The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote: Cover the live trap with a towel or blanket. Make it look like a safe secure place to hang out.

Question: I brought home a week old RIR from the feed store

hoping my AG hen ,with 1 W- 2 1/2 week old chick, would accept it NO So I tried to give it to my BLRW pullet that has 2 - 1 week old chicks but she won't take it either, my question is if I take the 3 chicks from their mothers & put them in with the RIR will they all get along? I'm unhappy with both mothers now so I'm not going to feel bad taking their children from them,lol

Pull the chicks out at night in the dark and put them together under which ever hen you choose. Then be there in the morning when they get up to make sure she takes them.

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa - what are you going to use for the troughs?

I'm going to do the gutter troughs and move them in and out depending on weather. ie: Inside in the winter, probably one outside in the summer for feeding in the evening.

Yes, I'd say that egg was very close to internally pipping, at the time that pic was taken (it may have already been internally pipped but the beak wasn't just in a position to be visible in the pic). Are they in lock-down yet? What is she hatching? Glad to read she's using a Hovabator 1588. I just bought a Dickey cabinet incubator a couple weeks ago but I still love and trust the reliability of both of my 1588s, and have eggs in both of them right now too, lol.

I have a few Turkey eggs internally pipped right now that I'm going to move to my hatcher as soon as somebody finally pips externally (I am waiting 'til the very last second, lol)... I tried to take a pic to show the beak point up against the shell, but couldn't get a decent shot (tho I could see it very clearly, the camera just could not pick it up good enough to post a pic of it). So I gave up, I did not want to risk shrink wrapping a poult by having the egg out of the bator in my low house humidity too long. The motion of the poults breathing in all the internally pipped eggs is definitely visible tho.

Hope your friend has a great hatch.

I will pass on your well wishes

I waited until first external pip to lockdown 8 eggs last night, only one was not internally pipped. 7/8 hatched today. The one not internally pipped is either internally pipped now or dead. My flashlight batteries are near dead, and the light is not good.. so from what I can see I'd guess it's dead.

I am very happy with the results I'm getting from waiting until internal pip!

 

[smccuen]

Since I have done alot of talking about my girls I thought I would share a picture that I took yesterday...The white one on the 2nd step is Olive...she is my absolute fav. right now...so friendly and sweet.

they are lovely

 

[Sally8]

Since I have done alot of talking about my girls I thought I would share a picture that I took yesterday...The white one on the 2nd step is Olive...she is my absolute fav. right now...so friendly and sweet.

After seeing this picture, I thought I would show you my back porch steps. Usually, only the dogs use these but I've been letting them out the other door. lol


While I was taking this pic, my tom turkey, Chuck came over to prance around and drum around me, like normal. I put my camera on video and recorded him and he was prancing around me. I turned to catch him from my right side and he attacked me from behind. I kicked him back as he was flying up and trying to flog me in the face again and then swung my camera out as he kept trying again and again. I yelled to my Australian Shepherd to come over and he did but bent his head down and backed away. I finally got to the gate to get out, it was the longest 30 ft I ever walked backwards. I tried to intimidate him but he wouldn't back down. I had the same coat, boots, pants that I've worn before. I don't wear perfume. It's not unusual to have my camera. I was not near Rosie. It is mating season for them What caused me to to be more alert was that he was getting redder and redder and his dance was changing. Funny thing is, my camera was recording the whole thing. It's a blur, I can see his wings hitting the lens a few times but can hear my talking to him and him talking back. As soon as I find out if I need to change his food, his days are over. He's very large and I'm not going to risk him hurting my grandchildren. He's probably 14 mo old. I am just sick over it.

Sorry about the double post.

 

[delisha]

A ton of reading to get caught up on. My FIL is back in the hospital. I have not spent much time in the computer. I appologize for not answering your important questions.

Del,

This picture to me looks like an internal pip, but I want your input. It's for a friend and it's her first time hatching shipped eggs.

Internal pip...your picture is a saddle air cell. It looks to be day 17. Not ready for lock down.

Quote: Yes, her online nic is thedragonlady

Question: I brought home a week old RIR from the feed store

hoping my AG hen ,with 1 W- 2 1/2 week old chick, would accept it NO So I tried to give it to my BLRW pullet that has 2 - 1 week old chicks but she won't take it either, my question is if I take the 3 chicks from their mothers & put them in with the RIR will they all get along? I'm unhappy with both mothers now so I'm not going to feel bad taking their children from them,lol

Doubtful a hen will take a chick at that age or a chick will bond with a hen at that age. That chick needs a sibling. Purchase another chick or take a chick away from mom. I would take the single chick and let the other mom raise her brood of two. You might house them close and see if she would adopt them..there crys might encourage her to take them.

Quote: It is hard to do but necessary when ever you bring in new birds.

Quote: You are being thoughtful..and want to make sure you are doing the right thing. Those are good qualities.
Soil reconditioning is pretty easy. When you clean out the coop dump your DL in the run. It keeps it all nice and filled with good microbes. Encourages worms too. It breaks down. You can add it to your plant and flowers too.

my 1st Wellie eggs! She started laying at 6 1/2 months last Thursday. They seem small, will they be bigger after she's been laying a few weeks?

Congrats!!

Yes they will get larger too!! Perhaps not next week , but at least after first molt. All pullets are different and the first year is filled with change.

Quote:

Yes, I'd say that egg was very close to internally pipping, at the time that pic was taken (it may have already been internally pipped but the beak wasn't just in a position to be visible in the pic). Are they in lock-down yet? What is she hatching? Glad to read she's using a Hovabator 1588. I just bought a Dickey cabinet incubator a couple weeks ago but I still love and trust the reliability of both of my 1588s, and have eggs in both of them right now too, lol.

I have a few Turkey eggs internally pipped right now that I'm going to move to my hatcher as soon as somebody finally pips externally (I am waiting 'til the very last second, lol)... I tried to take a pic to show the beak point up against the shell, but couldn't get a decent shot (tho I could see it very clearly, the camera just could not pick it up good enough to post a pic of it). So I gave up, I did not want to risk shrink wrapping a poult by having the egg out of the bator in my low house humidity too long. The motion of the poults breathing in all the internally pipped eggs is definitely visible tho.

Hope your friend has a great hatch.

I will pass on your well wishes

I waited until first external pip to lockdown 8 eggs last night, only one was not internally pipped. 7/8 hatched today. The one not internally pipped is either internally pipped now or dead. My flashlight batteries are near dead, and the light is not good.. so from what I can see I'd guess it's dead.

I am very happy with the results I'm getting from waiting until internal pip!

Me too..good hatch wishes to all..I am trying duck eggs again..my DH is making me..I wanted to close the incubator down..nope..he said I have to try to hatch some. Muscovy Duck eggs are hard to hatch in an incubator.

Justine..water outdoors. I would set up three exterior automatic water stations. with rain barrels set up on the ends of your gutter system. Yes in the winter you will have to haul water from inside once they freeze.

 

[brandislee]

Quote:
That bunny is officially the CUTEST thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Ever. Including my children.

And what happened to the hen, and does she get around okay with only one leg? Pure curiosity...

 

[brandislee]

I have a question about feeding my meat birds... (25 broiler chicks and 8 turkey poults)

They're 2 weeks old (yesterday). So far I've been feeding them fermented unmedicated game bird feed with occasional cayenne pepper mixed in. I didn't want to have two different feeds to mix. Now, going on my gut and against pretty much against all advice I've ever gotten on raising turkeys (how's that for natural!) I moved the turkeys outside to the small tractor that will be their home until I process the broilers in June. They are LOVING it! And that way the broilers got the whole brooder, because they were getting way too big for their half. I've moved them outside before 2 weeks in the past, but the tractor isn't ready for them, so I'm thinking I'll wait until they're 3 weeks and don't need heat anymore.

Anyway, most of that is irrelevant to my question The broilers are BEEFY, so I'm thinking I need to switch them to broiler feed (20% protein vs the 30% protein in the game bird). So here are my choices-

• keep feeding everyone fermented game bird and have REALLY big broilers
• " " , only mix in some whole grains.
• mix game bird feed and broiler feed together, maybe adding some whole grains.
• Stop using the game bird and feed everyone fermented broiler feed.
• Maintain two different buckets- one of broiler, one of game bird feed.

Which would you do and why? Someone on the turkey forum told me that after 2 weeks you can feed them broiler feed, but I don't want to make them sick by not giving them something they need. Oh, and if it matters, all will be free ranged soon (when they're a little bigger).

Thanks!

...reposting this question. What do you think, especially those who have experience with turkeys? At the moment I'm feeding them a 50/50 mix of broiler and game bird with a little scratch mixed in. Like 4 scoops of each feed to one scoop scratch, then fermented. The turkeys don't seem to eat nearly as much as the broilers, but then again there are 25 broilers and only 8 turkeys. I fill up their trough in the morning and they just barely finish it by dark, vs. the broilers who get two full troughs in the morning and two in the late afternoon.

On another completely unrelated note, I just got done playing musical chickens. I moved the Buckeyes and the Faverolles to the summer pen (it's by the garden, too far from the house for winter care and in a really cold snowy spot, plus the coop is a simple canvas covered A frame) and introduced a new EE rooster to the rest of the flock- 7 EE hens, 9 gold stars, one silkie... and a faverolle who is currently sitting on eggs for me. The rooster is a beautiful white possibly Ameraucana, but probably EE. My friend got chickens last year, and ordered 12 hens and one rooster. She got two roosters. It happens. But she just has a little hobby flock and had no reason to keep to roosters, and I just happend to want an EE rooster so it worked out well, she just gave him to me. He's been in quarantine and, as expected (I know her chickens pretty well, a lot of her chicks started out at my house...), was perfectly fine, but better safe than sorry, right? So I moved them all after dark so no one would be any more stressed than necessary. Here's hoping they all get along in the morning, and that the buckyeyes and favs don't freak out when they wake up in a new pen...

The idea is that I want to be able to tell the eggs apart... I know I can tell the gold star eggs from the EE eggs. I'm hoping I can tell the buckeye eggs from the fav eggs. We'll see if that works out the way I hope it will. Then I can hopefully hatch some more eggs.

 

[jockeyeba]

...

A ton of reading to get caught up on. My FIL is back in the hospital. I have not spent much time in the computer. I appologize for not answering your important questions.
[

Question: I brought home a week old RIR from the feed store hoping my AG hen ,with 1 W- 2 1/2 week old chick, would accept it NO So I tried to give it to my BLRW pullet that has 2 - 1 week old chicks but she won't take it either, my question is if I take the 3 chicks from their mothers

Doubtful a hen will take a chick at that age or a chick will bond with a hen at that age. That chick needs a sibling. Purchase another chick or take a chick away from mom. I would take the single chick and let the other mom raise her brood of two. You might house them close and see if she would adopt them..there crys might encourage her to take them.

Hope your FIL is better soon I took the AG mother out & put the RIR chick in with the single W chick...I came back later & the W chick was out with its mother!! The RIR was no where to be seen, I figured it got out too & a cat must of eaten it. I was coming back from that coop & here comes that little week old chick from across the yard running to me so its in a box fixed up in the house & I guess I'm going to go get 1 or 2 more RIR's to go with it tomorrow You think I should take the single W chick from the Ag hen & raise it with the RIR's?

 

[amberr]

aoxa;
How about the corner between door and window wall? This is an interesting idea

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/automatic-chicken-waterer-made-from-5-gallon-bucket

 

[amberr]

aoxa;
more waterer ideas (been looking for ideas already for my brooder pen I want to build) so these were handy

http://swampyacresfarm.com/ChickenWaterer.html

and of course on the thing this was good info