The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

We got our first squatter today! Our lavender Orpington Sylvie squatted for the first time - hopefully she inspires the rest of the free loading flock to get with it, they are all 30 weeks old this weekend! Ahhhh - so excited!
 
Breaking news dot dot dot....may babies did figure it out. For the past two nights I have been playing Mama hen doing my usual (don't laugh now...or not so loud I can hear it all the way over the internet) cheap cheap cheap and they come running to me. I tap tap tap on with food all the way up the ramp and they follow my fingers. Then they flap back to the ground arghhhh....but tonight....ahhhhh. I went out with a new tub of meal worms with the intent to do all of this finger tapping and cheap cheaping up the ramp to find my babies put themselves to bed like big girls. There my sweetie husband and I stood watching from the porch to make sure they did not come bak out as the automatic door closed for the night. He turned to me and said woman what have you done to me. I played basketball all over the world, seen and done it all and now look at me. Watching to make sure chickens stay in bed while the door closes. lol Now how is that for a sweetie of a hubby
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You cheap cheap? I am more of a Buk buk girl myself. And finger tapping? Yup - doing it tonight to teach my newest SFH hatchlings to eat and drink. Works great!
Who did your sweetie play for?

We got our first squatter today! Our lavender Orpington Sylvie squatted for the first time - hopefully she inspires the rest of the free loading flock to get with it, they are all 30 weeks old this weekend! Ahhhh - so excited!

Yayyy! Keep us posted - eggs will be coming soon!
 
I have poop boards under my roosts.  Each morning I kitty litter shovel the stuff.  The same ameraucana roosts with 3 banty hens every night in the same spot.  One morning I found several long round worms in her droppings about a month ago.  Since then (and before,) no other worms. Another time, I found an orange 1/4 inch blob in another hen's spot--when I examined it, it was little hair-like projections--don't know if that is capillaria or hairworm.  Haven't seen either since.  I've never wormed my chickens in over 2 years, but I suppose they have a few here and there.



Oooh eggsessive, id love to see pics of your poop board! Ive been trying to get better ideas under my perch. Cleanup is a pain there.
 
Breaking news dot dot dot....may babies did figure it out. For the past two nights I have been playing Mama hen doing my usual (don't laugh now...or not so loud I can hear it all the way over the internet) cheap cheap cheap and they come running to me. I tap tap tap on with food all the way up the ramp and they follow my fingers. Then they flap back to the ground arghhhh....but tonight....ahhhhh. I went out with a new tub of meal worms with the intent to do all of this finger tapping and cheap cheaping up the ramp to find my babies put themselves to bed like big girls. There my sweetie husband and I stood watching from the porch to make sure they did not come bak out as the automatic door closed for the night. He turned to me and said woman what have you done to me. I played basketball all over the world, seen and done it all and now look at me. Watching to make sure chickens stay in bed while the door closes. lol Now how is that for a sweetie of a hubby
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Nothing better than when your new chicks learn to go in the coop themselves and to roost. Your hubby is def sweet :)
Quote: I had some hay I stored outside all winter on a pallet under a tarp. Obviously some moisture got into it but I tried to move any part of the bale that looked/smelled moldy. Plus the mice made a nest with some of it under the pellet.....guess I got lucky.

I know delisha said she checks her hay for mites....i never ever knew mites would be found in hay.....so much to learn. Makes me want to tear the bale apart and examine it with a microscope
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But then I think back to Little House on the prairie days (my fav show) & wonder.........I am sure all these things existed then & I am sure there was no medications, chemical wormers, or hay inspectors back then. And yet the chickens survived. Survival of the fittest I guess. And the I started wondering if the inventions of all these chemicals that keep our chickens *healthy* was actually after all these years making them less able to fight bugs, illlnesses, etc that were probably much more prevelant back in the old days yet the chickens thrived?
(Excuse my ramblings...been at work since 0700 & when I am overtired my mind tends to analyze stuff......only 1 more hour to go lol)
 
about metal waterers - I've used galvinzed metal waterers in the warm months for more than a decade and a half and never had any problems . RIght now, given it is still winter (more snow tonight and below freezing, but warming up tomorrow) , I'm using the plastic inserts in heated water bowls. And the last couple of years have had glass so I can use acv, but still have used the metal waterers in parts of the run so that there is always multiple water sources.

having trouble seeing the metal waterers as a health problem.

I hope you figure it out soon, sorry for your troubles.
 
Breaking news dot dot dot....may babies did figure it out. For the past two nights I have been playing Mama hen doing my usual (don't laugh now...or not so loud I can hear it all the way over the internet) cheap cheap cheap and they come running to me. I tap tap tap on with food all the way up the ramp and they follow my fingers. Then they flap back to the ground arghhhh....but tonight....ahhhhh. I went out with a new tub of meal worms with the intent to do all of this finger tapping and cheap cheaping up the ramp to find my babies put themselves to bed like big girls. There my sweetie husband and I stood watching from the porch to make sure they did not come bak out as the automatic door closed for the night. He turned to me and said woman what have you done to me. I played basketball all over the world, seen and done it all and now look at me. Watching to make sure chickens stay in bed while the door closes. lol Now how is that for a sweetie of a hubby
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Awww!
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Yea I know that feeling. I had a beautiful purple Cherokee classic. I loved that jeep like it was a family member. She.got.the best care and repaid me in amazing gas mileage and NEVER left me stranded. Unfortunately someone tried to beat the yellow light, smashed into.my sitting still jeep, and totaled it. My rear axle was moved up under my back seats, and my back seat was pinned against the front seats. I cried for soooo long. Been trying to find another one, that straight six 4.0 is a beast of a motor. It will take you anywhere. Ack! Don't do this to me! All these.nice people are gonna kick me off here. This is a chicken forum, not a jeep one. Lol. Thanks for your advice though. :)
 so sorry to hear all the problems you're having in your flock, I hope you get good information from the testing and everyone else stays bright eyed and busy! 

I went to work today and came home and my husband had installed light strips in the brooder! I don't do electric, and am very thankful that he's great at it. Also my cup waterers came! I'm installing two into each level of the brooder, and a 5 gal bucket with three of them in the henhouse. Hopefully getting that done tomorrow, plus installing nest boxes, plus getting ready for planting fruit trees... busy weekend, and it got real short since I worked today. Off to catch up with housework! 
 

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