The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Melabella]

Well an update on my drama..it is sleeting/raining/snowing so hard you can't even see out the window. my daughter/sister is stuck at her school, can't go no where, mom is stuck in a car pile up (not hurt, just stuck) i'm at the house with no way of getting to anybody. so i guess everyone has to stay in cars till the road/police can clear the streets. all cars/motor transits are in wrecks in ditches, car pile ups no one is going anywhere!!! i don't know what to do? i know i can't do anything...just sit and wait.

Oh so sorry Ark81!

These are times we have to just keep chanting,, no one got hurt, no one got hurt.. but still quite frustrating! So sorry you have to go through that.

Keep us posted!

MB

 

[Leahs Mom]

This is a duplicate post on purpose - just in case someone gets the email version or reads the old post but doesn't see the edited posted I made above. Sorry for the duplicate, but I think it's important. I'm going to try to do a little more research but, like I said in the edited post, "better safe than sorry".
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Edited Post:

After I ran this heater for a little bit - even at a lower setting with the dimmer - the fumes were pretty strong. I decided to turn it off and quit using it in the hen house until I can find out more information regarding silicon fumes and bird's health. The fumes made me think of the teflon coated light bulbs causing death of the flock: http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/i...t_bulbs_toxic_to_chickens_the_full_story.html

http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/non-stick-cookware-kills-another-parrot/



I tried to look into it a bit and found this: http://www.debralynndadd.com/_blog/greenlivingqa/post/Offgassing_From_Silicone_Bakeware/

Then there are tons of items that say the fumes are completely harmless (but that's what they said about the teflon coating fumes too...)

So at least for now, better safe than sorry. I turned it off and won't be using it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well an update on my drama..it is sleeting/raining/snowing so hard you can't even see out the window. my daughter/sister is stuck at her school, can't go no where, mom is stuck in a car pile up (not hurt, just stuck) i'm at the house with no way of getting to anybody. so i guess everyone has to stay in cars till the road/police can clear the streets. all cars/motor transits are in wrecks in ditches, car pile ups no one is going anywhere!!! i don't know what to do? i know i can't do anything...just sit and wait.

Hope everyone will be safe and home soon.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Another Quote on silicone fumes (bold emphasis mine):

to read) written by an avian veterinarian, Dr. Karen Rosenthal. The brochure states that cooking fumes, smoke and odors can have detrimental effects on pet birds in and around the kitchen. “While the cautions here are the result of reports of bird death caused by overheated nonstick surfaces, I believe they should also apply to any plastic/rubber products,” Rushing said.

“Certainly any sort of combustion products (smoke) are deadly to birds due to their sensitive respiratory systems. Better to err on the side of caution than to run the risk of losing a loved pet.”

Wish I could find something more concrete but until then...I'll continue to "be safe rather than sorry".

 

[aoxa]

LM,

Doesn't it seem like a lot of work during the winter with those nipple cup waterers? If I were you, I'd just use them when the weather permits and try a heated waterer, or something that didn't need so much attention.

 

[aoxa]

Check out this very unique chicken coop I just came across. It's a tree coop. lol

 

[Leahs Mom]

I may end up coming to that conclusion. I was hoping to find a heat source that would keep them useable even if the temps dropped to the teens. So...it is my experimental year!

If I can't find a way to keep the necks from freezing, they'll just be my "above the teens" weather waterer!

 

[aoxa]

I may end up coming to that conclusion. I was hoping to find a heat source that would keep them useable even if the temps dropped to the teens. So...it is my experimental year!

If I can't find a way to keep the necks from freezing, they'll just be my "above the teens" weather waterer!

You sound like me. I tried those cookie tin water heaters and am writing it off as a "Doesn't work in our cold weather" kind of experiment.

It kept the base unfrozen for the most part, but the water above all froze up and just did not work. Now we thaw the waterers in our heated FF room and put fresh stuff in the plastic ones in the morning. That way we can use the same waterers year round, and I won't break them trying to knock ice out. I know you guys don't all like to use plastic, but I have to many birds to consider anything else.

I do use rubber tubs for most of the birds. When it freezes, I just dump the ice out. It's very flexible.

 

[FalzoneChickens]

Is anyone doing Gluten Free chickens? We are doing that. I mix our own feed. We've noticed a huge difference going from expensive store-bought "all natural" eggs to our own clucks laying.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Is anyone doing Gluten Free chickens? We are doing that. I mix our own feed. We've noticed a huge difference going from expensive store-bought "all natural" eggs to our own clucks laying.

Tell us about your feed - what do you mix and in what ratios?