The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Pullet Surprise]

When you butcher out your first birds, take your time. Do some careful dissection and really look at what all your hard work is doing. The inner workings of your birds will tell you so much information. Look for excessive fluids, off odors, little hard growths, the way bones are fixed, the muscle system. Each time you do it you will learn more. It is better to know than not know. Sometimes you can completely make a flock decision about a certain hen from dissection.

I'm sure it will happen....and when I do I will be looking these posts up again. Thank you!!!

 

[Alibabe]

Hi everyone. I am a regular lurker and love all the info on this thread. I have only had chickens for about 5 months so very new. I have 2 hybrid birds that are both laying and I have 5 bantums. I have a trio of which I think are D'Uccles Mille Fleur and a lavender cockral which I think is a cross Pekin bantum and a little brown bantum female. The lavender and brown bantum are always together but since I got the trio, they seem to spend time with the other bantums. My 2 large girls are normally together and the leaders of the flock. I am loving having chickens and would love to have more.

I have fed them on FF since about October but they really do not like the layers pellets fermented but do like their scratch fermented so I am feeding them both dry pellets and fermented scratch and they are all looking very healthy and happy.

I don't post much in the forum as I am like a sponge at the moment - just soaking up as much knowledge as I can.

I just wanted to post to say Thank You to all of you for sharing your knowledge, it is greatly appreciated.

To Sally - so sorry to read about your dog, will hold you in my thoughts and will send healing thoughts your way.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi everyone. I am a regular lurker and love all the info on this thread. I have only had chickens for about 5 months so very new. I have 2 hybrid birds that are both laying and I have 5 bantums. I have a trio of which I think are D'Uccles Mille Fleur and a lavender cockral which I think is a cross Pekin bantum and a little brown bantum female. The lavender and brown bantum are always together but since I got the trio, they seem to spend time with the other bantums. My 2 large girls are normally together and the leaders of the flock. I am loving having chickens and would love to have more.

I have fed them on FF since about October but they really do not like the layers pellets fermented but do like their scratch fermented so I am feeding them both dry pellets and fermented scratch and they are all looking very healthy and happy.

I don't post much in the forum as I am like a sponge at the moment - just soaking up as much knowledge as I can.

I just wanted to post to say Thank You to all of you for sharing your knowledge, it is greatly appreciated.

To Sally - so sorry to read about your dog, will hold you in my thoughts and will send healing thoughts your way.

Welcome to the thread and Welcome to BYC

 

[Alibabe]

Welcome to the thread and Welcome to BYC

Thank you, Miss Lydia

 

[Bulldogma]

Today's Natural Chicken Keeping Blog post was written by Delisha and is a fantastic overview of the Rhode Island Red. Thank you to Maven and Stonykill for allowing me to use your RIR photos!

 

[delisha]

Hello Alibabe,
Nice to see you post. Hello to all the lurkers! I see you! Post some pictures of your coops and your birds.

 

[delisha]

Today's Natural Chicken Keeping Blog post was written by Delisha and is a fantastic overview of the Rhode Island Red. Thank you to Maven and Stonykill for allowing me to use your RIR photos!

Really nice work BDM!

 

[delisha]

In two weeks I can post pictures of heritage RIR chicks!

 

[AlivianAcres]

Post some pictures of your coops and your birds.

 

Our temp coop. The top of the run has since been finished.

Nesting boxes and egg door (they don't lay in them going to try the golf ball trick when I remember to buy some)

Dust bath with the puppy

Briscoe

Here are our ducks

I have lots more but I'll stop

 

[delisha]

where do your hens lay the eggs?