The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Ashdoes]

 

(And I HATE straw....just saying....  but I do use the bales as windbreaks   )

I'm with you there LM.

Had it last winter and it was terrible to clean up. Was really disgusting. 

I'm using bales of straw for the first time, so I don't have a love or hate of it yet. I kept it in bales for the chickens to hide around, and play on. And then I spread two bales all over the run, and the chickens are breaking it all down and getting it mixed into the top layer of dirt. The dirt here is just so awful I had to add some kind of organic matter, and I really hope by next spring we'll have worms. But, I don't have it in the coop, so it's not something I'll have to clean up. Is it only in the coop that you dislike it?

 

[farmerfogg]

Haha Check out the T-Shirt my fiance just ordered for me.

Love the shirt!

 

[farmerfogg]

I'd love to read that but I don't see a link I'm dying to know the parentage of my Easter Eggers - The lady said that they are pure Ameraucana's but that the rooster is a splash. I'm hoping that she sends me a picture! None of my girls fit in the colour descriptions of pure Ameraucanas. I love them though Still no egg #2! Eloise is holding out on us. She ran in the nesting box again this morning as soon as everyone was out of the coop and hung out there for about 5 minutes, but nothing...

Beautiful flock!

 

[jendodd79]

I think it's because it's rained for 2 months with almost no break, and our humidity has been so high! Everything is damp

 

[farmerfogg]

I gave my new DC flock their own dust bathing area today. They were rolling around in it before I even let go of it - LOL. I didn't see any mites on these birds, but there's plenty of wood ash in there anyway. Tanker stood watch as the others rolled about like pigs - LOL! "Aint nobody botherin' my flock while they're in the bath!"

Dust bathing is serious business! LOL They sure are having a fun time.

 

[rambunctious]

Thank you. Yes. I ran a back yard nursery out of my garden and green houses from 1988 until 1993. My four children grew up here. The last was born here. My nursery buisness was very small but I specialized in antique and rare hardy plants. It was during that time that I was hatching two hundred chicks and Call ducks a year. I was also into small exotic caged birds and orchids. It all got to be too much for me to handle with four growing children so I let the chickens, ducks, exotic cage birds, and the garden go. After 24 years, most of the garden has filled in and reseeded. I have plants and roses that originated in my wild gardens and grow here still. Starting over with chickens and vegetable gardening has become a joy. No longer a worry and a list of never ending chores.
I just got back from the local nursery with a fistful of packages of heritage veggie seeds. When I got home, Johnny and the girls were in the garden scratching through the litter I dumped out there. I think raising chickens naturally and gardening go hand in hand.

That excites me and gives me hope!! We're new to both and I can't wait to get started!! Planning on putting in 2-3 raised beds and planting blueberry bushes so we've got some to harvest next year. I almost feel like the chickens are going to be the easier part of it all...

 

[lalaland]

Thanks! For some reason I went to EBay first and about crapped my pants. They had some for $25! I'll order the NuStock from jeffers..is VetRx something that would be a good idea too? I've got styptic powder as well as 'vitamins and electrolytes" I'm honestly hoping not to need anything..

I tried VetRx for scaly mites but had no luck with it. smells great though! Also have to add that I haven't ever conquered scaly mites ever since they came in with a rescue hen. They keep cropping up. And yes, i've tried oil, bag balm, nustock, vetrx, camphphenique, vaseline, etc. Looks like they are gone, but in a few months, there they are!

 

[Mumsy]

That excites me and gives me hope!! We're new to both and I can't wait to get started!! Planning on putting in 2-3 raised beds and planting blueberry bushes so we've got some to harvest next year. I almost feel like the chickens are going to be the easier part of it all...

Yes. If I didn't use raised beds for vegetable gardening, I wouldn't be able to plant here until June. Raising chickens and gardening for me is easy because I'm always trying to anicipate what I may need or how to prevent something. I don't like surprises with either unless they are happy accident surprises. Like learning new ways to feed them such as FF and learning about wood ash and Nu Stock. In gardening I like happy surprises too. Like planting a heritage purple potatoe or carrot and finding out how easy they are to grow and how good they taste. Unusal varieties of chickens or vegetables, or apples and blueberries that are choice but can't be purchased from a hatchery or the local grocery store. Heritage for both. It's good for a body.

 

[delisha]

Quote: La la..what do you do in the coop after you put stuff on the legs?

 

[Eggcessive]

I actually slit the tube open and put it all into a small canning jar (jelly size). Scraped out every bit of it that I could get out of there into the jar. I think it will be much easier to use that way and I'll be able to use every bit of it instead of losing any inside a tube.

Mine was actually a little more liquid than you're describing. Wonder if it was on the shelf longer than mine was?

I sit the tube down on it's lid just like the store displayed it, and I think the sulfur has just hardened near the opening. It was easier to come out the first time.