The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[cywiar merch]

Guess what I just found out..

Our local co-op has organic feed!

Guess what else I just found out?

It's 38.50 a bag!

How the heck am I supposed to do that?!

I'm thinking about doing a whole grain feed.

http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/04/homemade-whole-grain-chicken-feed-updated-and-now-corn-free/
Can someone (LM) check this over. This seems very doable to me. The author has healthy chickens, but they don't have a large operation by any means. I want to make sure I am doing the best for my birds. I don't want to offer a diet of whole grains if it is going to make them nutritionally imbalanced.

I will be free ranging all year round, but we have 3-4 months of nothing but snow, so I will need a complete diet during those terrible months of nothing to forage.

I don't want to grind the feed.

Do they need added salt if they are free ranged?! This question is for Delisha

What would they pick up while foraging that would supplement that need?

Lots and LOTS of questions. Please help me figure this out!

Prior to finding this site and looking for recipes to make my own feed, I came across this site. I was considering using this so would be interested to hear what others think. I also like the breakdown of the Ussery recipes from the modern homestead as well. As far as supplements go, the brewers yeast in the recipes is very useful as it contains the B vits and the Kelp has essential minerals as well. I use brewers yeast in my cats' raw food recipe for extra supplements. I am told it is also useful as a natural flea preventer and I don't use any lice products and so far they have not had any fleas. I am not sure whether it works in the same way for chickens.

I also found another site - http://marystilwell.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/marys-whole-grain-chicken-feed-recipe/

This has a summer and winter recipe.

 

[armorfirelady]

Ok as requested I finally had a few minutes to get some messy butt pictures......girls will do anything for beef scraps

It's only 3 hens.....one was in the nesting box.....she's a late layer. Lol
As you can see one is messier than the other 2. I haven't cleaned butts in probably a month. The one I was able to grab and look at her vent is clear just the mess on her feathers. I plan on trimming feathers when my mom can come help since its so much easier & I can't imagine trying to trim feathers with one hand while holding a hen in the other lol

 

[Ashdoes]

That's nothing compared to my Cochin girls bums....they get so gross. Then one day they're clean, then a week later gross again.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Ok as requested I finally had a few minutes to get some messy butt pictures......girls will do anything for beef scraps

It's only 3 hens.....one was in the nesting box.....she's a late layer. Lol
As you can see one is messier than the other 2. I haven't cleaned butts in probably a month. The one I was able to grab and look at her vent is clear just the mess on her feathers. I plan on trimming feathers when my mom can come help since its so much easier & I can't imagine trying to trim feathers with one hand while holding a hen in the other lol

Thanks for posting these. I knew from an old thread "Gnarly" what a pasty butt looked like. But didn't visualize just messy. I guess my "bald barbie" is the only one that gets a messy butt like your pictures. Sometimes it is and sometimes isn't and compared to your photos hers are VEEERRRRY mild messes. So I can assume if it isn't always messy she is ok then.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Is Getting lighter eggs like this a concern for me? Please look at the comparisons from eggs earlier in the week. Bottom left in carton was older darker and the top left two were todays so far.


whylighterthanpast_zps39f2a8e7.jpg.html

lighterthanpast_zps9a14a8c2.jpg.html

Should I be concerned? The last and lightest one was a bit thinner shelled.

 

[brandislee]

My chickens are in a large barn. They are never.... maybe 2-3 times per year, locked down. They are 100% Free Ranged. If they want to sleep outside, that is up to them. Nope. not going to lock them up. I don't want to end up going to Kansas to look for them.....

We had a bad bad storm last year. Winds I estimated at 60mph +, rain coming down in spirals when it wasn't horizontal. Had meat birds in hoop, pig shelter, and electronetting. Hoop flipped as did hog shelter, birds in fence..... I unplugged.... Very nasty 20 minutes or so. Never lost a bird..... Very wet, but never lost one. Way I look at a tornado, Coop them up and they have no chance if all the stars align. Let them be, and they can move..... If you lose any, as Bee might say and I DEFINITELY would say, "You don't need Dumb(vent) genetics anyway!

I do lock mine (in the run, not the coop usually) at night, but during a storm I agree with the other posts- they know where they feel safer, who am I to tell them where to go? But when it's nasty and rainy (like today) and they're spending all their time in the coop/run anyway I lock them in. In that case I figure I would hate if something got them in their own run... weird logic, I know.

My meatie tractor is made of PVC... so not real heavy. Last year it blew over twice in storms. I have things to secure it to the ground (those screw into the ground things that you can tie up dogs to) but sometimes I just forgot or a storm would brew up overnight while I was asleep and I'd wake up to the tractor on my daughter's bike with with birds half in and half out. But none of my birds were hurt or lost, so it all turned out fine.

 

[brandislee]

Guess what I just found out..

Our local co-op has organic feed!

Guess what else I just found out?

It's 38.50 a bag!

How the heck am I supposed to do that?!

I'm thinking about doing a whole grain feed.

http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/04/homemade-whole-grain-chicken-feed-updated-and-now-corn-free/
Can someone (LM) check this over. This seems very doable to me. The author has healthy chickens, but they don't have a large operation by any means. I want to make sure I am doing the best for my birds. I don't want to offer a diet of whole grains if it is going to make them nutritionally imbalanced.

I will be free ranging all year round, but we have 3-4 months of nothing but snow, so I will need a complete diet during those terrible months of nothing to forage.

I don't want to grind the feed.

Do they need added salt if they are free ranged?! This question is for Delisha

What would they pick up while foraging that would supplement that need?

Lots and LOTS of questions. Please help me figure this out!

Wow that's expensive! Ours is $24, but I buy (non-organic) GMO free for $19...

I really don't think mixing your own, especially if you're buying organic grains, is going to be any cheaper per 50# than that organic feed, though... and if you're not using organic grains, then what would be the point? I just priced some of the grains from Azure standard (yes, it's a different grade than if you have feed grade organic grains available to you, which would be cheaper, but they're hard to find as well) and the CHEAPEST ones were $40/50#. The whole mix would probably average out to more once you add in the more expensive seeds (the sesame seeds, flax, and BOSS). Doable if you're hardcore and feeding 3 chickens like she is. But I would go broke. Just my take.

 

[delisha]

Guess what I just found out..

Our local co-op has organic feed!

Guess what else I just found out?

It's 38.50 a bag!

How the heck am I supposed to do that?!

I'm thinking about doing a whole grain feed.

http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/04/homemade-whole-grain-chicken-feed-updated-and-now-corn-free/
Can someone (LM) check this over. This seems very doable to me. The author has healthy chickens, but they don't have a large operation by any means. I want to make sure I am doing the best for my birds. I don't want to offer a diet of whole grains if it is going to make them nutritionally imbalanced.

I will be free ranging all year round, but we have 3-4 months of nothing but snow, so I will need a complete diet during those terrible months of nothing to forage.

I don't want to grind the feed.

Do they need added salt if they are free ranged?! This question is for Delisha

What would they pick up while foraging that would supplement that need?

Lots and LOTS of questions. Please help me figure this out!

You do not need salt unless you stop free ranging.
You can purchase the grains and mix in a small portion of the organic feed during winter.

dumb newbie question of the day..... (drum roll please) I've been giving the chicks a scoop full of creek sand most days that the sand outside is dry enough to bring in, and a clump of dandylions or chickweed that I've dug up with a clod for them. I figure they can scratch and dustbathe that way. Yesterday I swear to you that 5 bantam chicks ate at LEAST a cup and a half of dirt. should I be concerned about this?the day before the picked the roots of the dandylions clean of all dirt, but only ate maybe half of the leaves. They have, honest to god, poops that are like solid sand this morning.... are they going to eat sand and then not eat their regular food and be malnourished?

no question is dumb
II would watch and make sure they are eating food..

Ok as requested I finally had a few minutes to get some messy butt pictures......girls will do anything for beef scraps

It's only 3 hens.....one was in the nesting box.....she's a late layer. Lol
As you can see one is messier than the other 2. I haven't cleaned butts in probably a month. The one I was able to grab and look at her vent is clear just the mess on her feathers. I plan on trimming feathers when my mom can come help since its so much easier & I can't imagine trying to trim feathers with one hand while holding a hen in the other lol

this is nothing to worry about..

 

[delisha]

free protein stations

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Feeding-Chickens-Maggots.html

 

[countrygirl74]

EMERGENCY!

Ok, here's the scoop - got some saddles for my girls because I'm still waiting for my new pullets to get big enough as I already know I have too many roos to my hens. All my other girls are just a little feather bare on their backs and a small bare spot on their heads - no wounds, no completely bare backs, yet - which is why I got the saddles. I have one big EE roo and two other little silkie roos.

Anyway, I noticed something when I was putting on her saddle and then when I pulled some feathers away and her wing, this is what I found. I feel terrible! I haven't done a full examination on them for a while and I wish I would have caught this before.

I just need help to know what to do - I am guessing she got tore open from the roos as there is nothing else that could have caused this that I can think of. Also, the rooster does not have his spurs yet.

I have her in the house right now - soaking her in warm water to loosen up the junk that's dried all over it. It's a bunch of dirt and stuff. When I try to pull some, her skin is pretty raw underneath, but I know I've got to get it all - it's like she's skinned alive right there.

I have neosporin, bluekote - maybe other things that you would suggest. What is the best way to deal with this? I don't see any big signs of infection yet.