The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

about thinking you know it all:

noticed one of the wellies has been a bit broody, and have been taking her off the nest whenever I see her.

This week was a hard one at work, and I was running on no sleep. Got home, went into the coop to get everyone settled for the night, (fresh water, head count), and there she was back on the nest. So I picked her up and put her down by the water, and she kind of buttscooted, wiggled, between hens and made a mad dash for a nesting box and settled in.

I thought, huh, ok I'll just block the nests off for the night. So I did all the nests but the one she was in, started to reach for her, and she stood up and laid an egg.

Poor thing, I must have removed her from the nest just as she was about to lay, I have never seen the dragging your butt, holdinging your legs together rush she made for the nest.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

about thinking you know it all:

noticed one of the wellies has been a bit broody, and have been taking her off the nest whenever I see her.

This week was a hard one at work, and I was running on no sleep. Got home, went into the coop to get everyone settled for the night, (fresh water, head count), and there she was back on the nest. So I picked her up and put her down by the water, and she kind of buttscooted, wiggled, between hens and made a mad dash for a nesting box and settled in.

I thought, huh, ok I'll just block the nests off for the night. So I did all the nests but the one she was in, started to reach for her, and she stood up and laid an egg.

Poor thing, I must have removed her from the nest just as she was about to lay, I have never seen the dragging your butt, holdinging your legs together rush she made for the nest.

Hahaha...I have seen it on a couple of the girls when they were out on range for the day and made a bee-line back to the coop to lay and were tap dancing in front of the pen door that had blown shut so they couldn't get in.... when you have a load on board ya' gotta do what ya' gotta' do. At least they didn't lay under the front porch stairs like they did before. Never seen chickens more determined to get to a nest, no fooling around the minute I reopened the door...and boy they were quick on the nest and back out again.

 

[Bulldogma]

Poor thing, I must have removed her from the nest just as she was about to lay, I have never seen the dragging your butt, holdinging your legs together rush she made for the nest.

Ahhahaaahaaahaahahahahaaaaaaa!

 

[delisha]

Quote:
almost the same as yours..I add salt and use hydrated lime. there are several types of lime.

3 coffee cans lime
1 coffee can soda wash
1 coffee can salt
2 gallons water

 

[Sally8]

about thinking you know it all:

noticed one of the wellies has been a bit broody, and have been taking her off the nest whenever I see her.

 This week was a hard one at work, and I was running on no sleep.  Got home, went into the coop to get everyone settled for the night, (fresh water, head count), and there she was back on the nest.  So I picked her up and put her down by the water, and she kind of buttscooted, wiggled, between hens and made a mad dash for a nesting box and settled in.  

I thought, huh, ok I'll just block the nests off for the night. So I did all the nests but the one she was in, started to reach for her, and she stood up and laid an egg.  

Poor thing, I must have removed her from the nest just as she was about to lay, I have never seen the dragging your butt, holdinging your legs together rush she made for the nest.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A SMALL CHILD RUNNING DOWN THE HALL YELLING "HURRY, HURRY!" OH, WAIT, THAT WASN'T FOR AN EGG! (Not always a small child either!)


On whitewash, my family all were farmers, grand dad, uncles, they always had a company come in and spray their entire barns down. When I researched it back when we had mites it said painting (or I like slathering) with a large paint brush was much more effective. I cannot get rid of the mites. As soon as the NY weather lets me (prob May) that is what I intend on doing. As I remember it was so very thick. I didn't get a lot of interaction on that other thread maybe it's not considered natural but I don't like the naturalness of dead birds or itchy arms either. Sue

 

[Leahs Mom]

You need a couple of containers of tennis balls and a qt of ammonia. soak the tennis balls in the ammonia for 24 hours and place them around your property. You will need to gather the tennis balls once a week and re soak them. I keep a container always in ammonia for replacements.

Sounds like you've felt that this was effective at your place? How far do you put them from the hen houses?

Quote: X2

 

[delisha]

Quote: X2

 

[Leahs Mom]

Update on my bumblefoot girl...
Still working on things but the swelling in the worst foot has reduced quite a bit. I kept her isolated on a separate floor with totally clean pine shavings Wed, Thurs, & Friday. (Boy...was she fit to be tied!) Yesterday evening I went out to take food and she had worked at it enough that she was able to get out of the little pen and was sitting on top of the people door to the nest box. Still isolated on a clean surface however! It was pretty funny seeing here hunkered down on there. I brought her in to work on her foot then put her back in the little pen overnight.

This morning I replaced about half of the litter in there with new pine shavings and let her back in with the others. I just wanted her feet to stay as clean as possible without getting a lot of old shavings and/or poop inside the bandages.

I also did something else. I took down the ramp board (with the cross wise step things) that they use to walk up and down into the coop.

From the time we've put that up, it looked to me like they had trouble sliding on that thing - especially coming down from inside. I have wondered for months if they were possibly hurting their feet on it - or possibly getting slivers, etc. Even the babies were sliding on it so I don't think it was related to weight and size.

So.... I took it down and replaced it with "log steps".

Had some old "junk logs" that were going to go on the bonfire pile so I had a lot to choose from. I had already made one for the babies to go down to the left of the ramp. So I just removed the ramp and put up another set of logs where it was.

I watched them using these this morning and they just walk right down with no ado. (of course the babies hop from log to log, but the adults can stride right down or up them). Looks much easier on the feet.

 

[lalaland]

you know, I have a long ramp that they also have trouble on, and I have had a lot of bumblefoot since moving to this location maybe 5 years ago. If I can scrounge up the stumps, thing I will go that route instead. thanks for the idea!

 

[Leahs Mom]

You need a couple of containers of tennis balls and a qt of ammonia. soak the tennis balls in the ammonia for 24 hours and place them around your property. You will need to gather the tennis balls once a week and re soak them. I keep a container always in ammonia for replacements.

Sounds like you've felt that this was effective at your place? How far do you put them from the hen houses?

I have them in the attic of one of the buildings
I have them all around the perimeter of the property.

**********************

I think I want to try that. How close together do you place them on the property line?