from sleeping in the nest box so that they would know to lay there. Apparently, they know to lay there, but they were still sleeping there tonight. We lift them up, put them on a perch, but they just go right back to the nest box the next night....

 

[off-grid hen]

 

[zinia8]

yikes...I just want some help with my chickens... deep, sad sigh!!

Well...I'll ask here: should I be concerned that my hens want to sleep in the nest box? They just started laying, today, as a matter of fact. We had read that we must be vigilant to keep them from sleeping in the nest box so that they would know to lay there. Apparently, they know to lay there, but they were still sleeping there tonight. We lift them up, put them on a perch, but they just go right back to the nest box the next night....

Don't know your set up. but are the roost higher than the nest boxes? Can you block the boxes off at night?

 

[cpchicks]

I'm thinking about doing night crawlers as well. They are more a dirt based worm, and I'd have to research a bit more before I knew exactly how to care for them. The cool thing about the red worms is that they compost. You feed them kitchen scraps, veggies and fruit and all that stuff. You still get the casings from them, and they're high in protein for the chickens. You're right about the meal worms, even my husband refuses to touch them if I start a batch.

I've been raising red worms for a few years. They are easy; I throw rotten apples or veggies (they get what's too far gone for the chickens) in the wooden box they live in and top it off with shredded paper in the winter for insulation. I live in a mild climate so they are outside all year. My chickens don't love them, but will eat a few of the smallest ones. I enjoy the wonderful soil for my garden, but it's a slow project. It takes all year to produce a few shovels full.

 

[lalaland]

OT is unlocked now.

phew.

hope everyone can settle down and we can get back to chickens.

Mine are still recovering from the owl attack a week ago. They really stay under the coop - under cover - and are pretty skittish. Some are starting to pink up a bit, so maybe they will get back to laying. I knocked over the jug of FF, and there was glass in it, so I had to throw it out and start over. Darn it!