The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Bulldogma]

I forgot to mention that I love your trailer! Looks sleek!

Thanks, Aoxa!

Truth? I wanted to go with barnyard red too, but my local hardware stores only carry fire engine red in the rust-stopping paint.

All the buildings on this property are barnyard red and it would have stood out like a... well... like a fire engine - LOL! Don't think the landlords would have appreciated that. So I had to go with Hunter Green so it would sort of blend in to the flora. If I had done barnyard red, I would have done the white "X"s on one access door on each side and on the top and bottom doors on the back... but oh well.

Can't wait to see pictures of your new barn when it is actually standing on your farm!

 

[aoxa]

Thanks, Aoxa!

Truth? I wanted to go with barnyard red too, but my local hardware stores only carry fire engine red in the rust-stopping paint.

All the buildings on this property are barnyard red and it would have stood out like a... well... like a fire engine - LOL! Don't think the landlords would have appreciated that. So I had to go with Hunter Green so it would sort of blend in to the flora. If I had done barnyard red, I would have done the white "X"s on one access door on each side and on the top and bottom doors on the back... but oh well.

Can't wait to see pictures of your new barn when it is actually standing on your farm!

I'll have to do a nice video tour and everything.

It seems like a dream right now. I hope nothing goes wrong. I hope it can be done by the time they say... I want to be able to get some chicks before everyone stops running their incubators.

Yeah fire engine red would have stuck out for sure!

 

[kian]

BDM I love how the coop is turning out! It looks so awesome! You must be really proud!

Aoxa I really like the barn plans! And don't ever apologize for mentioning the animals that have passed or anyone's sadness over it. It's natural and we all understand!!

Wanted to share newer photos of my babies. They HATE to be caught so I have to deathgrip them to get them still for the photos so they look a little funky here:

 

[mrsamplias]

How do you tell a kid about the fire? His dad told him all the chickens went to live at another farm because our barn burnt down. He said to me yesterday "I'm going to mail the chickens a letter and tell them I miss them". He's obsessed with letters and the mail system right now. He'll be 5 in April.



I like the thoughtful response for your nephew. Sometimes creative explanations are the right explanations for little ones.

Quote:

love these!

Truth? I wanted to go with barnyard red too, but my local hardware stores only carry fire engine red in the rust-stopping paint.

Did you use an exterior paint? It is so shiny and beautiful!

 

[Leahs Mom]

So far I haven't used the polyViSol vitamins - though I did go out and get some to have on the shelf. I just have this "thing" about using synthetic vitamins (and plastic and....ya, ya, I know.....

)

Anyway...I have been giving them a good amount of meat and liver from time to time. I probably should give them MORE liver than I have.

So far doing okay with the natural source. Hopefully it continues that way.

.

(And yes - I sell fertile hatching eggs and I'll sell chicks later this season... but I don't want to ship them... too many losses IMO - though I might ship older pairs some time soon

 

[delisha]

I agree with using synthetic vitamins don't......eggs and raw liver should give them all they need. However..I think having it on hand is a smart move. Some chicks simply will not eat eggs or liver..My HRIR would not eat them and I have no idea why. They ate boiled eggs, but not raw, scrambled or fried. They would not touch the raw meats. They did eat cooked chicken and that was all. Very different birds. They would not even eat fish..and that stuff has a strong odor.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I wouldn't give up on them! Sometimes when mine have refused something ...avoiding it like the plague and giving it the "evil chicken eye"... A couple weeks later they eat it like it's going out of style.

Now...I know you probably have offered it over and over but...some folks give up the first time and never try again and those chickens are...well.... chicken when it comes to new stuff!

 

[Ashdoes]

Th

Has anyone started a worm farm, with something other than meal worms? I bought hubby a red worm composting habitat, and am pretty excited to get that going. The worms are for two things, one buying fishing worms has gotten so expensive and two for the chickens. Just wondering if anyone else is worm farming.

Hi Ashdoes,

I started 2 years ago with redworms. Lost a bunch the first winter. The following spring my dad & brother collected a bunch from under the leaf piles and gave them to me for Mother's Day. I loved it!  My kids & husband thought I was nuts!!

I have 2 plastic totes going right now in the cellar. Got some more worms from a friend's thoroughly composted manure pile. He thought it was hysterical to see me with my gloves, shovel & bucket. Called me the Worm Lady...that is until I got the chickens. Worms are kinda slow right now since it's cold in the cellar but they're still doing their thing. I started out using shredded newspaper, peat moss and grit (some sand & ground up eggshells) for bedding but now using ripped up cardboard (toilet papertubes, paper towel tubes, pizza boxes, etc.) The cardboard doesn't pack down as bad as the newspaper does. Feed them mostly kitchen scraps and the odd leftovers. Fed them a whole small pie pumpkin in November all that is left is the outer shell & that's paper thin. Eventually want to have enough that I can share with the chickens. We'll see how it goes this spring when I harvest the bins.

Thank you! I bought a booklet about starting my bins. The part I'm trying to figure out is when I harvest the casings, the booklet says to split the worms into two new bins, but doesn't say if that is a must or how exactly to get the casings out of the bedding. I just bought a new shredder, because we burned up the last one, and I'm going to try to get the worms next month. We've decided on earthworms, instead of red worms, but they both eat kitchen scraps so there's no big change in the plans for them. Hubby wants to fish with them, and I want them for gardening and red worms aren't really for either of those.

 

[mlowen]

Really good book about worm composting is "Worms Eat My Garbage." I've been vermicomposting with red wrigglers for more than a year. I'll need them much less once I have chickens, because I can feed more of my "leftovers" to chickens than worms. I harvest castings a couple times a year. It's time-consuming (I want to keep as many babies & egg sacks as I can) but the plants sure love it! Also seriously cuts down on the amount of garbage I have to put out for pick up.

 

[Ashdoes]

Delisha~From my reading, ducklings need more Niacin then chicks do, so if I can't find waterfowl feed, and have to give chick starter what do I add for Niacin? I've read my duck book twice now, but can't find the answer. Thanks for any tips.