The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[bluebirdnanny]

How to tell your cat spends too much time w/ chickens .............................. her white fur is brown from dust bathing. She spends as much time stalking and catching insects as rodents.

My cat just watches out the screen door (full glass). She won't go outside.... guess she remembers the "feral kitten life" she was rescued from by my brother and wife. I take her out and she climbs over my shoulder to get in before the screen closes! HMMM think yours knows it is mite control?

That's what mine would have done to. Us husbands have a tendency to listen to the wife on these things and sometimes wish she were there to stop us before we got in trouble on other things.

Good thing she is going to ask before hand. It will show she is "concerned" about the neighbor to do things right by law. Then STAND your ground against the bully. That is what it is a BULLY that likes to control other people. Aren't there new laws against BULLYING? Record it all and perhaps that new law can super-cede a noise law (after all it is not YOU making the noise).

You talking about the bait he's holding.

I think he is holding a natural 'caviar' container!!! That thing looks 'full of it' ahaha

 

[aoxa]

this is not my hen but this is what her wattles look like...both of them...

Could she have dipped her wattles in water and they are swelling due to overnight coldness?

Swelling is the first stage of frost bite.

I had a polish rooster who always put his wattles in the water. They were swollen like this and started to turn black.

I am going to change my waterers in the new barn. Nipple drinkers.

Oh that sounds so wrong. LW That's for you

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: reminded me of a nursing baby, nothing sweeter than a little baby.

 

[aoxa]

reminded me of a nursing baby, nothing sweeter than a little baby.

Nothing at all!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Question for EVERYONE:

What do you do to prepare your hen house/coop when a tornado watch/warning or severe thunderstorm watch/warning is issued?

-Do you lock them inside?

~OR~

-Do you make sure their pop door/entry door is open so they can escape if they need to?


-Do you MAKE them go inside or just leave them to decide?

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Could she have dipped her wattles in water and they are swelling due to overnight coldness?

Swelling is the first stage of frost bite.

I had a polish rooster who always put his wattles in the water. They were swollen like this and started to turn black.

I am going to change my waterers in the new barn. Nipple drinkers.

Oh that sounds so wrong. LW That's for you

reminded me of a nursing baby, nothing sweeter than a little baby.

On both these post. It is all nothing more than totally natural (the true organics) of life..... just like the fact animals MAKE NOISES! It is pure unadulterated life at its best! So glad I live where I do and have neighbors I do. Her only concern is I keep them out of her yard proper but doesn't care if they free roam rest of her wooded/pastured property. 1. her plants/beds 2. can't guarantee her dogs won't hurt them. 3. poop not desired on her wrap around deck.

These things I understand. And I am out when they free range (good excuse to stay outside) haha. So I just get between them and her side and say "go home" ..... so far it has worked. We will see when the cherry and raspberries between us mature! If that becomes a problem then I fence that area off. But for noise.... no problem there. Only other potential problem outside of predators will be keeping them on this side of the road and not in farm share croppers across street. Usually he puts in corn or soybeans. But then squirrels, coons, deer I think do more damage than 3 (so far) hens could.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Right now I lock them in coop (has half of it screened porch type) but when I get a secured run (and I don't have to stay out with them) they will make their own choice. I think if wind is bad enough they will choose cover on their own. IMO But then I am not in a hurricane prone area.

 

[aoxa]

Question for EVERYONE:

What do you do to prepare your hen house/coop when a tornado watch/warning or severe thunderstorm watch/warning is issued?

-Do you lock them inside?

~OR~

-Do you make sure their pop door/entry door is open so they can escape if they need to?


-Do you MAKE them go inside or just leave them to decide?

Don't know about tornados, we never get them here. Thunderstorms though... Hmm.. Never had to think about it, but I'd most likely let them decide if it happened during the day. What's the chances of them being struck by lightening?

 

[brandislee]

My neighbors are the same way... very understanding, but I go out of my way to keep the chickens out of their yard. I've had real success with short barriers, just kind of using what I have around the yard, mostly some of that short wire garden fence- I used to put it around my garden to keep the dogs from tearing through the garden (they would just start running and forget where they were). Since then I've built a "real" fence around the garden, so from the corner of the garden to the end of our property on that side (which is the same side that borders the neighbor's yard) I staked up the garden fence and some other pieces of chicken wire, etc. It keeps them in my yard unless they get really adventurous and go around the garden, which they rarely do because it's totally open there and they prefer the tree cover. But since it's just on one side it's more of a suggestion than a method of fencing, they do sometimes go into the trees and go around the other side, but when they do that they are usually scratching in the tree line for hours and I can find them and lure them back before they get into the neighbor's actual yard. I would LOVE to fence the whole property, though...

 

[armorfirelady]

Question for EVERYONE:

What do you do to prepare your hen house/coop when a tornado watch/warning or severe thunderstorm watch/warning is issued?

-Do you lock them inside?

~OR~

-Do you make sure their pop door/entry door is open so they can escape if they need to?


-Do you MAKE them go inside or just leave them to decide?

We rarely have tornado watches here but for high winds/thunderstorms I have left it up to them if they want to stay in or go out while they were in their old coop & run.

With the new hoop coop it will be the same- their choice. Their pop door opens automatically now. In the past for high winds they tend to venture out unless it was during the winter. And they don't mind the rain (I think they are part duck) they make me cold looking at them looking like they were dunked in a pool and unless its an ongoing noisy thunderstorm they are out & about. They perk up with the thunder but unless its close it doesn't seem to bother them. They have more places for cover now then they did last year.
And that hoop coop is somewhat heavy. I don't think its going to move even with the 60 mph winds forecasted for tomorrow. I know the tarps that cover it wont. There is more zip ties & tie downs on that frame......

I myself love a great thunderstorm & high winds don't bother me unless the weather forecasters add tornado watch to the forecast.....I then tend to grab the cat crates and put cats in basement under the stairs and gather the dogs........ something about tornadoes scare me

Give me a torrential monsoon or blizzard any day......