The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Elliemae 77]

X2. Well said! There are no silly questions. Speaking of questions, can someone tell me if acv in the water can treat cocci? I picked up Corid just in case.I've read Cocci is a quick killer and I didn't want to go.into the weekend with nothing on hand. The chicks came from a farm that fed medicated feed, so I was surprised to find bloody poo. I did check out the poo chart and it was not shed intestinal wall. I waited a couple days to treat because the chicks acted normal. However I did notice 2 fluffed up like they were not feeling well. I went ahead and started treating with Corid yesterday. Poo looks more normal today and chicks are acting more normal now. I do put acv in the water. I do not feed medicated feed. I use ff. I did give them a few treats the first couple of days they were here, but now they get strictly feed till this is past. I'd just like to know what to do to treat naturaly if there is a next time.

 

[Bulldogma]

I think my BIG CHICKEN-RELATED NEWS got lost and I want everyone to know that the last of my 3 SFH is now laying - she was the one with the injured foot and I think the injury put her behind a little in the laying department. I believe sometimes the body can redirect resources to heal which can put a hen behind when it comes to laying. She is about 2-3 weeks behind her sisters in laying... and that's about how long it took her to recover. Interesting, huh??

But anyway...

Big Chicken News!





All three of my Swedish Flower Hen girls are laying... and did it all at the same time this morning! I put in a new nest box (the blue one) and apparently they approve - LOL! This was the first real egg for the blue splash girl on the far left. Her egg is pictured on the far right (taken from the opposite side through the egg door). Her egg is lighter in color than the other two... and it was a pretty big egg for a first time! Astrid (the girl in the middle) lays a long, skinny egg - it's so nice to be able to tell who lays what egg!

Has anyone else ever noticed a delay in laying when a pullet has had an injury?

 

[Bulldogma]

Oh - as far as code goes... there is a new thing up in that place and there are natural, herbal goodies to be shared!

 

[midnightroo]

What have you noticed in your flock since you started adding UPACV?

I don't think anything has changed since I added it. I thought I had cocci or however you spell it, but upon further reading from links on here, I think it was just intestinal lining. I am still learning their behavior so something could have changed that could have been missed or I thought was a change due to age.

 

[Ashdoes]

I think this thread is good because we have some where to ask our questions, when we want a natural approach. I don't think there is any way every post can be an information packet, thats a blog not a thread.
I hope this thread continues as is.
I've also been wondering what do do with all the litter. Once you've filled flower beds and all the other things, the poo never stops. I've got a compost tumbler, a compost pile and the litter under the coop. Eventually I need to find something to do with it all. I guess it's good we have just one tree, I've got plenty of compost for all the trees I want to plant.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

I think my BIG CHICKEN-RELATED NEWS got lost and I want everyone to know that the last of my 3 SFH is now laying - she was the one with the injured foot and I think the injury put her behind a little in the laying department. I believe sometimes the body can redirect resources to heal which can put a hen behind when it comes to laying. She is about 2-3 weeks behind her sisters in laying... and that's about how long it took her to recover. Interesting, huh??

But anyway...
Quote: First off: Congratulations on the your girl laying! Secondly, it would seem to me that it would be natural that a chicken recovering from an injury would have a bit of a delay, as I would think that her body is sending/spending it's energy to healing and could well disrupt or delay laying. But then, that's just an opinion. It just kinda makes sense to me.

 

[midnightroo]

I think my BIG CHICKEN-RELATED

Has anyone else ever noticed a delay in laying when a pullet has had an injury?

Congrats on your eggs! I don't think mine were injured, but they were there when a chicken was taken by a hawk twice and neither of mine have laid yet. They are old enough, more then 5 mths at least.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

I think my BIG CHICKEN-RELATED NEWS got lost and I want everyone to know that the last of my 3 SFH is now laying - she was the one with the injured foot and I think the injury put her behind a little in the laying department. I believe sometimes the body can redirect resources to heal which can put a hen behind when it comes to laying. She is about 2-3 weeks behind her sisters in laying... and that's about how long it took her to recover. Interesting, huh??

But anyway...
Quote:
I haven't had that happen so I can't relate but I did want to congratulate you on all laying. Will you wait awhile before hatching the eggs?

 

[Bulldogma]

Will you wait awhile before hatching the eggs?

Nope! If the eggs were small pullet eggs, I probably wouldn't try to hatch them - - but since they seem to be full-size eggs, I see no reason not to.

 

[Mumsy]

Mumsy will probably be the best person to answer that question.

I use it for many things

1. in the garden
2. in path ways to help foothing to the coops
3.. in the duck runs to keep the ground from getting hard
4. in broody areas to give chicks antibodies
5. Paths in the woods
6. over the new seeds I plant in the grass

I will happily add to del's list.

I use it as mulch around newly planted trees or shrubs (don't pile it against the trunk)

Use it to heal in bareroot plants in a raised bed. Use it in raised beds. Cover newly planted bulb beds.

Or use it in muddy areas in the orchard and low wet places.

And I will tell you straight up. DL is a valuable resource. Do you have gardening neighbors? Family? There are places where people will gladly come and take it off your property. Some will even pay you for it. Maybe it depends what your zoning is. Where I live, if I had a pile to spare, all I'd have to do is put it on the corner of my property with a 'Free chicken manure litter" sign. It would be gone before I walked away.