The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Melabella]

I have a job interview this morning

I have not worked for a long time outside of the home. Not sure if it is my fear of the unknown that makes me hope I don't get the job, or, if I am just lazy.

Good Luck Lisha... you go girl!

MB

 

[armorfirelady]

Aoxa- sending warm thoughts so your deep freeze ends soon. I've never had my FF freeze in the heated dog bowl this winter and we have been in single digits for last 4 days with wind chills sometimes at -15......tho i did try knocking the FF out of the bowl not in the heated bowl and broke it.....*sigh* I am on autopilot when I feed them before work in the morning and the sub zero temps didnt register that the FF was frozen....but Lily my cattle dog managed to get the frozen FF out lol

Stony, Delisha & Aoxa- as for your conversation about getting birds that will tolerate weather conditions where you live- I think its just common sense that if you are going to get chickens you need to do some homework on what birds are good for your area. I know I did research a few months before I got my hens because I know we have cold temps & hot temps. I also looked to get hens locally since I knew they would be acclimated to the weather already. You cant go to TSC look at all the pretty chicks & just buy what you think is cute. Well you can......but your going to end up with dead or unhealthy chickens if they are not cold/heat hardy. I only paid $5 a pullet but still that can add up to a lot of $$ if you have to keep replacing them.

I am going to get new pullets in a few months

and I know that their mothers are acclimated to this weather & survive well so that will be passed down to their chicks. And I am getting a couple different breeds so I can add some different colored hens & eggs to my flock.

As for the chart saying what breeds are good for what.......well my hatchery plymoth rocks are great foragers & the cold & snow doesnt phase them....they rather be out in their run digging than eating FF (except in the sub zero temps but I cant blame them I dont want to be out in this cold either but I am NOT going to heat their area if they cant survive in this cold they are not hens I want)......I guess I just lucked out but I am ok with that.

Edited to add: Aoxa- I agree my rocks are great in any kind of weather. I swear they are part duck....part of their run tends to be under water and when we had the big thaw they had no qualms about walking thru the water, scratching away, drinking or just hanging out in the water. And rain? They are out there looking like wet hens from being out in the rain but happily scratching. They look so funny when they shake and fluff.......poofy wet hens lol
And they dont mind the snow either....I do shovel their run out because anything over an inch tends to deter them to some extent but if I shovel they will happily dig away.

I watch their feet to make sure they dont get bumblefoot but no worries so far.......I guess they know enough to dry their feet when they go in the enclosed run.

 

[Ashdoes]

I vote for the little rainbow guys jumping..even though I don't think the iPad will let me use them.


I wanted to talk about my MyPetChicken Golden Buffs, with everyone talking about birds doing well in the cold and laying eggs. I have two, they are the easiest, nicest birds and they're laying BIG eggs everyday. If needed a ton of eggs, I'd get more of these two, but as it is I'm forcing eggs on my MIL and now my sisters in law. And, besides the silkies, all the kids know to pick up the red ones, they're just very laid back about it all.


Aoxa~How awesome is your fiancé that she saved your dog, in her underwear?! Great story

Their Golden Buffs are red sex links. I agree, such friendly good natured birds. Though they are not long term layers, they are awesome when they do lay. Huge eggs too. 

You know, I picked my birds before I found BYC, and I really wish the hatcheries would label the chickens better. Until I came here, I had no idea certain breeds only laid for a couple years, then quit. I would take long term laying over eggs laid everyday.

 

[delisha]

I am off to my interview..
later all and keep warm

 

[jendodd79]

What is the exact formula for your tea?

I put about 2 tsbp of honey, a tbsp of ACV, a pinch of cayenne (or as much as you can handle), a slice of ginger and then I squeeze some lemon in there. You can even put some cinnimon in a tea strainer, but don't put it right in the tea because it turns in to a disgusting jelly!!

 

[midnightroo]

Aoxa, that is a great story! I wish I could do it, but our neighbors are too close! I can't remember her name right now, but a women would farmed organically back before it became popular would garden naked. She said her husband could always tell when she was or wasn't gardening depending on if the cars would slow down when they passed.

 

[aoxa]

Didn't miss you Angela, how could we miss you! ... voting is now closed,, people can feel free to use whatever way they like to welcome anyone here.. Important thing is that all feel welcome!

The finger I smashed in the door two days ago keeps freezing as I go through mucking stalls. It hurts! Also, I know that someone stated this before, I think it was aoxa..

What's the deal with eggs in this weather? They are fine as long as they aren't cracked from freeze?
Forgive my forgetfullness, and my asking again..

They're still good even if they are cracked, according to Stony & Loan Wizard. I always feed the cracked ones back to the birds, because as soon as they start to thaw, they leak. I don't want leaky eggs.

Aoxa- sending warm thoughts so your deep freeze ends soon. I've never had my FF freeze in the heated dog bowl this winter and we have been in single digits for last 4 days with wind chills sometimes at -15......tho i did try knocking the FF out of the bowl not in the heated bowl and broke it.....*sigh* I am on autopilot when I feed them before work in the morning and the sub zero temps didnt register that the FF was frozen....but Lily my cattle dog managed to get the frozen FF out lol

Stony, Delisha & Aoxa- as for your conversation about getting birds that will tolerate weather conditions where you live- I think its just common sense that if you are going to get chickens you need to do some homework on what birds are good for your area. I know I did research a few months before I got my hens because I know we have cold temps & hot temps. I also looked to get hens locally since I knew they would be acclimated to the weather already. You cant go to TSC look at all the pretty chicks & just buy what you think is cute. Well you can......but your going to end up with dead or unhealthy chickens if they are not cold/heat hardy. I only paid $5 a pullet but still that can add up to a lot of $$ if you have to keep replacing them.

I am going to get new pullets in a few months

and I know that their mothers are acclimated to this weather & survive well so that will be passed down to their chicks. And I am getting a couple different breeds so I can add some different colored hens & eggs to my flock.

As for the chart saying what breeds are good for what.......well my hatchery plymoth rocks are great foragers & the cold & snow doesnt phase them....they rather be out in their run digging than eating FF (except in the sub zero temps but I cant blame them I dont want to be out in this cold either but I am NOT going to heat their area if they cant survive in this cold they are not hens I want)......I guess I just lucked out but I am ok with that.

I've never purchased from a hatchery. All the breeds I keep are bred in our weather conditions. The rocks do really well in the winter. Some of the best all around birds for any kind of weather. Cold, hot, wet, dry.. they don't seem to mind any of it.

You know, I picked my birds before I found BYC, and I really wish the hatcheries would label the chickens better. Until I came here, I had no idea certain breeds only laid for a couple years, then quit. I would take long term laying over eggs laid everyday.

They don't always just quit. They do slow down. They can be kept longer if no supplemental light is added. I have a 3 year old RSL who lays very well during the right seasons. The other RSLs I have will be processed when their laying slows down, but not the original Penny. She's got a forever home unless she shows signs of suffering. Which she doesn't.


Here is the original Penny. My favourite chicken. She is hilarious. Really good natured bird. You can see where she had frost bite last winter from poor ventilation.

She's out of her molt for the most part. Her last egg was in November.

 

[aoxa]

I am off to my interview..
later all and keep warm

Good luck!!

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa, that is a great story! I wish I could do it, but our neighbors are too close! I can't remember her name right now, but a women would farmed organically back before it became popular would garden naked. She said her husband could always tell when she was or wasn't gardening depending on if the cars would slow down when they passed.

Oh my!

 

[Melabella]

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

HI Angela,

I am a total newb, have no experience with anything since July 23rd when the small flock arrived. I am a professional horse person, and have an instinct for reading animal behavior. This being said, it's funny when you leave your element, what a neophyte one can be reduced to. I had two issues with my surprise roo and reached out to the far more experienced people in this thread and another one. From the responses I got, the general consensus was to never retreat, and also calmly advance to his space, make him move, not with force and cruelty(unless of course the SOB still charges and floggs), but constant whenever you enter the pen. I had my situation when I stupidly like the newb I am, bent down in front of him to pet a pullet that had honored my presence with a submissive squat (of course she was just looking for food and trying to score points with me). Well, Duke obviously took it as a direct challenge, and came at me.. surprised the heck out of me, and I fell backwards and he did it a second time. That afternoon after reading here, i set out with my rooster stick, and did my first of many small "training" bouts with him. I kept walking towards him, making him move, move, move,,, when he tried to relax,, I wouldn't have it... just kept calmly walking around the pen, and the one time he turned as he viewed me too close to his girls, I gave him a good poke with the stick. I have done this every day on a smaller level, as he hasn't forgotten the poke. I make him move away from me at all times. This is a cockerel that used to let me pick him up all the time. I guess he is just becoming a man, but it's obvious he has to realize I am in charge, or at least that I am not going to be a challenge to him. I still bring the stick with me when tending or picking up one of the girls. Yesterday I sat with them for a bit with some meal worms. I have stopped feeding them out of my hand, as they became rather peckish. I do use it at times to just have them come near me and my dog and spread them out on the ground next to me. He did come pretty close, and give that ol sideways look. After my ignorance, I never lose track of where he is, and am still assessing whether he will be able to stay, as I have lots of small nieces and nephews visiting all the time, and they free range an awful lot, so if he can't submit,, he'll be somewhere else.


MB