The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

and the key is by searching out owners and breeders of said breed, not by some chart on a hatchery or some website. For instance Hatchery's say Sumatra's are for heat only. Yet there is a thread on BYC funny enough called the "Sumatra thread". Last I looked 143 pages of real world experiences with them. Last picture I saw was of 2 roosters in waste deep snow with single digit temps. If I listened to a silly chart and not real people I never would have gotten Sumatra's. Yet there are about 65 of them outside right now while it is below zero still at 10 am and they are behaving like normal chickens.
With that said, I have never in 9 years lost a bird to cold weather. I don't heat, insulate or otherwise pamper the birds. They condition themselves to the elements just like a wild turkey, grouse or pheasant does. If birds could not take care of themselves in the cold we would not have any wild birds left.

Agree here Stony. I never go by just one site's advice. I always read about other's experience with the breed as well.

I think most breeds can be acclimated to the cold. Anyone have any examples with birds you WOULDN'T keep in my conditions?

I have a whole lot of breeds that WOULD NOT do well in Florida weather in the summer. My cochins, and my silkies especially. They pant all day in the summer, even in the shade here.. We rarely hit 90. It's usually between 75-85 for a daily high with night time temps in the 50's-60's.

They all do fine if given proper shade and water. That's why I love how my property is surrounded by trees and forest. They love spending their summer digging around there.

 

[atmaclean]

So far we have:




Bulldogma- Welcome Wagon
Melabella- Welcome Wagon
Mumsy-Welcome Wagon
Jockeyeba-Welcome Wagon
Countrygirl74-Welcome Wagon
SandBsmom-Welcome Wagon
Sally8- Welcome Wagon






aoxa- colorful bouncing "group"
Delisha- colorful bouncing "group"
Pigeonguy-colorful bouncing "group"




Amorfirelady-Welcome Flower Banner

You must have missed mine....I chose the welcome wagon several pages back...
Angela

 

[delisha]

I agree..knock on wood, I have never lost a bird in winter. I have lost birds in summer. The cornish x's do not do well in high heat. We have had some horrible summers with temps over 100 for days. Even in shade, with all of that weight they just do poorly. When it is that hot, I do poorly too. I do not spend much time out doors other than to water the birds and make water holes and fill pools. Even the chickens get in the pools when it is so hot.

I know a woman who heats and air conditions her coop. She even has heated mats at the entry way. She built them a glass house to use during the winter where she plants greens for them and farms bugs. They have it made over at her house. But in that situation, they are not chickens, they are pampered pets. My birds would probably move to her house right about now.

 

[atmaclean]

Aww...your wife is a lucky lady! I wouldn' t put it past these smart suckers...I notice my roo watches all my behaviour.. That and also teaching your wife about simple body movement is key. The minute submit, and back away, they see it as weakness, and installs them as dominant. Not just chickens either. The key to getting respect from horses is getting them to move thier feet, fowards, backwards ,left and right. The second a horse knows they can move you... you'll be pushed and knocked around from that point on.

Great story Pidgeon!

MB






Hi MB:

I was interested in your comment about the horses. I didn't realize it was the same theory with chickens as far as getting respect. Is this really true with the roosters? I have had one or two roosters that would charge me or my husband or my boys. I wasn't sure what to do to keep them from acting so rude. I am very familiar with "moving their feet" in horse training and respect (Parelli & Anderson) so, if this works, I may be able to deal with the rooster issue!! I just didn't know what to do to stop the roosters from doing the charging/flogging.

Angela

 

[delisha]

All of my birds would do well in your elements..
Not all of my birds would survive well in hot climates
Most of my egg layers are dual purpose and cross bred to Cornish

I was told that my egg layers would never go broody the other day because I used cornish, and leghorn as a foundation years ago. They thought it was a bad mix.


one week left to go...

 

[aoxa]

I agree..knock on wood, I have never lost a bird in winter. I have lost birds in summer. The cornish x's do not do well in high heat. We have had some horrible summers with temps over 100 for days. Even in shade, with all of that weight they just do poorly. When it is that hot, I do poorly too. I do not spend much time out doors other than to water the birds and make water holes and fill pools. Even the chickens get in the pools when it is so hot.

I know a woman who heats and air conditions her coop. She even has heated mats at the entry way. She built them a glass house to use during the winter where she plants greens for them and farms bugs. They have it made over at her house. But in that situation, they are not chickens, they are pampered pets. My birds would probably move to her house right about now.

If I was a millionaire and power outages were guaranteed never to happen, I'd build a people tunnel to the barn and heat the whole thing to 60 degrees in the winter, and cool to 70 in the summer. I'd have in ground ponds and the craziest equipment to make life easier for me (and them).

But since I am not that wealthy, no one is getting heated. No one is getting AC. Especially when I myself don't even have AC.

I am grumpy when it is hot out. Really really grumpy.

Did I ever tell you guys about my fiance's underpant story?

If you missed it....

It's mid summer.. A sweltering 90+ degrees. We have a very private back yard. Susan (fiance) likes to do chores in her underwear. Whatever. All the more to her. I don't do it like that.. I can handle the heat a bit better than her. So here she is.. watering all the birds in her underpants. Clementine is having the time of her life. Playing around. Being a puppy...
So Clementine.. being the runner she is.. Darted as fast as she could to the front of our house.. onto the road. Susan - running full speed after her. Screaming at the top of her lungs: "CLEMENTINE!!!! NOOO!"
I stand back.. Laughing until I am on my knees.
Susan had run into the middle of the road. Stopped traffic on both sides. IN HER UNDERWEAR. Drug Clementine off the road and back.
She was yelling at me to stop laughing.
I couldn't pull it together. When I finally told her to look at her pants, she was laughing too.

She stopped traffic (6+ cars) in her underwear.

I think everyone and the mail man have heard this story.

I do not let her live it down. It was a very good day.

 

[delisha]

Angela,

It works for roosters very well. You can go out today and move them -move them -move them-out of the building for a few minutes and go back out later in the day and see a difference. Might take a few times, but, usually just a few does the trick. It works too if you use a stick and guide them out of a room with it. The key is to make them move out of the way and building.

 

[aoxa]

All of my birds would do well in your elements..
Not all of my birds would survive well in hot climates
Most of my egg layers are dual purpose and cross bred to Cornish

I was told that my egg layers would never go broody the other day because I used cornish, and leghorn as a foundation years ago. They thought it was a bad mix.


one week left to go...

I like the colour of your hay

 

[delisha]

great underware story..

 

[Mumsy]

This is the one that was posted
http://www.everythingessential.me/HealthConcerns/SoreThroat.html#page=page-1

I have not mentioned this but. Week before last on Saturday I separated all of my roosters from the Girls. I know they say the newest seed gets used first and all you have to do is put the ones you want to breed in breading pens and all will be OK. His seed will be on top so that is what will get used first. Lets just say I don't trust it so the boys are going to be away from the girls for a few weeks to clean them out so when they breed I know I am getting pure Black Copper Marans with no americauna mixed in.

OK when I moved the boys I noticed that one of them looked down in the dumps (sick but not sick) This was before the move so it wasn't the move that caused it. He has looked that way every since. I have been very busy and have not had time to pay a lot of attention to him. Some days when I fed he looked like he was going to be alright others he looked down again. Remember he did not look sick just down droopy tail head held not so high slouchy wings you know just down.
Now for the good news I started feeding him oregano and garlic mixed in the FF. Not only him but the whole flock on Monday morning he was hovering around the feed dish but not eating then on Tuesday morning when I fed he was in the corner slouched down like fudge that they would not let me eat yesterday why even try. So I took a scoop of FF and put in front of him and he gingerly ate at it as I kept the others away. Today I only put oregano in the FF and lots of it. When I filled the trough he was there pecking away but just there no real energy but enough to not get completely push away. I watched to make sure. Tonight when I went out to check and give some extra food (first time all week I got home in time to do so) He was the first one there and when the others came over he looked up as if to say I DON'T THINK SO ! The others stopped dead in their tracks he ate some and then the rest came over slowly and started eating with him. I did tell him Tuesday when I gave him the scoop of FF and held the others back. "You know I ain't got time for this crap right now. The best I can do for ya is pick your dead a** up and throw you in the dumpster if ya die so you had better get with the program" Would have culled him Tuesday but would like to get these guys through there first molt so I can pick who gets to be my real breeder.
I don't know about other breeds but BCMs can get white feathers after their first molt. They don't have any now but after molt we'll see they have all been warned white feathers is a culling offense. He will be one that gets to go back in with the hens he looks pretty good at this point. Feathers come down the outside toe, slate legs and copper not mossy. He has also shown he has the fight for life it takes to be in this flock. I think a lesser bird would have died sooner. Sure hope he don't get a white feather
Oh ya this might sound stupid but when I entered the coop tonight with the bucket of feed he ran over and in front of me looked up caught my eye as if to say thanks dude I needed that. Then turned and waited by the feed trough. This kind of behavior is very unlike my roosters Cockerels actually. Normally when I approach they all separate and let me go threw without bother. We has never had a confrontation but I think they know who is head roo around here. But then on the other hand when I go out to feed or enter their area for any reason I walk not only up to one of them I just keep walking making him move.
Funny story My wife went out to see them one day and said the roosters chased me out. I took her against her will ( she was scared got flogged as a child has ran from roosters ever since. Her mom raised chickens so she did a lot of running as a kid) anyway I took her back out with them one of the roos came running toward her I quickly grabbed her gave her a hug and a long kiss with all chickens watching. She has been able to walk out with then receiving the same respect as me every since. I think they talked with each other and said That's his hen leave her alone. Don't know what made me think of doing that It was just a first reaction.
The moral to all of that is Oregano is good stuff !

OMG sorry guys musta thought I was writing a book.

Best. Story. Of. The. Day.