The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Eggcessive...we were writing at the same time about the fences!

 

[Sally8]

Those silkies are so darn cute! I know they are 5 weeks but how do they ever get all that fluff in an egg? lol
My eggs in the incubator are at 12 days. I candled them, only 3 were not developing for whatever reason. I need to come up a temporary brooder quick like. I have 4 broody hens of which I have put wooden eggs under. Hopefully, I can put a couple chicks under each so they will knock off the nonsense and start giving me eggs again. Someone told me that broody hens were wanted but I don't think everyone would pamper their fuzzy butts like I do. Anyway, I should have a variety of BCM, EE's and mutts of several other great laying chickens. So excited!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Here's a link about the Deep Litter. It was the first information I ever read on the topic almost a year ago before I was on BYC. The writer quotes a article of Kennard and Chamberlin at the Ohio Experiment Station from the Golden Age of deep litter, published in 1949. http://www.plamondon.com/faq_deep_litter.html

Thought it might be useful to someone. Interesting the info they stated about cocci. While I found the article interesting, it mentions using lime which, I personally, would not use. Note the article states using lime can be caustic to the feet of the chicks!

I tried to read the original article in it's entirety by Kennard and Chamberlin, but you have to have a paid subscription to get the full text...I found that at several sites - this is just one of them: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1949.tb53947.x/abstract

 

[lalaland]

I let mine out to free range, then feed them FF once in the afternoon. Usually not all of it is gone by the time I lock them up at night.

I just started adding Rye Grass pellets to my mix. They don't eat it as well, but it is all eaten!

Hah! I've never heard of rye grass pellets. are they kind of like alfalfa pellets? not that I've seen those either.

 

[Sally8]

Leah's Mom, I loved your pictures (along with everyone else's). In one of the pictures, it shows hens scratching in mulch. Is that compost? Did you make it? I'd been dumping my leaves in the run trying to make a better worm hiding place for them to scratch in. This forum is just wonderful for ideas.

As for as acronyms, you all forget that I thought DH stood for dumb husband. I probably won't submit any. lol

SNOW again. Temps are plunging. It dropped over 10 degrees between 5:30 am and 3pm. Gotta love my heated dog dishes!

I've never had any trouble with FF. no bugs or bad smells. I think I have less of a mess than with the dry. I know it's hard to believe, but true.

 

[armorfirelady]

THANK U THANK U THANK U everyone for all the replies on fencing. So much information was gained. I am def going to order the catalog Leah's mom & see if I can wade through it to find what I need/ want. And I like the green color cuz it blends in so nice


Ok so I was asked if I wanted a chick that was being raised in a class room for school. Any thoughts?

I am not set up for young chicks, never raised any and have no broodies since my pullers are so young, I am thinking I will be better off waiting to spring when my new coop is built and I can use the old one to quarantine any new hens I get. I also can't imagine try to raise a single chick alone......and I don't want it in the house with 4 cats & 2 dogs to stare at it all day.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Leah's Mom, I loved your pictures (along with everyone else's). In one of the pictures, it shows hens scratching in mulch. Is that compost?

We had some trees cut down about 8 months prior and I had the crew dump the wood chips in a big pile. After it sat there for that long, I discovered that it was full of worms, so I put my electro net over there where they could dig through some of it and BOY DID THEY "GO TO TOWN" on that pile!!!!

Then...I began to move some of those chips, wheelbarrow full by wheelbarrow full, over to the dog kennel run. I'm planning on continuing to move them over time until I get it really deep in there in addition to whatever - lawn mowing clippings, etc. My goal is to build a really deep base in that kennel so that they have a "winter area" that they can still dig down and find live bugs in there.

I didn't get it deep enough to accomplish that this first year. I'll continue putting more in over time and hopefully it will give them something to do in the winter - and a feed source!

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Quote: O.K. O.K. So I'm a closet Silkie envier! It's not a breed that would do well in my set up....but....I do so enjoy looking at them and enjoying them vicariously! I could not keep my hands off babies like that! Thanks for my Silkie fix for the day! They are adorable!

 

[lalaland]

I just want to say that I am living in terror because will be gone ice fishing this weekend and will be away from this thread for 3 WHOLE DAYS and I keep thinking of I love lucy and lucy and ethel at the chocolate factory with the choclates piling up and I know when I get back what this thread will look like!

Thanks for all the replies on what you are feeding and when - was great to see all the dfferent ways we all do it!

The fencing info was great and I want to save my pennies so I can get one - Leahsmom great to see how well the green fence blends in.

armorfirelady: one lone chick will be a trick! lots of work and how long will it take before it can be added to your other chickens? would be hard to say yes to it, at least for me.

Also, this weekend is heading back into 20 below zeros...good time to ice fish

 

[Leahs Mom]

THANK U THANK U THANK U everyone for all the replies on fencing. So much information was gained. I am def going to order the catalog Leah's mom & see if I can wade through it to find what I need/ want. And I like the green color cuz it blends in so nice

If you get the right person on the phone there, their customer service people are helpful too. Sometimes you have to ask to talk to someone that USES the fences as a lot of the folks that work there have animals and use the products rather than being just "kids" hired to answer the phone.