The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

Quote: If it really is a mug ..don't throw it away.
take out 1/4 cup and place the rest in the freezor.
4 cups dry, add the 1/4 cup and cover in water.

 

[pcappy2]

Made the decision and ordered day old baby chicks, I can drive to the hatchery so I only had to order 10. 5 will be meats . Of the 6 i have, two r Roos and they have already started to show us who which one may go into the freezer. Will add another roost, but they free range when it's not below zero here. I'm confident I will have enough room to add plus I do have a small garden shed DH would appreciate I didn't put chickens in,,,,but???? I could make that work using the attached dog kennel as a run. Just trying to stay away from the dreaded chicken math, cuz I really have the fever! This has just been so much fun. The one hen we have has started to lay, one very nice egg and now very soft shells. I'm working on that too.....it's early yet and maybe the diet changes I've made will turn that around but she's also on the possible freezer list cuz she doesn't get along with anyone. All things I've learned here! Thank u all. Will post pics when the chicks get home.

 

[Arkansas81]

ok i have a question..well 2. first i tried getting an answer on the silkie thread but no one would answer me..so my daughter and i plan on setting up a silkie pen around april. the silkies are coming from a very nice lady here in arkansas...they will be around laying age when we get them so i wont need to worry about it being cold or wet where babies are concerned. i would like to be able to let them have their own coop and run connected in a seperate spot in the yard. i would say we might have around 5 in total, including-hopefully rooster. so what does the deminsions need to be? how much room do they need when they are in a coop, im not to worried about the run, i know i can be able to handle that-size with no problems. i'm just wondering about the coop part...?

also thinking since we cant seem to be able to rehome our two polish roos that we might sell one and keep the other, then we can set up a breeding pen/coop for them as well. what about their size requirements for their coop? again not real worried about the run...thanks for any help. o we would like to have around 4/5 in that group as well. THANKS!!

 

[jendodd79]

If it really is a mug ..don't throw it away.
take out 1/4 cup and place the rest in the freezor.
4 cups dry, add the 1/4 cup and cover in water.

Well probably a 1/4-1/2 cup by a measurement I meant to say glug, not mug. Lol! My brain is fried. I read "somewhere" that you were supposed to use a 1/4 cup per 2 days of feed - but my glug seemed like more than a 1/4 cup

 

[aoxa]

ok i have a question..well 2. first i tried getting an answer on the silkie thread but no one would answer me..so my daughter and i plan on setting up a silkie pen around april. the silkies are coming from a very nice lady here in arkansas...they will be around laying age when we get them so i wont need to worry about it being cold or wet where babies are concerned. i would like to be able to let them have their own coop and run connected in a seperate spot in the yard. i would say we might have around 5 in total, including-hopefully rooster. so what does the deminsions need to be? how much room do they need when they are in a coop, im not to worried about the run, i know i can be able to handle that-size with no problems. i'm just wondering about the coop part...?

also thinking since we cant seem to be able to rehome our two polish roos that we might sell one and keep the other, then we can set up a breeding pen/coop for them as well. what about their size requirements for their coop? again not real worried about the run...thanks for any help. o we would like to have around 4/5 in that group as well. THANKS!!

give them 5 square feet or more each in the coop and 10sq feet each in the run or more... so dimensions could be 5x5 for the coop and 10x5 for the run

 

[Arkansas81]

give them 5 square feet or more each in the coop and 10sq feet each in the run or more... so dimensions could be 5x5 for the coop and 10x5 for the run

aoxa~thanks i will keep that in mind!!! i can't wait till april!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope this weather lets me get out soon to start getting ready...i will keep you all posted as soon as they get here.

 

[aoxa]

aoxa~thanks i will keep that in mind!!! i can't wait till april!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope this weather lets me get out soon to start getting ready...i will keep you all posted as soon as they get here.

good luck!

 

[SandBsmom]

ok i have a question..well 2. first i tried getting an answer on the silkie thread but no one would answer me..so my daughter and i plan on setting up a silkie pen around april. the silkies are coming from a very nice lady here in arkansas...they will be around laying age when we get them so i wont need to worry about it being cold or wet where babies are concerned. i would like to be able to let them have their own coop and run connected in a seperate spot in the yard. i would say we might have around 5 in total, including-hopefully rooster. so what does the deminsions need to be? how much room do they need when they are in a coop, im not to worried about the run, i know i can be able to handle that-size with no problems. i'm just wondering about the coop part...?

also thinking since we cant seem to be able to rehome our two polish roos that we might sell one and keep the other, then we can set up a breeding pen/coop for them as well. what about their size requirements for their coop? again not real worried about the run...thanks for any help. o we would like to have around 4/5 in that group as well. THANKS!!

Keep your perches low or be prepared to have little ramps running around your coop which takes up space. My silkie roo can hop up to a roost about 18' off the ground but my hen won't even try it. She's a ramp girl. She flaps and scrambles all the way up but she makes it. She will hop up about 10". And have lots of nests. My hen is broody every other month. She lays about 10-12 eggs then she's broody for a very long time (3 months once!) then she resets her cycle for about 3 weeks and the whole things starts again. If you are going to have 4 hens be prepared to have them all sitting around in nests.
Have fun! You'll love them! Mine sleep with my daughters.

 

[Bulldogma]

BDM I am so sorry about your Orp. I was so excited when it sounded like she was doing better.

Can I ask you all a slightly gruesome question? When you have to cull, like really cull not just rehome, how do you do it? I haven't had to do that but if I did I would have no idea what to do.

Normally we use a hatchet to make the cull very fast. Since I needed to cull in the middle of the night, I broke her neck very quickly - held her by the head and did a very quick, hard snap-the-whip motion. I'm sure she didn't feel anything but instant relief from what must have been horrible pain, poor girl.

She told us that even if it ends up she cant sell it to us that shes willing to rent it to us

What awesome news!!!

 

[delisha]

Quote: 1/4 cup of ACV is still too much. A glug is good for making in a 5 gallon bucket.
once you add the ACV you do not have to add anymore of it.