The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[zinia8]

Congrats to everyone on their new peepers
MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[aoxa]

Still trying to get caught up on this thread. I was doing the same thing on the other threads and then found out you all came here. So I just got to page 35 I read slow. Anyway I thought I had better jump ahead and say:
Happy holidays to everyone

So glad to see you over here

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Eggcessive]

Have been cooking all day...finally got to catch up...Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Congrats to everyone on their new peepers
MERRY CHRISTMAS

They are the best xmas present EVER!!!!!

 

[Melabella]

Merry Christmas to all my Natural Chicken Keeping BYC'ers!

Love ya!

Carmela

 

[Melabella]

You won't believe this, but I am keeping a piping chick warm inside my bra! Sunshine moved off the nest and left the sleeping egg. I went out to check on them and found it alone. I put it in my bra, while doing my chores. I came in and plugged in the 'bator, hoping it wasn't too late, as I hadn't heard any peeps. Well chick has warmed up and peeped a few times. It's still there, and still waiting for the 'bator to warm up to temp.... My DH is getting a huge charge out of my chest peeping !!!

Merry Christmas to you all !!!

GOod luck with your new lil chick,

I didn't even think it was possible to do that!

post some pics of him/her, LOVE chick pics!

MB

 

[Leahs Mom]

I sifted in one cubic foot of sphagum peat-moss this morning and it added a nice lift to the litter. Johnny and his girls approve. The litter is at about eight inches or more now. I haven't cleaned out the barn or pens since last July. Bee said that deep litter should smell earthy. That it should hold together in clumps in the hand. Does it ever! I can't wait to put this great stuff on my raised bed potager garden in the Spring.

They all got to try a new recipe of Johnny Cake I call "Chikka Boom Wormer Bomb". Made with bacon fat, Organic Cayenne powder, Garlic powder, Home Ground Pumpkin seeds, and Organic Sesame seeds. They wolfed it down in a couple minutes! I don't know if my flock is wormy but they free range and wild birds have worms so I figure they were exposed at some time.

I had put some peat moss down in our dusting area and they all went nuts for it. Not sure what's in there that attracts them. I've heard some folks say not to use it due to molds so not sure about that but they DO like it!

I think I'll be adding some pumpkin seeds and garlic next time to my jcakes. I found that my kiddos don't really go for the beef suet base but they LOVE the lard based ones. I can get lard from one of the butchers in our area that gets their meat locally from farms that don't use meds or hormones so I feel like it's at least a little bit better shot at getting some good fat. (I also got my suet from them). I had made a bunch of the suet ones so I've been putting those out on my wild bird feeder.

Of course, I have myself convinced that my 9 girls will never lay due to some rare conditon, I'll have chickless, eggless pets......

MB

That is so funny to me because I had that same thought run through my head before mine started to lay... When I DID get that first egg, I actually went inside and asked my husband if he had put a fake egg in there to play a joke on me since it seemed so unbelievable that one of my kiddos just laid an egg!

Wow I get swamped at work for a week and ..... Glad I found the new thread as I enjoy the sage advice from all of the posters and AOXA's photographs!!!

So BDM big props for keeping it going!!!

I haven't even started reading this thread yet so I'm already 138 pages behind as I'm SWAMPED with work.... yes I'm here now .... so can everyone please take a break for a few days so that I might be able to catch up

Okay who am I kidding I have NO TIME for the next few weeks so I just have to accept that I will be WAY behind!!! When I clicked over here I did see Leah's Mom's Coop picture and wow that is pretty!!! How big is it??? I'd love to see more pictures of your setup!

Happy Holidays!!!!

So good to see you!!!!!
That shed is only a total 12' wide and 8' deep. My husband did a wonderful job building the interior divider walls, nest box, etc.

Found this online, I like the comparisons

Strange...I have BR & RIR. My BR lay the lighter eggs and the RIR lay the darker. Just the opposite of what's shown here!

We made a huge score today. Just have to figure out how to get it home. We were given an enclosed chicken coop, 16'x 8'. It is totally enclosed on one side, the other 3 sides are covered in hardware cloth, and have exterior plywood doors that drop down and latch over the hardward cloth. It is raised on legs, about 2 ft or so, and has a solid wood floor. It was used 1 time, for a young girl to raise chickens for 4-H. It still has the feeders, waterers, 2 ceramic heat lamps, with the white bulbs, and electrical wiring! For FREE ! I can't hardly stand myself, I am so excited!

I originally tried plastic golf balls in there but they just knocked them out and played with them in the run. Chicken soccer?? But it seems the piece of wood was enough for her to nest down and lay me an egg.....but the 2nd hen didn't lay today ....2 days off in a row for her......hopefully tomorrow she lays again

Thanks for that update! And...chicken soccer!!!!

__________________________________

On all the Natural Remedies....
It sure would be nice if SOMEBODY would round all that info up and put it on a blog we all enjoy in some kind of Misc. area so we could all fine them again... (hint hint bdm....)

I took two bales of straw, wrapped them in black plastic and set them quite a few feet apart. Then added a "top" via a piece of plywood to create a small "hidey-hole" windbreak for the girls. It's against a southern-facing cinder block wall which snags the sun and holds heat. My plan is to unwrap them in the spring and use it as mulch or add it to the compost pile and let it cook down.

Could you post a photo?

I have a bit of an odd question for everyone that knows about natural fixes. I have retainers i wear at night only, and as you can imagine they get pretty gross. One is the clear plastic type, and the other is the typical Hawley with metal. I use a little machine to clean them, it's a little bowl that I put water and a powder cleaner in. I'm starting not to like the cleaner, it's smells chemically and doesn't rinse off too easy. I was thinking maybe a vinegar water mix maybe? But with the metal in the hawley I'm just not sure. Anyone have any ideas? Being an adult that paid for her own braces, I wear these things every night without fail, I just can't stand the ick factor.

My first thought would be baking soda in the water with perhaps a little white vinegar.

Ready for Christmas? Nope - but I got the Silkies bathed - LOL!




This one still looks really rough - she's still molting.



This one looks like "Beaker" from the Muppets. She has a bald spot on her head from an amorous rooster at her last place of residence - LOL

Wow...those kiddos sure do clean up nice!

Just had to share.....its a newbie thing but today Santa gave me another early Christmas present.......3 hens are laying

Only one more to go.............




In celebration my Mom & I made about 3 dozen Johnny cakes for them.............

My hubby and I finished a hoop coop in the fashion of Bee's sheep pen today! I'm so excited! In the Spring I will be raising turkeys for the first time as a joint venture with my children. The two steel cattle panels and four steel t posts cost just about $100. We used tarps and zip ties we had on hand. We will also put up an electric wire about six inches from the ground all around the coop and pen (that isn't built yet). It's about 8'x8'x6 1/2'. The outside run will be three times that. Need to budget another bunch of $ for that.


Pulling the biggest top tarp down to cover the fence was hardest. It did work out.

Done! Can't be seen from the house or the road. Took only three hours to erect and can come down in no time at all. Ready for the next stage. A fenced in run to surround the coop.

I'm thinking that I want to make one in the spring so I have a second area for brooding or breeding or quatantine, etc. Well done! Can you tell us how you used the tposts? It looks like you didn't do a wood base but just used the posts in the corner for anchors? Could you expound on that and perhaps take another photo showing the posts up-close and how they're used?

This is my first Christmas with "the girls" and I've been so very thankful for them the past few days. I've been doing my baking and I still marvel at the size of each egg as I crack it into the batter, dough, or whatever. I've noticed a difference in my baked goods, too. My sour cream sugar cookies dough didn't look pasty white as usual and my breads seemed to have an improved texture. I swear the carrot cake was firmer - very dense and no trouble handling it out of the pan. Homemade pumpkin pies are in the oven now and I can't wait to see how they'll be.

I mumble and talk to myself as I cook and I've been saying a "thank you" to the girls with every egg I crack. Don't worry, they'll get a special treat come Christmas morning, for sure!

In regards to the broody raising chicks, they can totally do it. I let mine set on 3 eggs, 2 of which hatched on Nov. 29th. I lost one chick to a small hawk a week ago and lost the broody to a large hawk on Friday. So the remaining orphan chick(boy, barred Blue Orp/Rock mix) is in the brooder with the Silkies until he feathers out, then he will go out to the tractor with a little heat lamp(75W) to keep warm enough. Then after a few weeks he will go into the main flock. He is already established but I have to keep him inside until he feathers out in a couple of weeks. He will hopefully replace my current rooster in a year as laying flock protector(Pig Pen, my Splash Orp rooster has a leg injury that has caused him to limp, not effective at protection). I have read through the posts on this thread and believe I am doing things as natural as possible. So I will try and keep up from this point forward.

Welcome aboard! Good to have you!

First pic is Sunshine in her milk crate laying/broody nest
2nd pic is 12 of the 13 chicks in the new nest box,and the sleeping egg under them. Sunshine is getting a drink of water
3rd pic is Sunshine coming back into the nest, and the chicks waiting for her. The little Easter Egger with the back to the camera, is going to be trouble! Already looking for a way to check out the world. Sunshine had to pull him/her back to safety!

Sweet!

aoxa. I just read where skunk oil helps with congestion. It sure clears my sinus' out when I pass a ripe dead one!

Hmmmm I'm guessing that would help with EVERYONE'S congestion that's anywhere nearby!

Still trying to get caught up on this thread. I was doing the same thing on the other threads and then found out you all came here. So I just got to page 35 I read slow. Anyway I thought I had better jump ahead and say:
Happy holidays to everyone

GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE!

 

[Leahs Mom]

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
and
TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

 

[Melabella]

Tell me to stop reading, and finish wrapping presents.


Also,, Tell me to stop eating cookie dough....

 

[Melabella]

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
and
TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

Right back at ya girl!