The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[smccuen]

I sprayed all my plants, and all the windows with soapy water, and already have a decreased population of gnats. I'm going to do some rearranging and hopefully that'll help more.

Patiently waiting for Stony to tell us how he knew how old BDMs Roo was......

I'm wondering if spraying with soapy water left to dry will just attract dust to the plants since soap is kind of tacky/sticky. I wonder if Windex with Ammonia would work without harming anything other than the gnats? I use it on sugar ants when they come in by the windows - kills them instantly and then I just wipe it up with a paper towel. I wonder if just a spritz of the Windex would kill the gnats and their eggs/larvae around the plants without harming the plants.

 

[Leahs Mom]

BDM - first thing I thought was poison when you first posted. I was going to ask you about that but never did. That would have been my first thought.

 

[Quailsong]

Quote:

Irony... we had 2 roos. The neighbor who just had the exterminator out has complained multiple times about the crowing...

...of the rooster that is still alive!

The one we still have crows at 4 in the morning. Gunnar had a quieter crow and he only crowed after the sun was up. They didn't mind him.

That is pretty ironic. Sad though.

I don't want to believe that the neighbour intentionally didn't tell, although I think (judging by your post) you don't feel they would do that intentionally. If it did turn out Gunnar ate some bad feed/mice then I would let the neighbours know about it for sure.

Either way, might be good to take some precautions with your current chickens. Maybe keep them in their run a couple days till the mice are done with.

 

[stonykill]

BDM - first thing I thought was poison when you first posted. I was going to ask you about that but never did. That would have been my first thought.

I'm sticking with natural causes unless he somehow ate some poison. Which isn't that likely. It's the 10 month thing.

 

[hotrodflash]

Have to admit as I am new to having my own flock cracking open a fertile egg was a concern. I have my coop completely caged with hardware wire, its in the ground by a foot all around the perimeter, it's all buttoned down over the entire thing as a roof to. I built in an an automatic solar powered light sensor door that opens at dawn and closes at dusk with an extra delay open and close for stragglers. It's a little Fort Knox. Then there is my to German Shepherds and English 100 pound black lab that lets us know when anything comes to close to the house. My Flock is diversified, if I got a rooster I would not know which breed to get. I have silkies, EE, Astralorp, Golden and Silver Laced Wyandottes etc. Any babies would be a mix unless he only bread with his own like breed and then which do you settle on? A rooster would be fun but I'm not sure it's going to happen.

My chickens roam 2 1/2 acres so they have to be savvy to predators. As far as what kind of rooster, I only care how my rooster behaves toward me and toward the hens. And a rooster doesn't care what kind of chicken as long as it is female. Or in my bantam roosters case, whatever will stand still long enough for him to jump on including the cockerels that have since went to freezer camp.

 

[BlueMouse]

UGH. I was shutting everyone up tonight and Mrs. Bennet my EE hen spooked over something, and ran off into the bushes rather than going into the coop with everyone else. could not for love nor money get her rounded up and into the coop. Even with two of us. We finally gave up since it was coming on full dark, and left the outside door of the shed open for another hour. I'm hoping maybe she will have come in there and I can just shut the main door and she'll at least be inside if not with the other chickens. But. Realistically, I may have just lost my first bird to predators. And one of only two of my little gang who's laying too.

I didn't raise her and she's the flightiesst of all my birds. I guess Ican see the advantage of having birds who are used to being picked up and handled at least a little.

my .02 on the rooster issue, I have a "diversified flock" as well. Mostly because I really want to have one of EVERY breed because they're almost all so interesting. (lol) My rooster is Buff orpington, and I have a buff orpington hen too. If I want to hatch pure breds I just only get her eggs. Right now I have ten of their eggs in the incubator. It's super easy right now with only two laying, but I think even when all the girls are laying I'll be able to tell her eggs. Especially since my flock is "diversified" so lots of different egg colors/sizes/shapes. She lays a jumbo medium brown egg every day. I didn't think I wanted a rooster either, but got one because my flock was free ranging and we have a lot of hawks. I hoped that the rooster would help with that. I now can't imagine the flock without him! He's a riot. and a very good boy.

 

[Quailsong]

I'm leaning more w/ stony on the 10 month mark. I've heard of it before but wasn't wise enough at the time to notice it in my own chickens. I always knew that sometimes chickens "just die" but never matched it w/ a date, until now.

Most mouse poisons are anti-coagulants (one is a popular human medicine called Coumadin(sp?). That is, they will thin the blood and if a mouse is injured it will bleed to death. Sometimes it can cause internal bleeding, or strokes (due to blood loss).

Other poisons can cause asphyxiation. Strychinine(sp) I believe it's called. It basically looks like a stroke w/ twitching, exhaustion & then death due to asphyxiation.

Though your roo lived much longer than a mouse would, if affected by such poisons (again while I'm more agreeing w/ Stony), it's possible the bird could have been in the feed more than once, or slow to digest an already poisoned mouse. Again, the autopsy will help figure out what went wrong.

Hope it doesn't sound morbid but I'm wishing it was indeed the random 10mo mark.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Del u leave them on chic food till they start to lay?
They are currently getting chic food with all flock now, should I leave them on this combination till they start laying?
I am getting 2 BCMs, 1 EE & 1 BR so I'm guessing they will all start laying at different times according to their breeds. Plus one is a few weeks older to.

Loving all the coop pics......giving me great ideas for when I win the lottery

I wanted to share a couple pics fom today. Nothing fancy but they made me laugh

Now if we could just figure out how to get thru this door and get those mealy worms.......... (They were quite vocal here)

I won the chicken lottery !!! MINE,MINE,MINE,MINE.......

That is so funny.... mine do that for yogurt or sour cream and potato baked left overs

I lost my roo, Gunnar.

Monday he was fine and today he passed away on the ride to the veterinarian.

Yesterday he became a bit lethargic and disoriented. No respiratory symptoms - clear eyes/nose... but last night the top of his comb started turning a purple/black color... and today he died.

I'm pretty torn up over this, not to mention worried about the rest of my flock... and I won't have answers for a couple days. (These will be the longest couple days in history!)

I took this picture of him on Sunday... picture of health.

I'm so sorry. He was beautiful! Wow hate to think it was poison. The 10 month old thing is hard enough but more natural a cause. Easier to deal with as a cause. But loss is still hard.

it doesn't sound unusual to me. BUT I still don't know how she got this bird. Did she hatch it, or buy it a short while ago. Data matters

Ha ha

This year I'm trying to gather all my grass clippings, lay it out to dry, then save it. I use it for the nest boxes and they LOVE the grass best. I saved some last year over the winter but only a 5 gallon bucket so I didn't have enough for winter. So..I'm thinkin' ... It's grass hay and I might as well not lose it if I can dry it and keep it.

I would have put some down inside the hen house floor from time to time if I'd had more for them to eat and kick around in.

And - I like that it isn't legume hay with all the stems/straws...just nice soft grass!

I thought about this too. I may try it too. Much cheaper than buying stuff. But then my grasses/lawn aren't planted stuff.... they are the native stuff that grows here. Ha ha if I ever used weed killer EVERYTHING would be gone and I would only have either hard pan dry clay or wet slimey stick to ya suck ya under muck! lol But will try it anyway.

That is pretty ironic. Sad though.

I don't want to believe that the neighbour intentionally didn't tell, although I think (judging by your post) you don't feel they would do that intentionally. If it did turn out Gunnar ate some bad feed/mice then I would let the neighbours know about it for sure.

Either way, might be good to take some precautions with your current chickens. Maybe keep them in their run a couple days till the mice are done with.

Prevention of a possible problem if it wasn't natural is always a good idea.

 

[lalaland]

UGH. I was shutting everyone up tonight and Mrs. Bennet my EE hen spooked over something, and ran off into the bushes rather than going into the coop with everyone else. could not for love nor money get her rounded up and into the coop. Even with two of us. We finally gave up since it was coming on full dark, and left the outside door of the shed open for another hour. I'm hoping maybe she will have come in there and I can just shut the main door and she'll at least be inside if not with the other chickens. But. Realistically, I may have just lost my first bird to predators. And one of only two of my little gang who's laying too.

I didn't raise her and she's the flightiesst of all my birds. I guess Ican see the advantage of having birds who are used to being picked up and handled at least a little.

bluemouse, now that it is dark you might want to try again. with a flashlight. she is likely trying to roost in the bushes, or she might come back to the run/shed. I've spent many a night rounding up hens who have been unsettled by moves, or are juvies and don't know the ropes. good luck!

 

[Leahs Mom]

BM - Mine don't let me pick them up either (unless I'm fast). They come running because I represent food to them. At evening - or if I want them to come into the pen earlier - I take out sprouts for them and go into the pen. Throw them in the area farthest away from the gate and when they all come in, I shut the gate.

I'd love to think they all come running every time I go out because they love me. But really, they just see me as the source of something good to eat.