The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Pullet Surprise]

LOL! Zombie pancake chicken.

That's the best description I have heard yet!!!! "eggs! must have eggs!"

 

[jendodd79]

Oh my gosh - I just went outside. It's SUNNY!!! After weeks and weeks of rain. But it's also our first freeze. I think it's -6C out there. (Laugh Aoxa!) The chickens are outside, loving the sun, but all puffed up! So funny

Pictures soon!

 

[jendodd79]

Here is the inside of our coop. We're putting up a roost right below the window at the top right. That window actually looks in through to the window of our mud room. We wanted to be able to watch the chicks - lol! Yes, the heat lamp is still on, lol!


Ventilation window


I was looking forward to this wyandotte, but she has no personality! She looks funny puffed up though. She always hides and never makes a sound.


I thought Little One was going to be plain, but she's getting an amazing "mane"


Puffed up in the cold!


What are you doing crazy lady?






Puffed up Anne Shirley


Love the colour of this buff!

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Lovely colors on your birds Jendodd!

 

[Mumsy]

Ah shoot ! I thought I had the math figured out to be able to have 8. I'll have to expand it when the weather gets nicer out. Since it's so tall, will adding a "split level" shelf about 4 feet up on the one side help for now? I can't wait until the weather is nicer and they start spending some more time outside!

Yes. I was thinking about your pen size and whether you may have too many birds in it for the DL to keep up. If they are in there more than 24 hours multiple times a week, your DL can't keep up with the load. My five chickens only roost in the pen. They go into the barn isle to eat and drink and then leave the barn for most of the day. I have to really watch it that the poo under the roosts doesn't pile up more than a day or it will smell. Thus the reason I fork it under every morning when they leave.

It's about time I remove a couple wheel barrows from that pen and put in some fresh raked leaves, peat moss, shavings, and grass hay. It's a recipe that works for me. This mix plus poo breaks down very quickly in our climate I have found. Getting it right is the challenge.

 

[delisha]

I agree with the assesssment
Too small, too much heat, and too many birds for deep litter.

You choose to heat ..and that is ok
as a suggestion..next year..don't heat and see if you notice a difference in your birds.

 

[Mumsy]

The last couple days one of Johnny's pullets has been nosing around the nest boxes. I found Johnny sitting in one yesterday calling out sweet nothings to Phoebe.
This morning after feeding, Phoebe jumped up into it then jumped out and looked into a pot full of hay under the table. It made me smile.

I had to go shopping and returned to let the flock out of the paddock and into the orchard then counted them as they trotted by out the door. No Phoebe. There she was in her selected nest. She didn't like it that the flock took off with out her and she tried to catch up. I laughed! She could barely run and sort of waddled. She turned right around in the orchard and went back in the barn and climbed into her nest.
The girls are just about eight months old this week. Phoebe is Johnnys' favorite. I may get an egg.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Phoebe sounds close!! Does she like Johnny's nest selection?

 

[chickiemomy]

yep Jendodd & mumsy -- water frozen in the run just now --sun out, rain & snow stopped, cold blast on the way. I'm likely a bit colder & wetter than you both - 350-ish elev - 15 miles east of Everett - if they say snow in the foothills - that's us.

mumsy - WI gets that little rain shadow break from the Olympics -- I'm unfortunately in the convergence zone -- ugghh

don't ask -- land was cheaper out here in the wilderness!

 

[SandBsmom]

Can ff ever get TOO fermented? Mine has been going for about a week and a half and it has a scum across the top. I keep stirring it up but the scum forms again. And it definitely smells sour! Seems I might be brewing some kind of grain alcohol soon!