The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:

How come you have all the fun? Where's MY broody??

 

[Mrs.SB]

What is the stuff around the yoke?

 

[Leahs Mom]

POISON IVY QUESTIONS

Can chickens eat it?

I have a little in the area the chickens range and one husband that is very sensitive to it. I need to remove it. Can't use poison.

Should I just don gloves and keep pulling it out whenever it comes up? Or..is there a good alternative to remove it w/out herbicide?

 

[stonykill]

How come you have all the fun? Where's MY broody??

I got the egg the BO hatched from from a local friend who also has lots of broody's. Sure enough at 10 months old she is a mama to ducklings

 

[armorfirelady]

Het guess what? I have another newbie question lol

So while out with the big girls I decided to do a quick hen check since its been about a month. When I got to red & flipped her over I found a naked belly !!

Sorry about the poor pics it was only me with a chicken in one hand and I phone in the other......

Anyways I did notice the others have various states/patches of bare bellies. Reds is the worse. I didn't see any creepy crawlies around the belly or vents. Everything looks healthy.

They have never had a full moult. A few feathers here & there but nothing like I have seen pics of others hens. They just turned a year at the beginning of the month. No one is broody. And most of the feathers seem to be in the nesting boxes. They have looked a little rough the last couple weeks. like they are having bad feather days. I have seen the feathers for over a month now but never thought anything about it since no one is scratching a lot.Everyone is laying as of yesterday.

My newbie guess would be a partial moult? Her belly doesn't look inflamed to me. Pink yes but my belly would be pink if I was pulling out my feathers to I can tell you she is def not cold from lack of feathers. Her belly is toasty warm

Thoughts?

 

[armorfirelady]

POISON IVY QUESTIONS

Can chickens eat it?

I have a little in the area the chickens range and one husband that is very sensitive to it.  I need to remove it.  Can't use poison.

Should I just don gloves and keep pulling it out whenever it comes up?  Or..is there a good alternative to remove it w/out herbicide?

If it was me I would be donning a haz mat suit!! Ugh.......i am just like your husband about reacting to it.

just don't burn it because the poison can get in your lungs if you inhale the smoke.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Here is a link to the covered feeder made from a pallet or two.

http://www.ohioporkandpoultry.com/1/post/2013/05/making-a-covered-feeder-from-pallets.html

Total cuts 14. Total time, about an hour.


Shawn

Very nice. Do you find it to be top heavy? We get lots of wind in our area. Right now I have pallet feeding troughs but no covers on them. I feed wet feed, but I don't really want too much rain getting added.

 

[starlingdaly]

armorfirelady, my hens pull their chest feathers when they are getting broody. It gives their future nest of eggs more even heat. Maybe your hen(s) are hitting that time of year too. I have three that are trying to hatch eggs so desperately. My turkey hen's belly is about as bare as your hen, Red. Is she a Barnevelder? Her feathers make me think of them, but I've never had one so it could be my imagination.

bulldogma, my bf once referred to oregano oil as "God's tears" as it seemed like it could fix anything! Of course it can't. But it can kill parasites. I have cleared up aquarium ich infestations with adding oregano oil to the fish food (and a tiny drop directly to the water). I'm sure it can't kill every parasite, but until more studies are done on it's properties, I will continue to use it as my first line of defense against bacterial, fungal and parasitical problems, both with me and my animals. It has kept me illness free this past winter (after I got bronchitis and decided I was done with being sick and it was time to try to prevent it)
And it is a very small and relatively inexpensive (for the amount you use) thing to have on hand for those weekend or holiday emergencies when you really have very limited options.
That being said, yes it is VERY strong and should be diluted and never applied externally or internally full strength. Unless of course you want a nice burn.

I wouldn't know for sure without having a fecal test done on my hen that I suspected of worms to know if it worked. VOMIT WARNING: (I'm fairly sure I saw some hanging out of her vent when she tried to poop... and then they slowly disappeared back in... TALK ABOUT GROSSEST THING I'VE SEEN IN A WHILE

)
So in desperation I gave her the sourdough oregano oil for three days and I have not seen anything like that since. Though it could be coincidence or it could be she may die tomorrow. I don't think so, in my personal opinion, though.

Wish I could offer advice on the poison ivy, but I myself haven't found a way to conquer it yet. Fun fact for you all: Cashews are related to poison ivy and the shells of cashews are just as irritating as poison ivy leaves, which is why you never find them inshell, or raw for that matter (they have to be steamed open so they will always be cooked to some degree).

 

[Child of Noah]

If it was me I would be donning a haz mat suit!! Ugh.......i am just like your husband about reacting to it.

just don't burn it because the poison can get in your lungs if you inhale the smoke.

Leah's Mom: Removing the plants while gloved up, then immediately put your clothing in the washer.
You can douse the plants with vinegar for a natural herbicide.
Chickens can and will eat poison ivy (they do not get the rash), but the chickens will be coated in the oils, and you will get the rash from touching them. Then, the chickens will poop the seeds and spread the poison ivy to other parts of your yard.

Do not burn them! Another thing that people do sometimes is to pour boiling water on poison ivy plants.... also a bad idea because the steam contains the oils and then infects anything the mist touches (also, it is a very slow death for the plant so takes a lot longer to accomplish).

 

[aoxa]

I can't wait

I've been waiting for your broody to hatch them as well ever since you mentioned it. Have that camera in hand for a video, because I bet it will be worth documenting!