The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Pullet Surprise]

Guess I never knew that grass clippings could cause sour crop. When I had chickens in a run they would follow the mower and I aimed the discharge at them so they could get some.... BTW, I hate runs......

Now, when they are paying attention, some still follow the mower, and when I finish an area they are there! Could be clippings although I suspect it is displaced bugs that they like to introduce to the Crop Hotel!

That's the problem with so many things, Sour crop & impacted crop appear to be caused by many things and it can get contradicting....BOSS in the shell is another one I have run into that can cause crop problems according to some respected chicken keepers. Hay/straw was another one I have seen tossed around.So I am guessing that these things were noticed as causes at one time or another, but to what extent are they FOR SURE known causes? Sometimes it seems just like the luck of the draw. I still feed BOSS in FF and a wee bit here and there as a bribery ("get your fuzzy butts back in there") So I've decided it's not the end of the world if they get into grass clippings that I haven't measured to see if they are short enough and soaking BOSS in FF may be a help as well. I do chop up carrot/apple peels, but that's more of a "Get them to eat it" sort of thing. And you are right, what is it that they are really eating? Bugs would be a really good guess.

 

[Sally8]

...

Thanks!  I'm getting soooooo tired of the rain!  


I'll take your rain if you'll take my snow. It just doesn't stop. Some of the chickens come out and wander in the snow, some do not. Winter here in the Twin Tiers/Finger lakes region has been very long even by my New York standards. The temps stay low also. Normally, as I remember, it will warm up some before getting so cold again.

Can't wait to go see if I can see more baby chicks. I'll be at hospital all day but can't wait to get started penning in an area below the nests. I have a small waterer to place in the nest and today I'm putting in a bunch of baby food. Someone posted over on the hatch thread about the food being quite large even for crumbles. I put some in several baggies (although it would be easy to sew a sleeve like bag) and I took my rolling pin and continued to smash the feed into a fine mash like substance. The chicks grow go fast it's not long before I did'nt have to do this

 

[delisha]

In 35 years I never worried about grass clipping..I have never had sour crop..never heard of it till I started reading about it on here. I have had impacted crop from a brain injured chicken that liked to eat big gravel, and aluminum pieces, broken glass, insulation, or any odd piece of debris that was in the fields. I locked him in a crate for a few days and made sure he really knew what food was and ate food, and he also ate his bedding while contained. He tasted good so I guess it must have worked out OK.

As far as breeding and keeping what roos

If you do not care about keeping any pure breeds just keep a few males you like..looks like you have a female and a male silkie..I would keep the pair. You always need a back up cockerel.

Eat the rest. Silkie is a specialty in many places and cost big bucks to eat at restaurants.

I have two cockerels I am keeping now because I have the Orpingtons, and the layers.
When the RIR grow out a bit, (10 months- 12 months) I will be keeping two cockerels out of that group(show stock)


In the incubator
When the silkies grow out I will be keeping all of them for a year. (show stock)
I will keep two ameracuana cockerels (show stock)

So it depends on your set up..
Perhaps you will need to set up a bachelor pad. If I keep adding breeds I probably will have to do that eventually. Free range the layers and yard confine the show stock.

I will be adding Wydotties later in the year. I am hopping to find a beautiful cock at a show.

 

[Mumsy]

Up at the crack of dawn to turn up the house thermostat and turn eggs. Did an eggtopsie on the ? marked egg that troubled me at the seven day candling. There was no change in the size of the embryo and instead of getting more pronounced in darker shade, it was getting cloudy and seperating. Upon opening it was definitely a quitter. Looked to be at the four day mark. Tomorrow is lock down and there are still two eggs with a ? mark from the fourteen day candling.

I won't go on and on about artificial incubating unless I'm asked directly. I put first pullet eggs into the incubator because I was curious. My books and people always say don't do it. I want to know why? Just like finding out first hand that Wood Ash kills mites and lice by dusting my chickens myself. Or finding out a drop of kerosene will certainly worm a chicken. And all the other bits of knowledge best put into use by just doing it and finding out for myself. Then making up my own mind.
As always, my note book will be filled with the findings from this hatch.

 

[delisha]

Sally..if she still has eggs I would not move her yet.
Did she set the nest again?

 

[delisha]

Up at the crack of dawn to turn up the house thermostat and turn eggs. Did an eggtopsie on the ? marked egg that troubled me at the seven day candling. There was no change in the size of the embryo and instead of getting more pronounced in darker shade, it was getting cloudy and seperating. Upon opening it was definitely a quitter. Looked to be at the four day mark. Tomorrow is lock down and there are still two eggs with a ? mark from the fourteen day candling.

I won't go on and on about artificial incubating unless I'm asked directly. I put first pullet eggs into the incubator because I was curious. My books and people always say don't do it. I want to know why? Just like finding out first hand that Wood Ash kills mites and lice by dusting my chickens myself. Or finding out a drop of kerosene will certainly worm a chicken. And all the other bits of knowledge best put into use by just doing it and finding out for myself. Then making up my own mind.
As always, my note book will be filled with the findings from this hatch.

I have not candled since day 10..I candled a few silkies last night and when I pulled my 2nd quitter I stopped..made me ill..I will wait till tomorrow I am taking Aoxia advise and doing lock down tomorrow..my poor silkie eggs..

 

[Pullet Surprise]

In 35 years I never worried about grass clipping..I have never had sour crop..never heard of it till I started reading about it on here. I have had impacted crop from a brain injured chicken that liked to eat big gravel, and aluminum pieces, broken glass, insulation, or any odd piece of debris that was in the fields. I locked him in a crate for a few days and made sure he really knew what food was and ate food, and he also ate his bedding while contained. He tasted good so I guess it must have worked out OK.

That's about what I thought too...but haven't had 35 years of observation to base anything on so that is helpful.

 

[delisha]

I think they say no pullet eggs for a better hatch..hatching just the best eggs. I have 4 Orpington pullet eggs in my incubator and 4 under the hen outside. Another thing I read on here..Show stock might be another thing..these Orpington eggs are not pure bred..my Orpington male is still not breeding yet. They are crossed with my pencil rock..they will make good meat birds and be beautiful too.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Guess I never knew that grass clippings could cause sour crop. When I had chickens in a run they would follow the mower and I aimed the discharge at them so they could get some.... BTW, I hate runs......

Now, when they are paying attention, some still follow the mower, and when I finish an area they are there! Could be clippings although I suspect it is displaced bugs that they like to introduce to the Crop Hotel!

On the grass clippings I don't have any experience - just quoting what my old friend's mother told him (which I said in the post).

Then I had read others refer to it elsewhere so I was thinking I should act on the side of caution.

I'm glad to hear y'all haven't had issues with that as I really want to use them more than I did last year. I use them in the nest boxes and they don't even seem to eat them from there but I do let them dry before putting them in.

ETA: OH...and I think it was IMPACTED CROP his mom said...not sour crop. I got that wrong.

 

[delisha]

Quote: I like your idea of drying them and putting them in nest boxes...I am changing a little bit of my set up because of your set up. I really like it. In my nest boxes..brooder boxes I am going to put another box inside of it..question for you..do you have fake eggs in your boxes?