The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[loanwizard]

Mine, I plan to have the hogs trounce and root, then broadcast seed and let them til it under.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Well...I don't have any hogs. Or cattle (yet). Wonder if I could just broadcast in spring without injecting?

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Well...I don't have any hogs. Or cattle (yet). Wonder if I could just broadcast in spring without injecting?

I would think you could overseed, it just might not give you the yield that injecting would.

On a direct chicken note....instead of dried grass that y'all have and are planning on, all I've got is "pine straw" and I did put some in the favorite nest box this morning on top of the shavings. Someone made the prettiest nest out of it and a thick piece of jute twine. I think I will put it in the other boxes now as well.

 

[delisha]

I just broad cast kale, spinach, and Oregano right in the yard and paths. I don't with other herbs because they just eat them down to nothing..I am going to plant squash and pumpkin in that back patch of grass for them too.

You might fence in that area and get yourself a few piglets to root all that up after you cut it..than you can plant and you will have two pigs to take to butcher.

 

[armorfirelady]

I know that some of us are planning on what we are going to grow this spring.

Does anyone know where we could find a list of what flowers that are tolerant to chickens and safe to ingest?

By tolerant I mean that they will grow back if the chickens decide its their favorite treat?
And any particular plants that are toxic to chickens?

I purchased sweet peas flower seeds to let it grow up the sides of the hoop coop. But I honestly dont know if its toxic to chickens or not. I do try to read the description of the seeds but none seem to say of toxic to animals or not. I know some people say chickens wont eats what toxic to them & I do believe that but if I could plant something that I know already is not toxic even better

I know Mumsy is the resident horticulture specialist....but if anyone has a link it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[midnightroo]

Aoxa my 6 year old was drooling over your cockerel. She thinks he is beautiful! So do I.

Leahs mom, you could put plastic, big pile of leaves, newspaper, DL or something over the grass that you want to plant things, and take the covering off when you are ready to plant. They use something like it for starting a new garden bed called lasagna gardening. Or skip the take off part, out newspaper down, DL and plant right into that. The newspaper is supposed to kill/ suppress the weeds. It is usually done at the start of winter, but if you don't need a perfect bed I don't see why you couldn't still do it now.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

I did not move the hen..I have another hen gone broody..I am taking her off the nest and letting her just have the live chicks.. and giving what ever eggs are viable to the other broody..

Wish me luck..going to go do that now..

Not trying to ruffle any feathers, but isn't making her brood a second clutch going to be hard on her system, that's 6 weeks of limited food and exercise. Is her weight doing good. I would think she would loose too much at that point.

 

[kian]

I'm taking Delisha's suggestion and broadcasting some herbs/greens seeds with the grass seeds this spring.

I read somewhere on BYC, and I cannot remember the OP who mentioned it, but they learned from an old chicken farmer that if you hold a chick on it's back and they pull their legs up, they're pullets, if they stretch them out straight, they're cockerals. She said she's been spot on with it ever since. So..... I tried it out on THESE BABIES I JUST GOT FOR MY BIRTHDAY:


Ichi (one, in Japanese. The first three don't have real names yet)



Ni (two in Japanese)




San (three in Japanese)



Petal (she gets a name because she's different)

Three Silver Laced Wyandottes and an Easter Egger, all day-olds. I got them from our local ranch, he said they were all pullets and I did that little trick and they all pulled their legs in. So... well the odds are 50/50 anyway

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Question for those using the fermented feed. Can a metal feeder be used or just the plastic ones?

 

[delisha]

Quote: I don't know what you are talking about...
what second clutch?