The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

I too have 'trained' the girls to my voice. When they've hidden from the hawk, I can call them. They usually come out. My son and I also use chicken crack(mealworms) to get them. I always feed them a little bit if they do come out. Just shake the chicken crack container and they come running!

Ha Ha...if I ever buy the dried mealworms... They recognize the sound of the lid being screwed open and go nuts even if they haven't seen it

 

[jlynnet]

Stoney,
Good to know it wasn't an odd disease or something. Bummer he died, but it was quick. Kind of like when we humans have an aneurysm.

 

[jlynnet]

Ha Ha...if I ever buy the dried mealworms... They recognize the sound of the lid being screwed open and go nuts even if they haven't seen it

Try it sometime! Funny watching them. A friend of mine recently got some for hers and she said the same thing. They goes nuts for them.

 

[off-grid hen]

Stony, thanks for posting the results.

Re: calling the chickens- since I usually just yell anything, or sometimes I don't say anything at all, they know now to just come running when they see me in the yard, or if they hear me yell. Whenever i open the kitchen window and yell to my husband and son that "Dinner's READY!!" 22 chickens come hauling @$$ around the corner of the shed. Cracks me up every time .

 

[stonykill]

So this raises a question. What do you think causes THAT PARTICULAR BIRD to have heart problems vs any other bird in your flock?

as I've said before at the very beginning of this thread. Sometimes birds just die. His mother is 4 and healthy, his father is 5 and healthy. Sometimes birds just die. It happens.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Whenever my chickens hear the glass door slide open, they come running hoping I have the raisin tub.

I may think about getting some Willow cuttings and weaving them into my back fence to add some privacy, so the coyotes can't see my birds in the yard.

 

[stonykill]

Ugh, another loss for you. Sorry again Stony... glad it wasn't wasted meat tho. Fat bird, bad heart = tasty dinner.
Good info about the heart not being firm like a normal heart would be.

roosters were destined for the freezer anyway. He wasn't, but no biggie honestly. Someone (still deciding who) will take his place and be spared from the freezer. Such is life with chickens. It is't the 1st 10 month old I've had die. Sure it won't be the last. With this many birds it is bound to happen

 

[delisha]

Our Chippendale is on a roll this morning...funny stuff.

never go through all the work of butchering and than sell them. I only sell LIVE birds.

You can sell processed birds with your NPIP certification and the correct inspection license. (from a licensed processing facility).

A few others who sell processed birds have all of that. I get as much for my birds live as they do processed.

My birds just look huge compaired to other birds at the fair. They can stuff 10 birds in a dog crate. I can't get in three. People like to see that. My cages are all clean and shiny, clean bedding, food and water. People will buy what looks good. I get $8.00 for an old egg layer and young meat birds. I ask $18.00-$20.00 for the big pullets.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote: Stoney, was he lying on his back/side when you first found him? I've read that a heart attack will cause (in this case) the chicken to fall on his back.

 

[delisha]

Aoxa..

Thanks for posting about the fence..it looks really interesting.. I am going to do some reading on it and see if it would work here. Willow huh? We have willow trees..are theses branches off the willow trees?