The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

That sounds reasonable. It would be sad to cause the loss of the developing embryos. How long should I let her be broody before I give her eggs?

If this is her first time, I'd give her 48 hours of setting before giving her fertile eggs.

 

[Leahs Mom]

On my 8 mo old broody...

For 3 days I removed her from the nest and took her out to the farthest away area in the yard that I could go and deposited her on the ground. I did this to test her resolve and see if she was ready to continue to set. I did this about 3x a day for those 3 days!

She kept returning like clockwork.

Then...after the 3 days, I moved her to a nestbox in an area of the coop that was separate from the normal boxes. This area I was able to divide off so the others couldn't enter and lay eggs in the nest and she couldn't go back to the other nests. She had her own food and water supply in there too. I DID THE MOVE AT NIGHT AFTER DARK.

This private nest box had fake eggs for 3 days after I moved her to be sure she was going to be diligent.

Then I gave her the real thing.

The private nest box was a rubbermade container that I cut an opening in. Didn't resemble the regular nest boxes at all.

Fake eggs













Thanks - and credits - to Stonykill for all the great broody advice!

 

[aoxa]

Wanted to post a quote from an article on the Omega 6/Omega 3 balance ratios. Just a couple of quotes. You can read the whole article here: http://2footalligator.blogspot.com/...blogspot/coCOY+(Gardening+along+the+creek...)


Some of the issues brought up in the article are why I prefer to sprout as many of the grains the chickens get as possible. There are many research projects that seem to corroborate what is summarized in this article.

Again…do your own research! You may come to a completely different conclusion than I have!

Here is some more on that: I have IBS and my specialist warned me to not take any Omega supplements with Om6 added.. stick with the Om3 only. Because it is in so much of what we already eat.. More about that bellow.


Quote:

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks, Aoxa. I noticed and wanted to hi-light this from your quote:

Limit your intake of mayonnaise, spreads and certain dressings or carefully read over the labels before you indulge. Many of these soybean or vegetable oil derived toppings are loaded with omega-6 fatty acids. When you need to add flavor to your food, look for options that contain a healthy amount of omega-3 fatty acids instead.

This is good advice for feeding out chickens, too!

 

[ajlynco]

I have 6 black stars and 5 California whites.Tthey're 14 months old and healthy as can be. Tha most eggs I've ever collected from them is 10, 5 brown and 5 white. How can I determine which black star isn't laying?

 

[aoxa]

Thanks, Aoxa. I noticed and wanted to hi-light this from your quote:
This is good advice for feeding out chickens, too!

Glad you picked it out. I wanted to write more about it but got sidetracked at work

It is tax season after all. Starting to slow down thank chicken!

 

[Ashdoes]

Got a perfect, large egg this morning from my wonky girl. Crazy chicken.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Some of you want to know and understand your chickens better..how about if we start with..

Why does it seem that all of my hens want to lay in the same nest box when I have so many?

How about if we have people answer that question on why you think they do.

I would think the natural all lay and then one broods as well as following suit of the 'lead' chicken. This way 'miss alpha' teaches the others to be good mommies. Just my guess. Besides if there is a threat and others can spread out in all directions it would draw attention away from the broodie and everyones young.... ensure a better chance of offspring living on.

I think it's because hens have an instinct to lay where other hens lay..

Here's what Fred has to say about it and I wholeheartedly agree!:

She is a pullet..if I tell you not to worry..will you worry any way?

Pullets are just starting and not hens yet.
Think of it this way..I know this is weird, but..try to think of it the same..

A young girl just sexually developing and starts menses. Some times she is normal, sometimes she is not..nothing is wrong, she is just growing up and maturing. Eventually most of the time things start working like clock work after she has been in menses for a full year..the same with a chickens.

Never thought of that. Will keep it in mind for the future!

On my 8 mo old broody...

For 3 days I removed her from the nest and took her out to the farthest away area in the yard that I could go and deposited her on the ground. I did this to test her resolve and see if she was ready to continue to set. I did this about 3x a day for those 3 days!

She kept returning like clockwork.

Then...after the 3 days, I moved her to a nestbox in an area of the coop that was separate from the normal boxes. This area I was able to divide off so the others couldn't enter and lay eggs in the nest and she couldn't go back to the other nests. She had her own food and water supply in there too. I DID THE MOVE AT NIGHT AFTER DARK.

This private nest box had fake eggs for 3 days after I moved her to be sure she was going to be diligent.

Then I gave her the real thing.

The private nest box was a rubbermade container that I cut an opening in. Didn't resemble the regular nest boxes at all.

Fake eggs













Thanks - and credits - to Stonykill for all the great broody advice!

Oh that is sooo cool. I loved the process story.

Here is some more on that: I have IBS and my specialist warned me to not take any Omega supplements with Om6 added.. stick with the Om3 only. Because it is in so much of what we already eat.. More about that bellow.

Thanks so much!!! I also struggle with this condition and other inflammatory issues! I just currently found a supplement called omegavia which is omega-3. It has no sugar, starch, gluten, corn, artificial flavors, no dairy, wheat, chinese fish oil, yeast or sodium. Cholesterol free and mercury removed. This is the first and only I have found that is NOT made from the type of fish I am allergic to! So far it seems to be helping.
Thanks for the information.... I already learned though to switch away from the vegetable oils. Good advice for us and our chickens. THis is one of the reasons I wanted to raise a few chickens for my own food.

Though I can not work a regular job I still feel I am doing SOMETHING for myself. This way I will never be 100% dependent on Government handouts. Anything will be an appreciated HELP and NOT a gimmie gimmie attitude. No matter how much or how little Government wants to take from my pension I will at least be able to eat an egg to three a day! I am now at the point of having to apply for help... though I wish I didn't have to.

Oooopps off my soapbox now!! sorry.

 

[BlueMouse]

Thanks for sharing your recipes. Is it possible to FF the above without grindig or for example the ones in the Ussery book. I don't have a grinder. Also, I read that grinding grains and leaving them out results in the degrading of nutrients. is this true? Thanks for all the help and info onthis forum. It is a minefield of info.

just my 0.2 we've ground our own grains for flour since I was a kid. as soon as you grind it it starts going bad. store it in the freezer. right now I put some of the already fermented whole grains into the food processor and whiz them, a days feed at a time. Once I have my meat chicks this is going to be ridiculous. My plan is to borrow my paren'ts grain mill we use for flour, with the coarser stones, and coarsly grind my whole grains in that, then store in the freezer until I ferment it. This should prevent the degredation of nutrients/going rancid of fats that's inevitable as soon as you grind whole grains. (btw, the whole wheat flour that you get in the store isn't. It's basically white flour with bran. the "germ" containing all the essential nutrients and fats has been removed. It has more fiber, but that's just about it. Add a tsp. of whole wheat germ (found refrigerated) per cup of flour to restore nutrient balance, or search "cornell bread recipe" for more info. I'm leary of the soy in this, but am going to try it in the future with whey protien.)

Here is some more on that: I have IBS and my specialist warned me to not take any Omega supplements with Om6 added.. stick with the Om3 only. Because it is in so much of what we already eat.. More about that bellow.

I also eat an anti inflamitory diet on and off. when my body gets out of whack I go back on it for a couple months and straighten myself out. This is what my practitioner advises as well, we get more than plenty of the omega 6 in our diets as is, we need the omega 3 to balance it. cold pressed flax seed is a great source, but I don't like the strong flavor in salad dressings and so on. I don't mind a little in baking. Walnut oil is delicious in all kinds of salad dressings, and also high in omega 3. Ground flax seed is high in fiber, unoticeable in many breads, and makes a very tasty oatmeal topping. My poor kids, they get ground flax on top of/in almost everything, lol. I do wonder if you could make homemade mayo with walnut oil?? I personally think mayo is gross, but I make it fresh for my dad with just eggs, vinegar, a little salt, dry mustard, and light olive oil. I bet you could substitute walnut oil and have it be healthy for your omega 3's. (I'm going to try delisha's miracle whip recipe out on my dad next time I do sandwiches for him....)

that's fascinating info on grass fed beef! I learn new things every day on here! It's fun to sit down with my first cup of tea and peruse the mroning's posts while the kids breakfast cooks

speaking of, I'd better go grab that off the stove before they have burnt oatmeal with apples and raisins!

 

[Sunflowergirl]

You mean you can MAKE a chicken go BROODY!?!?!

Here I have been breaking my broodies because I was not ready for babies yet. And, now I am ready, no one wants to be broody. SOOOOO... I have just placed an order for a little 10 egg incubator!!! Oh well! My daughter and I will have fun being chickie mommies ourselves!!!

Very interesting on the omega-6 to omega-3 ratios. I had read somewhere that krill oil was better for you than fish oil. And I go and look at the bottle of krill I have and lo and behold, it IS straight omega-3!!!

Hope y'all have a great day and maybe spring will come back to us soon!!!

Edited to ask... I read the article about the omega-6 to omega-3 ratios. My question is this: Should we be sprouting something else rather than grains? Or, are the sprouted grains ok on the omega-3s?