The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[ChickChickChicky]

I posted this elsewhere but thought you might be able to give me some ideas. I am building my run and coop. I am planning to plant around the inside edge of it and put a board around it topped with wire so my girls could only get to so much of the plant and not kill it. I plan to put lettuce, peas, chard, parsley, purslane, strawberry and chickweed. Any suggestions on others to plant would like a few more herbs and maybe a couple flowers? Thanks.

Sweet potatoes! The vines are edible and tasty and the vines grow so fast that it would suit your setup well, and at the end of the season you can dig the tubers to cook and eat yourself or feed to the chickens. Marigolds would be a good flower to try, it's said the flowers give a good color to the yolks (although most of my birds had onlt moderate interest in eating the flowers).

 

[aoxa]

We counted the birds as best we could, and we finally know a very close to accurate number on the amount we had. 140 (including geese, turkeys, ducks and chickens).

So I was pretty close before.



I shared this picture on Facebook last night. This is Joy. Named by the many supporters. We also have one named Hope.

The lighting down stairs is terrible. This was the only good image I got out of that time spent photographing the birds.

That's Susan above, my fiance.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Wow those will be hard to replace. At least spring is coming so more eggs will be available.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

This ain't non of my concern but I will say what I would do. Take some nu-stock over and put on legs. three days later I would do it again. At that same time I would clean the coop and white wash it.
White wash (My recipe)
In a five gallon bucket
1 gallon barn lime
!/2 box mule team borax.
Hot water till it is thin enough to paint with.
2 cups salt dissolved in hot water.
Stir every thing together
Let set over night for at least 12 hours
Stir again add more water if it needs it to paint with.
Put on old, old cloths and a pair of safety goggles not glasses.
Take a 6 inch paint or dry wall brush slop the white wash on with a painting motion, Get it everywhere roost in the cracks all over the walls. No need to be neat you will see why after it dries. Reapply litter same kind they had before.
You have done killed every creepy crawly critter in there. That's why out buildings were white washed not for looks.

I am sure when they get home and you say what you did they will be grateful. If not just say You ask if I would look after the chickens and I did. I WOULD NOT ASK FOR MONEY FOR DOING THIS I WOULD DO IT BECAUSE I AM NEIGHBORLY.

can we do this if the coop is already painted?

 

[amenfarm]

Update on featherpicking: Adding more floor space to the coop, and a flock block, and meat to their diet, and spritzing the feather picked areas with a vinegar/water solution seems to have done the trick. I don't think I am seeing any more feather eating off the back.

Question about garlic, garlic powder, and worms: that one poop with worms surprised me. I'm adding garlic to the water, and this weekend will do a 3 day push of a grated carrot, garlic, and buttermilk mixture. I grow my own garlic, but don't have enough as I've read I need one clove per hen 3 days running. I can go buy garlic, although it goes against the grain, or garlic powder. Conventional wisdom says the powder works too, but.. my instinct is that it would lack the vitality of fresh garlic. Does anyone have experience using garlic for working? As I've said, I've never had a worming problem before.

Also, I still don't know whether one poop with worms means I have an overload of worms?

sorry, I know this isn't nearly as exciting as new chicks!

and BDM, what about pics of your trailer coop in progress?

when I bought my first 4 hens, the buff orpington was regrowing feather from the roo she had been with. Well, she started getting pecked and I used a can of the purple spray--worked great--all the feather picking came to a screeching halt over night! On the worms, I use one drop of blue dawn in one gallon of water for 7 days.. I alternate that with every 3 months of raw pumpkin seeds. Sense I can't get rid of worms forever, I try to kep them in a balance of not too many by using a natural wormer every 3 months of so.

 

[amenfarm]

LOL - I think it looks like it's been sitting too long at the rail yard and some kids with no artistic talent tried to deface it.

I'm really excited about the possibilities with this particular trailer. Just when I think I've settled on one plan, something else pops into my head and has me thinking, "Oh - that would be neat!" I just hope I can make the trailer look like the picture in my head.

Did you look at the one posted on byc? I would love one and will buy one if I find one for thr right price--FREE-, but my DH would just growl over more work--he's working from 3pm until 4 am right now.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: Thank you for the info

 

[pigeonguy]

can we do this if the coop is already painted?

Smooth latex I don't know not sure it would stick. It would still get in the cracks though and that it the most important. Regular paint I wold think so.

 

[Melabella]

How about this picture of a beautiful English Shepherd protecting her rabbits, ducks and geese by making sure this racoon didn't get to far into her territory!

Steak dinner for her I say! Love these English Shepherds!

 

[jockeyeba]

How  about this picture of a beautiful English Shepherd protecting her rabbits, ducks and geese by making sure this racoon didn't get to far into her territory! 

  Steak dinner for her I say!  Love these English Shepherds!