The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

Siding is all finished

Also one of the roosters attacked the contractor. They both look the same to a novice, but I suspect it's Randy. He will be taking a long walk to the freezer shortly.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Siding is all finished

Also one of the roosters attacked the contractor. They both look the same to a novice, but I suspect it's Randy. He will be taking a long walk to the freezer shortly.

Lovely barn. I sold some chicks to a lady today. She wanted to see the difference between a rooster and a hen. I think she was a touch spooked by my rooster just walking by. Of course that only made my rooster start to prance all the more with his wings flapping. There was even a fence between her and the roo.
I hope your contractor is ok. The spraying the roo with a water hose trick mentioned on here has demanded a new level of respect for me from my roos.

 

[Bulldogma]

Siding is all finished

Also one of the roosters attacked the contractor. They both look the same to a novice, but I suspect it's Randy. He will be taking a long walk to the freezer shortly.

WoooooHOoooooooooo!! It looks fantastic!!

 

[aoxa]

Lovely barn. I sold some chicks to a lady today. She wanted to see the difference between a rooster and a hen. I think she was a touch spooked by my rooster just walking by. Of course that only made my rooster start to prance all the more with his wings flapping. There was even a fence between her and the roo.
I hope your contractor is ok. The spraying the roo with a water hose trick mentioned on here has demanded a new level of respect for me from my roos.

He smacked him with a piece of siding. Rooster did not hurt him, just kicked him when he turned his back like a coward.

I doubt it was Cletus.. He isn't confrontational, but Randy bothers Margaret, and I've been planning on sending him to the freezer for a while. He's just so small, and I don't want to do all that for one bird.

 

[zinia8]

Siding is all finished e Also one of the roosters attacked the contractor. They both look the same to a novice, but I suspect it's Randy. He will be taking a long walk to the freezer shortly.

Looks beautiful

 

[BlueMouse]

I've been meaning to try the vinegar/salt/dish detergent on our poison ivy forest. I keep getting it on my feet every time I mow the danglefrabbing lawn, and I don't even know where it's growing that I'm mowing over it! But it's EVERYWHERE in our woods. I'm a little allergic, hubby is almost never allergic, but gets the oil on his skin, and then gives it to ME, and my poor dad is histrionically allergic. Kids aren't old enough to go into the woods yet, I'd like to have it under control before they are. My MIL uses the vinegar/salt/detergent mix on her driveway weeds, she says it works really well but you may have to apply it several times to poison ivy because the dratted stuff is so resistant. I always used to round up poison ivy, but after the reading I've don this year, and with the kids and animals around I'm just not willing to use it.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks for all the poison ivy input. I think I'll start w/the salt/vinegar/dawn and if that doesn't take care of it I'll progress on to the clove oil stuff. I just want to be sure nothing in that will harm the chickens if they peck at it. It sounds very interesting.

 

[delisha]

What is the stuff around the yoke?

It is called the chalaza. It is essentially suspending the yolk. These structures prevent the yolk from being damaged, promoting the healthy development of the embryonic bird.

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?

Looks like a normal healthy belly..either going threw molt or other hormonal changes.

Quote: Great advise

Well I think my two sick girls may have turned the corner for the better. This is loudmouth queen of the coop.
May 20th

May 26th thought for sure she was a goner.


(Don't mind the chicken in the background the scraggily thing she is two yrs old and has never molted. Skinny but healthy and mean to the littles)
And today she is eating and slowly cruising the yard

Gave them an epsom salt flush.
I am keeping my fingers crossed. And no more trips through the woods to the neighbors.

Keep us updated on her progress

Siding is all finished

Also one of the roosters attacked the contractor. They both look the same to a novice, but I suspect it's Randy. He will be taking a long walk to the freezer shortly.

Beautiful!! How exciting!!

Thanks for all the poison ivy input. I think I'll start w/the salt/vinegar/dawn and if that doesn't take care of it I'll progress on to the clove oil stuff. I just want to be sure nothing in that will harm the chickens if they peck at it. It sounds very interesting.

They eat poison ivy and spread it all over.

 

[Eggcessive]

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?

Just pour some fermented feed on it, LOL, because everywhere my chickens have eaten it, it kills all of the grass. I have "crop circles" all over my yard. It doesn't matter what kind of container, they will smear it everywhere.

 

[starlingdaly]

Beautiful barn, aoxa. It looks so perfect.


I removed my broody turkey hen from her nest tonight anyway. I put her in our new coop that isn't finished (but finished enough for her to spend the night in securely). She beat me in the jaw with her wing and scratched me on accident while trying to catch her balance as I attempted to put her on a roost (which she promptly jumped down from, silly thing). I'm sure anyone with a turkey has been beaten or scratched at least once by these clumsy yet powerful birds.

I candled the remaining BCM eggs (after two mysteriously disappeared in the first 6 days of incubation and one looked and smelled completely rotten) and though it is only their 10th full day, I *think* I can make out something dark in two of them. It is REALLY hard to tell. They do look pretty different from the 3 others that don't really have any major shadows at all. I feel scared to throw them out still, thinking maybe I just can't see into them well enough and there actually is something growing...
On the other hand, I am afraid that the shadows in the two eggs are actually just rotting eggs that could explode at any second.

What really freaked me out tonight, though, is the single egg I thought *might* have something growing in it last time I candled I found had somehow gotten pushed to the corner of the nest box and overlooked by my silkie who thought the best way to spend the night would be roosting on the divider between the two boxes...
So the ONE egg I thought MIGHT have a chance looks like it might have just died from getting too cool. I'm not giving up yet, though. That is why I removed the turkey and put my silkie back on her nest, this time with the two potentially growing eggs. In her own next box. My other broody took the turkey's place and is in charge of the more than likely not growing eggs. So I'll candle again on the 14th day and see if I can see anything clearer.

In other news, all this poison ivy talk has me sssoooo itchy!
And yet again in other news, 3 out of 5 of the guinea eggs are keets now. They are just the most adorable little things ever.