The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Bulldogma]

They are not that aggressive..I love cornish. You will love how they taste too. You can safely place one of your birds in with them in a small sectioned off area.They do not necessaraly have to touch, or be touched.

Ah - thank you for clearing this up! Great info.

I just saw this little brochure (and I mean little...not a lot or in-depth, but beginning food for thought) from Weston Price. Thought someone might want to take a look.

http://www.westonaprice.org/images/pdfs/Trifold-SoyAlert2009.pdf

That's just scary! Thank you for sharing this!

My advice for your next batch of eggs tho, (if you can and you have the know how), is to try adding a cheap (or free) PC fan to the LG to make it a circulated air incubator, instead of still air.

Thank you - yes - we already have a PC fan in the 'bator. I think it was just me that screwed the hatch up by fretting over everything too much and messing with the temperature controls when I should have just left it alone and been more patient! - LOL! This Friday I'll be running Mumsy's (amazing) piece on incubating. I'm already changing up my setup based upon her advice. I can't wait to share the article! She did a fantastic job!!

 

[aoxa]

I'm on day 21 and I don't think any of the eggs/chicks made it.

Just too many issues and temperature spikes with the incubator. I did a dry incubation (the humidity was at 16% up until day 18) and then I added a wet sponge at lockdown. That's when the temps in the incubator went awry - first staying too low, and then spiking up to 103... and even 105! The stupid little temperature control knob is way too small and touchy. I had put a larger knob (from a milk bottle) on it as someone had suggested on another thread, but after a few uses, it became too loose and I couldn't tell if it was turning the knob or just spinning by itself. Sigh... thank goodness I took the "important" eggs (Heritage RIR) to a friend! This was a trial run with our incubator, and an educational process for sure!

I'm stubborn, so I will be trying again right away, and I know some things I will do differently from the start. I just wish this time had gone better - the kids are a little upset.

I'm sorry BDM.. I sure hope you can fix any issues next time around.

It is the chicken manure that puts cocci and other things like cecal worm eggs in the soil.
This is how I slowly build immunities in my chicks and will do the same with turkey poults coming next month.

I don't clean my brooder house thouroughly between batches. I rake out the bulk but I don't disenfect. I don't make it spotless. I build deep litter for the chick house the same as the barn pens. I add a couple fork fulls of the adult DL from the barn into the chick house when they are about three weeks old. Once the chicks are completely feathered out they go out in the barn in the grow out pens. I keep breeds separate so this is how I do it.
I raised four kids. They played in the dirt. Put their hands in their mouth. They drank water from the hose. They were healthy kids. Same principle.
With the turkey poults I'll do it differently by keeping them on wire until two weeks then they will go on the floor of the chick house.

This is my take. With chickens, building immunity to pathogens means letting them have access to some dried manure.

Exactly.

I have yet to experience Cocci. *knock on wood*

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Here's another thing that was noted in the 1949 study regarding benefits of deep litter:


Quote:
http://www.plamondon.com/faq_deep_litter.html
Now.... if you read this in context, this IS NOT advocating having a high ammonia build up. If you can smell it when you enter the hen house, it is toxic to the birds!!!!

However...in well-maintained deep litter where there is a low level of ammonia, that may also explain some of the benefits of built up litter for keeping coccidia in check.

 

[Mumsy]

First of all thank you to all you that said such kind words about my husbands crafty crafts for my chickens. 39 years of marriage and he knows I'd rather have stuff for my coop than shiney jewels any day of the week!


Now I've got a mystery with my little five year old Silkie cockerel. This is a new one for me. Not sure what to do about his problem.

Entered the barn this morning at 7 am to turn on the barn lights and feed. Could hear this little guy before I saw him. Vocalizing with every breath. Hoarse sounding caw like sound. I fed everybody, then sat in a chair to observe and listen to him. He ate and made two sounds, gobble, wheeze, gobble, wheeze. Very odd. Never saw this before. I saw him drink. I use a pop bottle water for the crested penned birds. It is laced with Un-ACV just like all the birds get. I had been feeding FF and had recently added shelled wild bird seed to the mix. It has larger peanut seeds and safflower seeds in it. Even the six week old chicks eat it so I was worried about those big whole seeds.

This cockerel has presented no illness symptoms. No gaping or yawning. No watery discharge from nostrils or eyes. Just out of the blue this morning he is having difficulty breathing.

I took him out of the cage and felt his neck and crop. His crop was completely empty and I felt no obstruction. He has good strength and fought me while I gave him a couple drops of olive oil with an eye dropper on his tongue. He swallowed a couple times.
Put him back in the pen and then I changed the feed dish and filled it with plain dry all-purpose crumble. He went right to eating. He acts normal. I mean all these two Silkies do pretty much all day is sleep and hang out in the breeding pen. Every so often I give them a big clod of sod and soil to pick through.
My gut feeling he has an obstruction in his wind pipe. If it's his lungs I will be worried more. I think all I can do is observe. He doesn't seem to be suffering. Just making a lot of noise with each breath.

If he dies suddenly I'm going to open up his throat and look or he gets worse I'll end his suffering and still examine. Definitely want to help him out if I can.
Anyone here have a suggestion?

 

[delisha]

First of all thank you to all you that said such kind words about my husbands crafty crafts for my chickens. 39 years of marriage and he knows I'd rather have stuff for my coop than shiney jewels any day of the week!


Now I've got a mystery with my little five year old Silkie cockerel. This is a new one for me. Not sure what to do about his problem.

Entered the barn this morning at 7 am to turn on the barn lights and feed. Could hear this little guy before I saw him. Vocalizing with every breath. Hoarse sounding caw like sound. I fed everybody, then sat in a chair to observe and listen to him. He ate and made two sounds, gobble, wheeze, gobble, wheeze. Very odd. Never saw this before. I saw him drink. I use a pop bottle water for the crested penned birds. It is laced with Un-ACV just like all the birds get. I had been feeding FF and had recently added shelled wild bird seed to the mix. It has larger peanut seeds and safflower seeds in it. Even the six week old chicks eat it so I was worried about those big whole seeds.

This cockerel has presented no illness symptoms. No gaping or yawning. No watery discharge from nostrils or eyes. Just out of the blue this morning he is having difficulty breathing.

I took him out of the cage and felt his neck and crop. His crop was completely empty and I felt no obstruction. He has good strength and fought me while I gave him a couple drops of olive oil with an eye dropper on his tongue. He swallowed a couple times.
Put him back in the pen and then I changed the feed dish and filled it with plain dry all-purpose crumble. He went right to eating. He acts normal. I mean all these two Silkies do pretty much all day is sleep and hang out in the breeding pen. Every so often I give them a big clod of sod and soil to pick through.
My gut feeling he has an obstruction in his wind pipe. If it's his lungs I will be worried more. I think all I can do is observe. He doesn't seem to be suffering. Just making a lot of noise with each breath.

If he dies suddenly I'm going to open up his throat and look or he gets worse I'll end his suffering and still examine. Definitely want to help him out if I can.
Anyone here have a suggestion

Not much to offer on my end if it is an internal injury. You might use a flash light and look at his nostrils. I would pull him off the seeds for good, he might be allergic to the peanuts or somethiing. Sorry. You are doing everything you can.

 

[Mumsy]

Not much to offer on my end if it is an internal injury. You might use a flash light and look at his nostrils. I would pull him off the seeds for good, he might be allergic to the peanuts or somethiing. Sorry. You are doing everything you can.

You may be on to something with the injury or allergic reaction. No other in the flock is presenting this. I watched him just a moment ago and there is no change in his breathing vocalization. he was busy preening with his little pullet same as always.

I will change him off this peanut mix for good measure. Even if he has a seed lodged against his glottis or syrinx. There is not much I can do for him now but watch and wait.
Thank you delisha.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

...
Entered the barn this morning at 7 am to turn on the barn lights and feed. Could hear this little guy before I saw him. Vocalizing with every breath. Hoarse sounding caw like sound. I fed everybody, then sat in a chair to observe and listen to him. He ate and made two sounds, gobble, wheeze, gobble, wheeze. Very odd. Never saw this before. I saw him drink. I use a pop bottle water for the crested penned birds. It is laced with Un-ACV just like all the birds get. I had been feeding FF and had recently added shelled wild bird seed to the mix. It has larger peanut seeds and safflower seeds in it. Even the six week old chicks eat it so I was worried about those big whole seeds.

This cockerel has presented no illness symptoms. No gaping or yawning. No watery discharge from nostrils or eyes. Just out of the blue this morning he is having difficulty breathing.

I had a similar thing with my broody hen this past week -- she is in a little pen inside the coop with her two hatchlings. I heard her "honking" with every breath, in & out. She did all her normal mother things with the chicks, looked totally healthy, didn't seem to be in any kind of distress or acting odd in any way except the noise. This went on all day, but stopped at bedtime. I was so worried! The next day she sounded normal and is still doing fine. I hope your rooster is the same.

 

[aoxa]

You may be on to something with the injury or allergic reaction. No other in the flock is presenting this. I watched him just a moment ago and there is no change in his breathing vocalization. he was busy preening with his little pullet same as always.

I will change him off this peanut mix for good measure. Even if he has a seed lodged against his glottis or syrinx. There is not much I can do for him now but watch and wait.
Thank you delisha.

Mumsy,

I have no ideas. I have seen them drink too fast and take water into their lungs, and it sounds like a clicking, followed by open mouthed breathing every inhale, but it goes away rather quickly. I've always found silkies more sensitive to fine particles of sawdust than other birds as well.

Hope you get it all figured out, and he makes it!

 

[Mumsy]

Yesterday I forked the DL in their small pen. It has a lot of sphagnum peat moss in it. As soon as I fork the two of them like to wallow in it together. I wonder if it is possible he got a bunch of that dust into his lungs? Have been going out to the barn every twenty five minutes through driving rain to check on him. He seems fine except for the noisy breathing. Thank you LeslieDJoyce and aoxa. I'm not worried yet but it does give me consternation coming out of the blue like it has.

 

[aoxa]

Yesterday I forked the DL in their small pen. It has a lot of sphagnum peat moss in it. As soon as I fork the two of them like to wallow in it together. I wonder if it is possible he got a bunch of that dust into his lungs? Have been going out to the barn every twenty five minutes through driving rain to check on him. He seems fine except for the noisy breathing. Thank you LeslieDJoyce and aoxa. I'm not worried yet but it does give me consternation coming out of the blue like it has.

That could very well be. My silkies will sneeze for a couple minutes after I do that. They are the only ones I have to fork around litter for, as the rest do it themselves. They are separate, so it's a must.

The litter is so deep in the silkie pen. I love it