The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[TurtlePowerTrav]

I know this is the Natural thread, but I am thinking Cornish X's are so unnatural. At 6 weeks mine are as big as my smallest hens(GSL and EE) but still peep like 6 week old chicks. Soooo wrong. But they taste yummy

 

[Pozees]

Oh boy I just found out that the chicks we thought were hatching next week are already in the mail! Oh my gosh I didn't even by the chick starter. Now the feed store that sells organic sells a chick starter but its a cracked grain and the pieces look too big for these day old chicks. What to do? Is the non organic chick starter crumble ok?

Millions of chicks every year are raised on it. If your gut is telling you the pieces of the organic are too large for the chicks, heed. It might be a needless worry, but if some of the chicks don't make it, the last thing you want keeping you up all night is worrying it was your fault for feeding them pieces that are too large.

The alternative would be to put the large pieces in the blender or food processor and make them smaller. Or ask the feed store if they can grind it smaller, if they are grinding and mixing feed on site.

Aren't you excited?! Chicks are coming!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
I think that if the feed store is selling it as chick starter, they have likely been selling it that way for a long time and chicks have been using it successfully. Maybe you could ask them how long they've carried it.

So...I'd use it. Just provide grit free-choice.

 

[aoxa]

I think that if the feed store is selling it as chick starter, they have likely been selling it that way and chicks have been using is successfully or they would adjust.

So...I'd use it. Just provide grit free-choice.

I agree with LM.

I have seen my chicks down adult chicken scratch (they are raised with broody) and been just fine.

Though pellets.. I had a silkie chick choke on one of those and had to remove it. It was fine. It was TURKEY pellets, so that's understandable.

Chick starter should be just fine!

 

[RedRidge]

Quote:
Originally, only the top half was enclosed. The top of each side is hinged on the back so you get in from the top. Two separate "lids". Also, the left end is a "panel" that is not attached either, so you can get in from the end. I'm short so have to stand on a bucket (which I keep upside down in front) in order to get into the top, but my husband can reach the entire inside just fine from the top. Since there were two lids instead of one long one (which worked out nicely), I added a thin piece of plywood as a divider for the top half. You can't tell it from the picture, but just to the right is the south west facing barn door. With the plywood partition that means the left top section is now more sheltered from draft and temperature variation.

I use the left half for chicks from newly hatched to 3 weeks (you can see the light is "in" with them, thus it's warmer).
When I have multiple groups of chicks hatching such as right now, I move them to the clean right side at 3 weeks - the light hangs "above" on that side.
This give them a little more sun late in the day and a view of the world outside and frees up my left end to clean out and prepare for another batch of chicks.
The intent of the bottom was to be a good place to put broodys. I have a Mille Fleur D'uccle who hatched 4 Buff Orpingon chicks on Monday... as soon as the new owner picks up these two Frizzles who I confined in the bottom for pickup, the new momma and her babies will go in the bottom for 4-6 weeks.

Right now I have 3-4 week old Gold Laced Wyandottes in the right (and a few Buffs), 22 two day old RC RIR in the left, and I have 15 Rhodebar eggs in the incubator due to hatch in about 2 weeks. That'll be it for this season... building my flock back up after the move here. I have a few pullets who won't start laying til July and they will stay confined until they begin to lay (they wander too much as pullets and don't like to come back to roost). The remainder of the flock (mostly RIR and Buff Orp) free range with one of my maremma during the day and go back into their hen house at night.

This hutch is in the hall of the barn and backs up to a stall, so all sides except the back wall are hardware cloth.
The bottom was actually nothing more than a 4x4 leg at each from corner. I wanted to be able to access either end of the bottom easily, so he added a 2x4 center support to the center front of the bottom. This made is easy to make both front bottom panels "removable". The ends are permanent on the bottom half. The front panels can lift all the way out, but more commonly I simply slide them left or right to reach in to feed and water.

One last note for anyone doing a new setup... (I've raised chickens forever and am always looking for new ways to be more efficient)...
I now start my chicks on chicken nipples from day one.
I was hesitant because I didn't know how they'd take to it... but it's amazing how they seek water and will figure it out quickly. And as soon as one figures it all, then all do.
And I don't use the screw in type, I use the push in... they are cheap and easy to use. I put them in lids of water bottles for just one or two chicks (make sure to poke a little vent in bottom of bottle - you don't want a vacuum), and I put them in the bottom of buckets.

Wow... that was a lot longer than I intended, but hopefully it'll give some folks some brainstorms about how to configure what they have.
This hutch was here... we simply added the hardware cloth. After having chickens multiple places in the past, I am finally getting an idea about what works well.

 

[Leahs Mom]

RedRidge - Tell us what you do when you begin to integrate the new kids w/your existing flock.

 

[aoxa]

RedRidge - Tell us what you do when you begin to integrate the new kids w/your existing flock.

I'm not RedRidge, but what I did was allowed a safe place (only for non-broody raised chicks).

I had a fenced in area with holes cut all along the bottom so the chicks could have a safe place from the adults. Worked really well... may have been an eye sore - but it worked.


The silkies were in there too, but could still get out. I just wanted to keep the big kids out.

 

[armorfirelady]

I may have just won the chicken lottery

......I posted an ad on Craigs list under *wanted* for wood shavings & wood chips. Had 2 people reply back that they have them. One guy has 3 truck loads I can have for free

he says they are small chips so I am hopeful it will work great for bedding for the hens...............if not it will go under the pines as mulch.

I was thinking I would let it sit outside for awhile before bagging it for storage. I think someone (LM or BDM) else did the same thing?
And I am correct in thinking any wood chips are fine for using as DL except cedar?

 

[Leahs Mom]

I let my chips "cure" in a pile for awhile. I don't use them for the chickens until they are inhabited with worms. That way I know they're cured enough to support life so they should be okay for the kiddos!


ETA: I've only used wood chips in the outdoor run. My thought is that since they're large, they wouldn't be particularly absorbent for indoor use - and the chips are the ones I put in a pile outdoors and let them become inhabited w/worms before using.

WOOD SHAVINGS wouldn't need to be kept in an outdoor pile, but maybe need an "aging time" or cure time of some sort.

 

[RedRidge]

RedRidge - Tell us what you do when you begin to integrate the new kids w/your existing flock.

My hen house is basically 2 stalls of the barn... each stall is 12x14.
The end stall is divided 1/3 and 2/3. The production flock who are laying roost and nest in the 2/3 and go out all day. The pullets reside in the 1/3.
So... the pullets have roosts but no nesting boxes. When they begin to lay, I go in after dusk, take them off their roost and move them to a roost in the larger area.
I've never had trouble with this... they've been "next to" each other for months so moving them 8-10' barely gets noticed, especially by the other birds.
The newbies find themselves in a new place the next day, but they tend to really stick together for the rest of their lives. They integrate fine, but when free ranging they tend to be their own "sub-flock"... but of course there's always the new wild card who thinks she never has to go back into that hen house again.

I feed BSF in the evening IN the hen house... I do this so I can put them up earlier than dusk every once in a while if I have plans for the evening. On most evening they are beat feet to the hen house when they see me coming, I feed BSFL, then just don't shut the door til later. But, on the occasions where I need them locked up prior to dusk, this works handy since they are all in the henhouse already. So... sometimes it takes a few days for the newbies (especially the wild card) to get the hang of the routine... but once they do, it's easy.

Sometimes there is a roo or two with the ones who free range... sometimes not. Mostly it depends on how much of a pain that rooster is. If it's a sweet rooster, he retains his free range priviledges. Come after me more than once, and you officially become a chicken tractor roo. The chicken tractor we built several years ago is 4x8 and pretty handy for one or two birds I want to breed and/or confine yet still "have out on pasture".

The 2nd stall is currently being converted to two halves also. The RC RIR and Rhodebars are a new venture for me, so I will use that area for breeding... hopefully to maintain the wonderful RIR line I was blessed to acquire, and also to improve the Rhodebar genetics. This is a work in progress... changing daily... :LOL