The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Kassaundra]

Thank you, it really was but I kept thinking I wished I had my camera

LOL LOL LOL LOL That is so much like me! When I see something cool I'm all about getting the camera first personal safety last. I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack when I laid on the ground and got this shot

 

[brandislee]

I raise/breed/sell Guineas (currently have 90+ adults and 50+ keets... I hatch/sell 100s and 100s each season)... they don't scratch up the garden like chickens will, but they will eat everything green down to the nub if they don't have enough of a lush, green area of their own to range and forage on. And anything green you feed them as keets they may end up seeking out in your garden once they are free ranging adults. I keep all of my birds out of my gardens, and just make sure I grow extras for them. It's easier than replanting 2, 3, 4 times.

Keeping just 3 Guineas is a bad idea. They will more than likely beat the snot out of your chickens (not just roosters) that they all of a sudden decide they do not like (for reasons that only make sense to themselves), they can cause chaos in your coop/pen and they can disrupt/stress out your laying Hens to the point you don't get many, if any eggs.

Guineas need larger flocks of 10 or more to be happy, content and focused on each other, and it works out for the best for everybody if they can all free range during the day together but have their own coops/pens for nights and during bad weather... but especially during the breeding season. The males especially tend to lose their minds once their hormones kick in.

Guineas also need a lot of room, both in the coop/pen and acreage to roam on... they cover a lot of ground. They are not really suited for small properties with close neighbors.

And yes, they are loud (doesn't bother ME tho, lol

). They will sound their alarm call at anything and everything (like a leaf blowing by, a new hose, the UPS man etc etc), especially for the first year. You can check out Guinea Fowl sounds on youtube. IMO, they trump rooster noise X10.

Interesting... I may come back to my original conclusion (I had thought about guineas last year, too) that guineas are not a good fit for my property.

We have 7 guineas... they seem quite happy even though we have fewer than 10 (interesting comment hmmm)
They don't go in chicken coop (they have no desire) and are out 24/7 (they do have barn access and roost above the rafters in the hay barn during bad weather if they are so inclined - which they rarely are).
They are much easier on the garden than chickens and cohabitate with the chickens very well... side by side, catching bugs... never had one scuffle... they barely acknowledge each other.

We free range the chickens after they leave the brood box (have about 60) and we simply use electronetting around the garden and it keeps the chickens out fine.
The netting doesn't keep the guineas out and we like it that way. They do no damage to the plants. The only periodic marks we find are on the low hanging tomatos from they pick a bug off a tomato. They are great for the vegetable garden bugs... especially squash bugs and potato bugs.

They also LOVE to help the maremma and roosters with predator control... will chase a fox away right now!


As soon as the bator frees up this weekend I will be setting 8 guinea eggs for a friend.

When I get guineas (probably not until we have more property and a LOT fewer neighbors) I'll probably let them live outside like you, with option barn/coop access if they want it. It seems to be how they like to live. Do they like tree cover or open areas better? The main way I keep my chickens in my yard is because they prefer the treed area.

BEARS!!!

This morning as always my husband opened the pop door at 5 am. I get up at 5:45 and the girls are just starting to come out.

6am they were all out milling around. 6:45 I got out of the shower and looked out the window to see no chickens and lots of feathers. Ran out and one bird came flying out of the brush clearly terrified. Carried her inside and saw another running around the yard.(outside the run). Went to go pick her up, dog went balistic, turned around to face 2 black bears. About 20 feet from me, I was about 30 feet from the coop and 60 from the house.

I raised my arms(yeah right I'm going to look huge with my spindly arms over my 5'2" self), yelled like heck and they did nothing but drool. Needless to say I ran for the coop, slammed my way in and tried to breathe. Waited 15 minutes and they just stared and moved a bit closer.

So I stepped onto the porch of the coop armed with a dull knife and a garbage can lid, threw everything in reach at them. Surprised myself by hitting them a few times but they still did not move.

I ended up waiting them out. Once I could see them through the opposite end of the building I ran to the house, loaded 2 buckshots and a slug and called my husband.

They never came back. Me and my FIL put the fences back up and repaired where we could. Hoping all missing birds will come back but guessing a few met their fate. The others won't let me near them

going to have to wait until they are roosting to check everyone out.

A couple things are resulting from this. Firstly, bear hunting tonight (yes they are in season and tags have been bought) these are 3 yr old cubs whose mom used to visit. I hate to kill anything but you killed my livestock and would have had me too. Secondly, we are building gun safes in each of the outbuildings and will be storing loaded shot guns in each. Turns out this is legal even without safes.

Other than removing the threat, there is nothing I can do. Bears can not be stopped by fencing or even walls. If they had decided to come in the coop they would have. I have never felt that kind of adrenaline, these guys were so close I could smell them.

Something has changed with the bears here. They don't run like they used to. I'm wondering whether they are just running out of food and hungrier or if they have gotten used to us.

Sorry for the super long story! Had to share.

HOLY COW!!! I have one question for you- how does bear taste?

Brandislee,

I also wanted to mention that you should
monitor your dogs bowel movements. If he/she is not deficating or it is just liquid. There may be a blockage. If he/she is keeping water down and doing "business" as usual, probably not.

There are a ton of causes for what you are describing. Some very serious, cancer, bloat, blockage, some are nothing to worry about.

If your pup isn't better by Friday I would definitely go to the vet. If it becomes lethargic I would go right away. Some vets will send you a bill rather than making you pay right away if you can't. Never hurts to ask.

Hopefully everything returns to normal soon.

Good luck! Been there

I've been watching... they're runny, but like normal diarrhea runny, and he's passing the grass he keeps eating (well, what he doesn't yak up, anyway). And he's drinking and peeing and everything else seems normal. He ate three more eggs poached in stock yesterday (and yakked again, but only a little bit, definitely not all he ate), then a few hours ago I gave him some better brand corn and wheat free canned food (seriously, how do people afford to feed their dogs that stuff every day...). He wolfed it down and it seems to be staying down, so here's hoping he's on the way to recovery! Even if he does seem better I may take him to the vet on Friday. I'm pretty sure that was a worm I saw in his poop. Of course that means I'll have to take a stool sample...

 

[brandislee]

LOL LOL LOL LOL That is so much like me! When I see something cool I'm all about getting the camera first personal safety last. I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack when I laid on the ground and got this shot

Holy cow that's an awesome shot! What kind of snake is that, and is it albino or is that the natural coloring? I love snakes... as long as they don't surprise me, and I have shoes on. (I know, I'm a freak- I'm the same way with spiders).

 

[RedRidge]

Egg question...
I am allowing the guineas to accumulate eggs in a nest next to the creek.
If I take some of the eggs they will lay in a different place and I will never find them... trust me...
We now have 11 eggs and I was going to gather them on Friday to put in the bator... but...
We just had a terrible storm.
Question is... now that the eggs have gotten wet... is there any chance they are still fertile to hatch?
Do I need to start all over?

Argh... we weren't supposed to get rain today...

 

[NanaLynn]

LOL LOL LOL LOL That is so much like me! When I see something cool I'm all about getting the camera first personal safety last. I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack when I laid on the ground and got this shot

That is a great picture and very pretty snake! As long as it stays away from your chickens and eggs.

 

[Kassaundra]

Holy cow that's an awesome shot! What kind of snake is that, and is it albino or is that the natural coloring? I love snakes... as long as they don't surprise me, and I have shoes on. (I know, I'm a freak- I'm the same way with spiders).

She is an albino python, she was at a local small "zoo" type place. She was free on the ground and heading for her water dish so I got between her and her water I almost didn't get up in time and almost got run smooth over! lol lol lol This "zoo" is family run and has most of the animals where you can get up close and personal w/ them. Oh spiders and other insects I have tons and tons of good shots I get up close and personal w/ them all the time

This one is my favorite of all time, I think she looks like a Daalek

 

[camilleathome]

LOL LOL LOL LOL That is so much like me! When I see something cool I'm all about getting the camera first personal safety last. I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack when I laid on the ground and got this shot

Aww what a sweet baby!!

 

[delisha]

Hey guys I made some ACV the other day and just wanted to make sure it was ok to give to my animals. I made up a gallon of apple juice out of organic frozen concentrate, waited till it warmed up to room temp and poured in a half bottle of bragg that I shook up first and let it sit on top of the fridge with a paper towel on top of it. its been about a week and the mother is starting to get a large air bubble is this normal? it smells vary strong of vinegar but it doesn't smell off or anything its just the air bubble that has me concerned, ive never done this before

Sounds great!!

*Raises hand*
I have a question...all 35 of my chickens avoid the roosts, in fact, almost that entire half of the 10x25 coop...they would rather pile all 35 of their wriggly bodies on top of each other on the top of the 8ft top of the nest boxes, or just lay in the shavings. I have attempted to move a few to roosts around dusk, some stay, most jump off and flap and squawk until they squeeze themselves into the pile. Do I just have weird birds or what? Any insight?

Thanks!

We need pictures!!!!

Another Question or two: I hope that you experienced chicken keepers do not mind another question from me? I think I read on here or somewhere on BYC that when you have different ages in a flock that it is okay to feed a Flock Raiser type feed. The one I use for my 14 week old chicks is in crumble form and it is 20% protein, sadly not animal protein though. Is it okay to use this for my 3 week old chicks? and can I keep them on this and just add oyster shell as free choice on the side once the 14 week old chicks reach 16 weeks? Can I just continue this once both flocks are laying eggs? or is it best to switch to a layer feed at that time?

Right now for the younger chicks they are finishing up a bag of medicated chick starter which is 18% protein, but once that is finished both flocks should be integrated and eating the same feed.

All the different aged chicks also get a few meal scraps, veggie scraps, BOSS, mealworms for treats here and there too, but those are limited.

Also, with a 20% protein feed, should I worry that they may get too much protein?

Thank you guys so much! -Lynn

I do not use layer..ever..I give free choice oyster shells and give back all egg shells I do not use in my garden. Oyster shells weight a lot and you are paying a hefty penny for it in a layer bag.
20% is too much for adults. IMO
It sucks you do not have meat protein.

hard to find in some areas..might want to try growing your own meat for them.

Quote: Glad you are OK

Egg question...
I am allowing the guineas to accumulate eggs in a nest next to the creek.
If I take some of the eggs they will lay in a different place and I will never find them... trust me...
We now have 11 eggs and I was going to gather them on Friday to put in the bator... but...
We just had a terrible storm.
Question is... now that the eggs have gotten wet... is there any chance they are still fertile to hatch?
Do I need to start all over?

Argh... we weren't supposed to get rain today...

They should be OK.

Quote:

This one is my favorite of all time, I think she looks like a Daalek

cute

 

[salt and pepper]

Sounds great!!
We need pictures!!!!
I do not use layer..ever..I give free choice oyster shells and give back all egg shells I do not use in my garden. Oyster shells weight a lot and you are paying a hefty penny for it in a layer bag.
20% is too much for adults. IMO

How is 20% to much for adults??? Mine are on flock raiser because they are so many different ages, and are all doing well??

 

[midnightroo]

Now - you KNOW I couldn't leave that statement alone...     (I've always wanted to use that slappy guy...no offense meant...)

Treated lumber has arsenic in it.  You can't even use it for fence posts on an organic farm because of ground contamination.  When we put in our new fence, we specifically didn't use treated lumber posts due that restriction.

Shouldn't inhale the sawdust, shouldn't burn it and inhale the smoke, don't use in landscaping mulch, wear gloves if handling,  etc. etc.   When you dispose of it you have to handle it as hazardous waste. 

I definitely wouldn't want to eat out of it! 

I will have to look into this. We burn them and I used some for raised beds. I didn't think they were treated.

Shan 30 glad you are ok and I hope your birds are too. I think they are getting used to us and know we keep food around. Why work for food when you can have an easy meal?