The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[NanaLynn]

I have my water outside in the run and it is a 5 gallon bucket with cups attached. It seems to be working out great now. I had read that it is better to have the water on the outside especially in humid climates and we get the humidity here, so that's why I put it out. At first the chicks had trouble with using the cups, but now since they are 14 weeks old they have figured it out. (I have 6 new chicks that will need to learn soon too, but in the meantime they have their separate area with a chick waterer for them)

I have a question for those of you who leave out dry food for your chickens. Do you have any ideas or suggestions for having the food outside of the coop? Types of feeders? Coverings? etc. Right now I keep mine in the coop, but I'd like to get it outside in the run, but I have not figured out a good way to keep it dry. I use a 5 gallon bucket with holes in it that pour out into a pan as their feeder. It takes up a lot of floor space in the coop, so I'd like it out to free up some room. Once outside it can hang from the run. If I can convince my DH to help me cover the part of the run that meets the coop the problem will be solved but we have been busy with work and life right now to get to that. So any ideas for a covered feeder in the meantime?

Eventually once I get set up I may switch to FF, but right now I am using dry.

One more question: I have my 3 week old chicks in with my 14 week old chicks and they are separated from each other when inside the coop and in the run, they have their areas to run to. I have only been letting them mix together when I am there to supervise. They've been together and separated for around 4 days now. From your experience when will the bigger chickens leave them alone? and at what age can they handle themselves better against them? Right now they are learning to run well and fast and get in a safe place, but my bigger chicks are relentless and corner them at times. I imagine they just need to get bigger and I have to wait, but what is your experience? I found some useful info on the thing which helped with my setup, so thanks again for that!

 

[RedRidge]

One more question: I have my 3 week old chicks in with my 14 week old chicks and they are separated from each other when inside the coop and in the run, they have their areas to run to. I have only been letting them mix together when I am there to supervise. They've been together and separated for around 4 days now. From your experience when will the bigger chickens leave them alone? and at what age can they handle themselves better against them? Right now they are learning to run well and fast and get in a safe place, but my bigger chicks are relentless and corner them at times. I imagine they just need to get bigger and I have to wait, but what is your experience? I found some useful info on the thing which helped with my setup, so thanks again for that!

Long integration description... probably boring for many... ignore if uninterested...

I normally don't integrate mine until they are about 5-10 weeks old - depending on the size and breed. They are next to each and will run together during the day when outside, but they know where home is and sleep separately. My setup is one that requires rotation to a new "sleeping home" with manually opening doors as they mature until they are finally in the main room of the hen house at about 5 months old with a timed dusk and dawn door.
So... baby brooder (low heat lamp, draft free, 0-2 weeks), intermediate brooder (higher heat lamp, open on 2 sides, free range only with constant supervision, 2-5 weeks), teenage room (no heat lamp, 5-10 weeks, free range with while periodic checking on them), small half of hen house (just like adults but separate roosting), large half of hen house.
This doesn't include various breeding runs and tractors, this is just a general description of integration.
By 12 weeks the roosters are separate from the main group into the bachelor pad, so from 12 weeks til about 5 months it's only pullets in the group which makes a LOT less conflict.
If I do have one who insists on being a problem, she goes in the crock pot.
As with all animals here... you must have shoulders, you must have a job, you must not fight.
(Rams and bulls are no exception... you play nice together or you don't stay! period!)

Some make lifelong friends right through the chicken wire... they will also roost together after they are combined and always be together while free ranging. And often these are unlikely pairs, but who I am to decide who should be buddies.
When the day finally comes to integrate a group of teenagers into the laying hen side, I always move several (never just one, sure sign of disaster), and I make note of who the buddies are. I move them after they have gone to roost at night and always attempt to place buddies next to each other on the new roost..
Weird... but it works... the pullets who have laying hen buddies integrate like they've always been there. The remaining tend to stay in a group and after the first day of watching them I have never had a problem with them all getting along by the time they come back into roost that next night.

 

[RedRidge]

Question... I know there are a few threads on here about trap nests, but I'd like to know if anyone actually regularly uses them to monitor who is laying well and who isn't in a free range flock?

I am considering adding trap nests and would like some opinions and recommendations.

Thanks

 

[Mrs.SB]

well that is a hen..not her for sure. Maybe it was one of the other birds you lost. I might have to take a look at the yolks again. The bottom one looked fertile to me. I did not look close enough possibly.
if you are new..leave the eggs..I would not candle at day 10. Less handling is better. Sometimes a blood ring is actual a large vein. At day 14 if there are no other veins growing, it is a dead embryo and should be tosses.

So these are def hens? What confuses me is when I had all 5, I got pretty much 5 eggs a day. So maybe they just look fertile but aren't?? I have no idea. Makes me a little weary to eat them for some reason lol

 

[TexasLisa]

I have a setting hen who hatched 3 eggs on Friday. There are still 7 eggs in the nest. She is inside a pen with her babies. She has now moved off the nest and is setting with the chicks off to one side. Does that mean she is done and the eggs are no good? I didn't want to bother the eggs or the pen until I hear back from you guys.

Thanks,

Lisa

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: Thank you !!

I do my cup waterer on the bucket in the coop always. The water DOES stay cooler in there. When it got REALLY HOT last summer, I would freeze water bottles and put into the bucket to keep it colder...traded them out morning and afternoon.)

When I had chicken water nipples, they leaked and made a stink. No more of them!

In the summer I also have shallow pans w/water outside in a couple of places that they can stand in to cool off or drink from (or poop in...

)

Can you remind me where you got the cup waterers? I have the nipples and one does leak & I think the cup waterers will work better.
My water is also in the coop because I use a PVC pipe for it. No place outside to hang it & because its attached to the wall it takes up little room.

For whoever asked about goldfish... I don't use koi because they are pricey and because they like running water. Cheap ole nickel a piece gold fish... they grow and thrive... weird but it works. Most folks around here use this method. a hundred gold fish for $5 will provide many clean tanks.

Are the purpose of the goldfish to keep it clean? I was thinking of getting a few goldfish for my rain barrel to keep it clean.
I do know that the 8 year old 5 cent goldfish I got for my decorative pond doesnt do well at keeping the algae from growing in the pond. I just had to scrub it again

 

[Eggcessive]

I have a setting hen who hatched 3 eggs on Friday. There are still 7 eggs in the nest. She is inside a pen with her babies. She has now moved off the nest and is setting with the chicks off to one side. Does that mean she is done and the eggs are no good? I didn't want to bother the eggs or the pen until I hear back from you guys.

Thanks,

Lisa

If she has been off them for more than a few hours, they are probably dead. If they are more than 24 days old they are probably no good. You could take them in a dark closet and candle them just to make sure--look for any movement. If you don't have an incubator or another broody, it doesn't make any difference though.

 

[Ashdoes]

Did I read correctly that All-Flock is the same as chick starter? Because that would come in handy for sure.

 

[mlowen]

Long integration description... probably boring for many... ignore if uninterested...

I normally don't integrate mine until they are about 5-10 weeks old - depending on the size and breed. They are next to each and will run together during the day when outside, but they know where home is and sleep separately. My setup is one that requires rotation to a new "sleeping home" with manually opening doors as they mature until they are finally in the main room of the hen house at about 5 months old with a timed dusk and dawn door.
So... baby brooder (low heat lamp, draft free, 0-2 weeks), intermediate brooder (higher heat lamp, open on 2 sides, free range only with constant supervision, 2-5 weeks), teenage room (no heat lamp, 5-10 weeks, free range with while periodic checking on them), small half of hen house (just like adults but separate roosting), large half of hen house.
This doesn't include various breeding runs and tractors, this is just a general description of integration.
By 12 weeks the roosters are separate from the main group into the bachelor pad, so from 12 weeks til about 5 months it's only pullets in the group which makes a LOT less conflict.
If I do have one who insists on being a problem, she goes in the crock pot.
As with all animals here... you must have shoulders, you must have a job, you must not fight.
(Rams and bulls are no exception... you play nice together or you don't stay! period!)

Some make lifelong friends right through the chicken wire... they will also roost together after they are combined and always be together while free ranging. And often these are unlikely pairs, but who I am to decide who should be buddies.
When the day finally comes to integrate a group of teenagers into the laying hen side, I always move several (never just one, sure sign of disaster), and I make note of who the buddies are. I move them after they have gone to roost at night and always attempt to place buddies next to each other on the new roost..
Weird... but it works... the pullets who have laying hen buddies integrate like they've always been there. The remaining tend to stay in a group and after the first day of watching them I have never had a problem with them all getting along by the time they come back into roost that next night.

Leigh...I think RedRidge could write a fabulous article for that thing on this integration strategy. Others who have fewer birds or smaller operations could contribute, too. It would go along nicely with the "quarantine" plan/process...I think.

 

[brandislee]

I have my water outside in the run and it is a 5 gallon bucket with cups attached. It seems to be working out great now. I had read that it is better to have the water on the outside especially in humid climates and we get the humidity here, so that's why I put it out. At first the chicks had trouble with using the cups, but now since they are 14 weeks old they have figured it out. (I have 6 new chicks that will need to learn soon too, but in the meantime they have their separate area with a chick waterer for them)

I have a question for those of you who leave out dry food for your chickens. Do you have any ideas or suggestions for having the food outside of the coop? Types of feeders? Coverings? etc. Right now I keep mine in the coop, but I'd like to get it outside in the run, but I have not figured out a good way to keep it dry. I use a 5 gallon bucket with holes in it that pour out into a pan as their feeder. It takes up a lot of floor space in the coop, so I'd like it out to free up some room. Once outside it can hang from the run. If I can convince my DH to help me cover the part of the run that meets the coop the problem will be solved but we have been busy with work and life right now to get to that. So any ideas for a covered feeder in the meantime?

Eventually once I get set up I may switch to FF, but right now I am using dry.

I feed and water outside (I JUST switched my layers to FF like two weeks ago, mostly to cut down on the waste). My coop is only 6x9 and after our first snow storm I realized that was NOT going to be enough room for them for our super long super snowy winters, so I built a 10x10 A frame and butted it up against the pop door (inside the run). It's 2x4's (the base is treated 4x4's I had left over from building the run, so they won't rot as fast) and covered with a canvas tarp. It's been a life saver- they have more than 3x the snow free space in the winter, and I feed them under there so I don't have to worry about the feed getting wet, plus it gives them some shade in the summer. So long story short, I don't have covers over my feeders because, although they're technically outside, they're under cover. And an A frame is easier to build than you might think. I hadn't yet read Harvy Ussery's book so mine doesn't have the diagonal supports, but that's okay because it's never moved and I'm pretty sure I screwed it to the side of the coop. But there are good instructions on building a really lightweight one in his book Small Scale Poultry Flocks. I used those instructions (more or less, I made it simpler) to build my summer coop out of 1x2's with lots of diagonal supports- very cheap and easy to build. The most expensive part is the canvas tarp (I really prefer canvas, much more durable and doesn't flap).

Quote:

Are the purpose of the goldfish to keep it clean? I was thinking of getting a few goldfish for my rain barrel to keep it clean.
I do know that the 8 year old 5 cent goldfish I got for my decorative pond doesnt do well at keeping the algae from growing in the pond. I just had to scrub it again

My rain barrel is totally shot (someone may have left it out and right side up over the winter... I wonder who that was

), but as soon as I get it fixed/replaced and I get my pond dug and set up and settled I need to get some fish for both. I've heard they work okay, and my dad has always kept goldfish in his stock tanks. Maybe you need more fish- I've heard there needs to be a certain balance of fish and plants in a pond for it truly stay clean, as both filter out different things and keep each other fed. In rain barrels I thought the fish were more to eat mosquito larvae than to keep the algae out... I would think that without plants the fish would contribute more to the algae than fight it (just based on my experience keeping goldfish in a tank, anyway...).