The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[midnightroo]

Camille, the chicks are very cute, as is your dog.

Thank you Justine for the link on the hammock. I have never seen a sunbrella one before, but know that the material is excellent for outside. I think it is awesome you bought Susan's childhood home.

Rambunctious I don't have an answer for you. I didn't notice that much feather loss with our first three and our current batch isn't that old yet. Do they look scraggly? I did hear chickens go through an ugly phase, and lose feathers.

 

[rambunctious]

Yes, they are going through a juvenile molt

Whew! Thanks, I was feverishly checking their feet for mites and for anything on their feather shafts...I was wondering if it might be a juvenile molt- but I didn't expect so many! Will the feathers be okay in the DL method?

 

[rambunctious]

Camille, the chicks are very cute, as is your dog.

Thank you Justine for the link on the hammock. I have never seen a sunbrella one before, but know that the material is excellent for outside. I think it is awesome you bought Susan's childhood home.

Rambunctious I don't have an answer for you. I didn't notice that much feather loss with our first three and our current batch isn't that old yet. Do they look scraggly? I did hear chickens go through an ugly phase, and lose feathers.

They don't look scraggly at all! They look full and fluffy! If this is just a 'mini' molt- I'm fearful of their regular full molt!

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote:
Yup, I never pick feathers out of the litter

 

[camilleathome]

Camille, the chicks are very cute, as is your dog.

Thank you Justine for the link on the hammock. I have never seen a sunbrella one before, but know that the material is excellent for outside. I think it is awesome you bought Susan's childhood home.

Rambunctious I don't have an answer for you. I didn't notice that much feather loss with our first three and our current batch isn't that old yet. Do they look scraggly? I did hear chickens go through an ugly phase, and lose feathers.

Thank you . The dogs name is Esme she is a miniature poodle. I have two of them with another puppy on the way

 

[OohLaLa]

Man! I hope you're okay. That sounds horrifying!

Gosh thats not good. Glad your okay.

 

[delisha]

Chicks feathers fall out and are replaced with juvie feathers.

 

[rambunctious]

Chicks feathers fall out and are replaced with juvie feathers.

Thanks! I thought that once they lost their -"fluff" they wouldn't lose again until a big molt. Wasn't sure if the amount of feathers I saw were okay! I don't want sick chickies!

 

[bluebirdnanny]

So if you have a roo, and I have a pullet we could start a new breed...give it a creative name and market it to the pet chicken market....

This photo was obviously taken at the back of your house where the dryer exhaust is located. What you have here is a giant lint ball that came out after a Whites load. If you are extremely thrifty and crafty you can probably make something really cute out of it. Giving it eyelashes and/or a pink bow will make it a girl.

Hahaha I was trying to figure out exactly WHAT part of that WAS WHAT!

Love that look he had. Saw it a few times when I was visiting with my brother for the winter right after my divorce.

No pink bow, you have yourself a lovely festive rooster baby lint ball there.

P. S. Me too: seven of each kind of clean animal, and pairs of all others.

14 of the clean (7 pairs...clean) and 1 pair of unclean (so 2 of unclean...1 male & 1 female)
Now I am the Nerd! But that is a teacher of Bible for you.

My favourite photo of the day. Lucy hunting Can you see it?



What about now?

These are beautiful photos of chicken life. Now you didn't take the last shot though.... bug gone!

I love Mama and her fuzzy butts! I can't wait to have a hen go broody. I have a marans, an orpington, and a (bantam) cochin, I'm hoping one of the three will be a consistant broody and a good mother.
I should go to bed. I have garden beds to build in the morning. Which means more digging, and hauling dirt in wheelbarrow, and digging, and

Did you know that a 2 year old can dig the dirt OUT of a garden bed almost as fast as you can dig it in? Also pretty funny is any time I even so much as pick up a shovel WHAM there are all the chickens. Particularly Mary the Cuckoo marans, they swarm my feet and give me the beady chicken eye "Hi, you haz worms?" I was peeling sod off what will be flower beds this afternoon and was sure that I was going to accidentally lop off a chicken toe or two. It is pretty amusing to watch my 8 week olds run around with a six to eight inch nightcrawler though!

I turned all the corners in my deep litter, and lo, it has ceased to smell. so thank you everyone for the advice! Hoping to get the roof vents built soon now that the ground is drying up! Nights should be warm enough to leave the window open soon too.

I've started saving eggs from my BO hen to put in the incubator with my Cream Legbar eggs which should be here in a week! Super duper excited!! Hoping to get at least a 50% hatch even with the shipped eggs. I really want at least two cream legbar hens!

My bald headed bully of a three year old (also the smallest) throws the dirt 6' behind her! And so fast too! I was standing and the thing kicked dirt in my FACE! We had a ball in the garden today too!

we need rain. Haven't had any real rain in a month

Awwww that looks like my cat Pistol! She watched the chickens have egg & chopped kale out the back door today. She is in they are out and watching her like a hawk while they gobbled it down.

Yup, I never pick feathers out of the litter

Wow that was lots.... didn't know they would moult that much.


Well NOW that I am caught up... goodnight.

 

[armorfirelady]

Chicks feathers fall out and are replaced with juvie feathers.

A question about moults.......my girls never did have a full moult last fall. I assumed it was because they were only 5 months old in October & with the temps getting lower they didn't moult. They all lost a few feathers but nothing much. The last couple of weeks I noticed their feathers look out of place/ruffled and I have seen some feathers in the coop and the run. Will they ever have full moult? They are a year old this month.

Ive seen pics of hens that barely have feathers from moulting & others that just look raggedy. I know every hen/breed is different but I was just curious what your thoughts were. Thanks