The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Melabella]

I will take a somewhat guess and say that it's a wyandotte egg. Let us know if you ever see her lay that is.

That very well may be, she strikes me as the one who would lay on the floor, where I found it for the second times! She seems the least developed though as far as very pale comb and waddles, and also no red face. She seems to be roo's favorite. He is always on top of her! Thanks for the input. Todays lighter egg was larger and the shell is rock hard.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Second day with two eggs!

The bird brain who laid on the coop floor did it again...she could still get it down right? Don't like the thought of her laying an egg every day in fresh poo.....

I had one that did that for a couple of days...I think I remember putting something under the roost that would not let her get in there for one day. I had just put fresh shavings in when she started, so it wasn't too bad at that time, but not something I wanted to have continued. Anyway, she got over it in a hurry.

 

[aoxa]

I am in the sticks with no limit on the number of poultry I can have, unless there are so many that it contributes to watershed damage. And even that is not spelled out. It is all very ambiguous. That being said, I have an 8x16 coop, and a 10 x 30 run, with a few areas (outside the run) shoveled out so the birds can walk around. I think I need fewer chickens in the coop when they refuse to go outdoors. Or I need less wimpy chickens.

I am very seriously trying to avoid chicken math, and the only chicks I will have this spring is to test out a broody/grow out area that I put in place last year. If one ends up hatching a brood of chicks, I will have to reduce the size of my adult flock. I will not build another coop, and the current coop is on a trailer and hard to make an addition.
What I need is a barn like yours with plenty of space for everyone to walk around.

What you need is a snow blower so you can snow blow a big patch for them to go outside with

I think you could fit a few more in that coop if you had more outdoor space. I mean more is always better in the space department, but a few bantams next spring shouldn't bother your set up much.

Right now I'm only using one part of the barn for the chickens. Sometimes I feel like it should be more area per bird.

Well.. I don't know. What do you guys think?




Does it look too crowded? All my silkie pullets are in the pen to the right. My big barred rock roosters were mating them, and it looked to really hurt. Not to mention they don't understand to go inside the barn when it rains and snows. Yeah.. I think they need their own coop or section.

Hard to believe I have over 100 birds in here. Some must be outside when I took this.

 

[aoxa]

I had one that did that for a couple of days...I think I remember putting something under the roost that would not let her get in there for one day. I had just put fresh shavings in when she started, so it wasn't too bad at that time, but not something I wanted to have continued. Anyway, she got over it in a hurry.

I only had a couple I couldn't stop from doing this. Both were cochins. Both didn't like my high nesting boxes. I just kept collecting in their regular spot. Never seemed to be any more poopy than others.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

So I put 3 huge Tablespoons of the FF in the Brooder feed tray, they all came over and looked but no one would eat it. The Kung Pow(the cockerel) comes over and takes a bite, turns and feeds one of the other chicks. He did this with all of them. They are now gobbling it up. I think I may have a good little rooster in the future. He is only 7-8 weeks old. I have never heard of them doing this so early. My 10mo LF rooster is just now feeding his girls.

 

[aoxa]

So I put 3 huge Tablespoons of the FF in the Brooder feed tray, they all came over and looked but no one would eat it. The Kung Pow(the cockerel) comes over and takes a bite, turns and feeds one of the other chicks. He did this with all of them. They are now gobbling it up. I think I may have a good little rooster in the future. He is only 7-8 weeks old. I have never heard of them doing this so early. My 10mo LF rooster is just now feeding his girls.

Definitely a keeper! I've had them call young, but never ever feed that young. What a good boy!

 

[delisha]

Silkies mouth feed each other?
that is remarkable. I have never had a chicken do that.
I have had hens take feed out of cockerels/roos mouths but never seen feeding behavior purposeful of mouth to mouth with chicks.
I have seen mother hens show chicks where the feed is and call them, and the chicks take feed out of mouth too, but again, never feeding behavior like in other avian species.

 

[aoxa]

Silkies mouth feed each other?
that is remarkable. I have never had a chicken do that.
I have had hens take feed out of cockerels/roos mouths but never seen feeding behavior purposeful of mouth to mouth with chicks.
I have seen mother hens show chicks where the feed is and call them, and the chicks take feed out of mouth too, but again, never feeding behavior like in other avian species.

My barred rocks do this as well. They hold something in their mouth and the others take it.

I thought this was one of the many signs of a good rooster. I especially like it when they do it at a young age, and with chicks as well as hens they want to get it on with.

My silkie roosters do this behaviour more than other roosters, but they are just a very nurturing breed. The roosters as well as the hens. I have young cockerel silkies that keep young babies warm. There usually is a lot less fighting amongst new comers with the silkies. They are just laid back like that.

 

[stonykill]

That is one of the reason i haven't gotten a cat again is because of chicks I thought that would be way to tempting for a cat.

Well I've never even lost a chick to a cat.

me either. William our Maine coon mix weasel killer decided ONCE chicks looked tasty. The tiny 3.5 lb Mama Sumatra hen beat him senseless. 1st she tree'd her lil ones, then beat him up. To this day 5 years later he still respects chickens

 

[aoxa]

Stony,

I so want another Maine Coon mix. My last two were such wonderful cats. Huge big fluff balls that I adored.



My best cat I've ever had. Charlie. I miss him every day.

Believe it or not, a bird of prey tried to get this beast, but obviously couldn't. Charlie was very large. He contracted a nasty flesh eating bacterial infection, even after emergency vet the same day and antibiotics, it got worse and it was cut his leg off and put him through months and months of treatment and not even a good chance of it working, or let him rest in peace. I miss him so much.

The Maine Coon.. Even mixes.. They make the best pet cats, and are just so large. Their voices are so small too.