The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: Do you have a link to your starter recipe and bread recipe? I have tried a few recipes and somehow the first few loafs turn out great then flat loafs.

Quote: How do you like the magic bullet? is it easier to clean than a food processor? or at least does it take up less space in a dishwasher?

 

[starlingdaly]

N

I use a candler that came with my incubator so not the best, but I moved 10 of 17 eggs to the hatcher because they were dark and appeared to have developed, although I did not see movement.  Should have egg-topsied them, but I did not.  Between a squeamish DH who seems to adore reminding me of the failure rate on shipped eggs at this elevation costing a fortune, and just plain being busy, I opted not to take the time.

No worries, I completely understand
I am curious because I have heard a LOT about CLs and SFHs not hatching well or not growing well. They are two breeds I want to eventually have so it worries me a bit.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Since I don't make tons of feed at a time the little hand press works well. Maybe I'd use a small blender if I did a whole blender-full at a time! Right now I only press 4-7 garlic cloves at a time.

 

[Sally8]

After incubating several doz eggs this year, both chicken (different breeds) and turkey I can honestly say that I won't candle again unless I feel there is a real problem. Every batch that I candled, using a regular flashlight and a toilet paper or paper towel tube, I think the eggs died at that time. Not all but maybe half. I handled them with clean hands, very carefully, in the same room where there were incubated. In previous years, I've had either 100% or nearly that. The shipped eggs, I really can't count as they were pretty scrambled. I used several different flashlights thinking they were getting too hot. Maybe it's just me.

I probably already know this answer but I moved 2 chicks and 2 poults to the porch brooder, giving them more room. After 3 days, one of the poults acts like he might have a broken leg. But if it were broken it would be in an odd angle or dangle. It started out twitching and it's foot/toes were together (as opposed to stretched out in a walking position). He uses his wings to balance and get around. I put him in a plastic pot (4x4) with pine chips under him to keep him upright and safe away from the other nosy ones. He's very content in there. Every 2 hours or so I get him out and place him near food and water. He's drinking and eating very well. Very chipper, eyes open and bright. His elbow (where the fleshish part means the fuzzy featherish of his leg) appears to be swollen, compared to the other one. This morning, it wasn't as swollen and his foot appeared more normal(but still not). He's hobbling around. The other 3 are always on a crash course and knock him all over if I don't try to protect him. Should I just put him down? Could it be a bad sprain? I couldn't find much on the internet about it. Thanks. sue

 

[aoxa]

Do you have a link to your starter recipe and bread recipe? I have tried a few recipes and somehow the first few loafs turn out great then flat loafs.

How do you like the magic bullet? is it easier to clean than a food processor? or at least does it take up less space in a dishwasher?

I LOVE THE MAGIC BULLET!! It is not the same as the nutribullet..

SO easy to clean. You just basically rinse the blade with dish soap and water.. no need to even rub it down. The cups are just like regular cups. I love it!

PS: Here is a good how to on making home made ginger ale with leftover whey and real ginger... I am a big fan of ginger ale. We buy the organic kind. I am a sucker for organic pop. Probably still not good all that sugar, but at least it is organic cane sugar and not overly processed... anyway..

 

[brandislee]

Funny thing, mine has been in the fridge since January or February and it looks okay but it's definitely going to need a few days of care before making bread out of the poor thing!

I made mine from scratch and I guess got lucky? because mine tastes great.

I do add additional bread yeast when baking it as the natural yeast is not sufficient for a good fluffy rise. Good bread if I had no other choice, but I would rather it not be so dense.

It totally depends on the wild yeast in your area. Apparently mine suck, but other regions (like SanFrancisco) are famous for theirs. But I don't use any bread yeast with mine. I did use my old sourdough starter with bread yeast, and then it tasted really good. But on its own it was way too sour, like bad sour. I've been working my way towards consuming only sourdough grain products because it's supposed to be a lot better for you in a lot of ways, but at the moment we're eating store bread. Spring is not a good time for me to do anything significant in the kitchen, and I figure store bread is better than fast food!

Goodness, am I supposed to be feeding this starter twice a day!? The links I read said every four days...sigh. This is hard. I've got a wild starter going right now, but it's a little odd at the moment. I'm working on it.
And to make this "chicken" it's super cute watching the chicks scurry under the Eco glow, they learned real quick what it was for. After a couple hours they're eating the FF just fine.

Heck no... I've only ever fed mine twice in a day probably four or five times ever. It's really simple- more feedings = less sour, less feedings = more sour. BUT you can be lazy and still have it be less sour, you just have to feed it frequently for a few days, not every single day. And I don't ever through away my extra, either. I either make pancakes, crackers, or I freeze it.

Regarding the cost of raw garlic: I was getting it for $1.50p/kg, so it wasn't a pain in the wallet, and it's not necessary to give them a whole clove each per day if they're having it regularly; those who need it more will eat more. But I can't speak for the cost of garlic where you are, nor what breed of it's available and how potent or weak it may be. Rue is an alternative Levy reckons is superior to garlic for poultry, but I can't get it to grow here yet, my gardening skills are still developing; it is available though, and it'd be an investment for me since I intend to let it grow in adequately netted bushes so they can continually self-medicate and not kill the plants. Wormwood's supposed to be the equivalent for turkeys, but Levy, unfortunately, did not give precise dosages for it as overdose can be poisonous. So for ages I've experimented in great trepidation, only to find you'd have to severely over feed, most likely force feed, to poison them on it. Maybe wild growing wormwood in her native country was more potent than the pretty but still useful cultivars in Australia.

Regarding the loss of health I see in my chooks after a long time without garlic: combs getting pink instead of vibrantly red, which I associate with decreased haemoglobin and anaemia even though they're considered in the normal range... Also increased susceptibility to infections, not that they've needed treating for any; generally just not looking as prime and shiny and not being as productive as they were. A few randoms have had some short term illnesses I am sure they would not have had if I were tending them as usual, and egg production's at an all time low. I'm chafing something severe about this interim situation; I wanted to be back to breeding and eating them by now, in fact months ago. Gah! I actually try to not think about it too much, just focus on my business. I've been severely bitten with the chicken loving bug. I want to keep them for the rest of my life, they're just an incredible and economical addition for the sake of health, and they're fascinating animals too. Lol@me.

Garlic isn't that expensive here, either. It may LOOK expensive because it's like 3.50 (ish, I can't remember exactly) a lb., and for most produce that's really expensive. BUT yesterday, because I've never actually seen what a lb of garlic looks like and I needed more for the chickens/dogs/cats, I put a bag on the scale and filled it with, more or less, a lb of garlic. It's a lot- probably 15 heads (but I didn't count). If you're going for a clove per chicken per day it would still get pricey, but even then I think it would be a worthwhile investment. Personally I'm going to go for a head per bucket of feed, which for each pen lasts about 4-5 days (except the turkeys who eat that much in about 2 days, but I figure they need more garlic because they're bigger and supposedly more prone to disease). But because I didn't want to suddenly put them off their feed I started with 2 big cloves per bucket, and I'll gradually increase that. They didn't seem to notice the difference, and a few of them even pounced on the junk I dumped out of the garlic press, so perhaps they're more in need of it than I thought. Slowly but surely I'm moving more towards the ideal of how I want to keep my chickens, though, and this was another big step.

I also put together my natural animal care kit yesterday. Most of this stuff I had, but it was scattered everywhere, some in the house, some in the coop, some in the shed, and I was getting annoyed with trying to find stuff all the time. So I had this old cooler that the handle broke off of (a small one) and I put in the following- my lb. of garlic, brewer's yeast, blu kote, neosporin, molasses, tabassco, bag balm, betadine, boric acid, lutein (for cats with eye infections, it's specifically for herpes infections), my coconut oil/lavender antiseptic balm, and my garlic press and a pair of scissors. And yes, blu kote and neosporin aren't horribly natural, but I only bought the neosporin (because I didn't have any, we don't use it on ourselves) in case the lavender balm turned out to be a bad idea. It'll likely sit there until it expires and get thrown out. And I love blu kote, not because it's antiseptic but because it, at least in my experience, keeps the other chickens from bothering a wound. I even swabbed a little on the wounded chicks' heads because the other chicks were starting to peck them. Is there anything you would add to have on hand (the few things we use that keep well, that is- that limited my selection)???

Another thing I've done recently was plant a bunch of the more potent medicinal herbs (the common ones, anyway) right next to the coop in containers. I didn't net them or anything. I planted peppermint, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, and lemon balm. That way I figure they have it right there and can medicate as needed. And I don't care if they destroy a plant or two, but in my experience the only time they damage herbs is by pulling up a poorly rooted plant in the act of snipping off a leaf or stem. Last year my entire personal herb garden was totally available to the chickens, and sure they grazed it, but they didn't demolish anything like they tend to do with OTHER plants. I did fence it off this year though because it's in the same area as a few zucchini plants, and right next to a poor daylily they were keeping mowed to the ground.

Someone suggested food processor or magic bullet. The garlic press I have (Pampered Chef!) hurts the hand. I put a lot of garlic in the feed, and it took so long. I am using my magic bullet next time. I'll just rinse it right out into the ferment.

I have the pampered chef garlic press and I like it. I don't love garlic presses in general (for cooking), although I can't put my finger on why. Well, maybe I can- pressing garlic makes it super potent because the more damage you do to garlic the more the two compounds that are responsible for the pungent flavor (that I can't remember the names of...) mix. I like sliced garlic, and it's easy to do. And since pretty much anything I put garlic in has onion in it too, I just slice them at the same time. So, since the garlic press IS super handy for putting garlic in the FF, it got relegated to the coop. I don't think it hurts my hand (but maybe I have a different model- they change things) and I really like the little brush/scraper thing that comes with it. A food processor or magic bullet would be no help to me because if it's not right by the feed I just won't do it, and my feed is in the shed.

 

[aoxa]

After incubating several doz eggs this year, both chicken (different breeds) and turkey I can honestly say that I won't candle again unless I feel there is a real problem. Every batch that I candled, using a regular flashlight and a toilet paper or paper towel tube, I think the eggs died at that time. Not all but maybe half. I handled them with clean hands, very carefully, in the same room where there were incubated. In previous years, I've had either 100% or nearly that. The shipped eggs, I really can't count as they were pretty scrambled. I used several different flashlights thinking they were getting too hot. Maybe it's just me.

I probably already know this answer but I moved 2 chicks and 2 poults to the porch brooder, giving them more room. After 3 days, one of the poults acts like he might have a broken leg. But if it were broken it would be in an odd angle or dangle. It started out twitching and it's foot/toes were together (as opposed to stretched out in a walking position). He uses his wings to balance and get around. I put him in a plastic pot (4x4) with pine chips under him to keep him upright and safe away from the other nosy ones. He's very content in there. Every 2 hours or so I get him out and place him near food and water. He's drinking and eating very well. Very chipper, eyes open and bright. His elbow (where the fleshish part means the fuzzy featherish of his leg) appears to be swollen, compared to the other one. This morning, it wasn't as swollen and his foot appeared more normal(but still not). He's hobbling around. The other 3 are always on a crash course and knock him all over if I don't try to protect him. Should I just put him down? Could it be a bad sprain? I couldn't find much on the internet about it. Thanks. sue

Candling has never killed my eggs.

I've been getting between 80-100% hatches this year. That's not counting any that failed to develop at all.

 

[aoxa]

It totally depends on the wild yeast in your area. Apparently mine suck, but other regions (like SanFrancisco) are famous for theirs. But I don't use any bread yeast with mine. I did use my old sourdough starter with bread yeast, and then it tasted really good. But on its own it was way too sour, like bad sour. I've been working my way towards consuming only sourdough grain products because it's supposed to be a lot better for you in a lot of ways, but at the moment we're eating store bread. Spring is not a good time for me to do anything significant in the kitchen, and I figure store bread is better than fast food!

Heck no... I've only ever fed mine twice in a day probably four or five times ever. It's really simple- more feedings = less sour, less feedings = more sour. BUT you can be lazy and still have it be less sour, you just have to feed it frequently for a few days, not every single day. And I don't ever through away my extra, either. I either make pancakes, crackers, or I freeze it.
Garlic isn't that expensive here, either. It may LOOK expensive because it's like 3.50 (ish, I can't remember exactly) a lb., and for most produce that's really expensive. BUT yesterday, because I've never actually seen what a lb of garlic looks like and I needed more for the chickens/dogs/cats, I put a bag on the scale and filled it with, more or less, a lb of garlic. It's a lot- probably 15 heads (but I didn't count). If you're going for a clove per chicken per day it would still get pricey, but even then I think it would be a worthwhile investment. Personally I'm going to go for a head per bucket of feed, which for each pen lasts about 4-5 days (except the turkeys who eat that much in about 2 days, but I figure they need more garlic because they're bigger and supposedly more prone to disease). But because I didn't want to suddenly put them off their feed I started with 2 big cloves per bucket, and I'll gradually increase that. They didn't seem to notice the difference, and a few of them even pounced on the junk I dumped out of the garlic press, so perhaps they're more in need of it than I thought. Slowly but surely I'm moving more towards the ideal of how I want to keep my chickens, though, and this was another big step.

I also put together my natural animal care kit yesterday. Most of this stuff I had, but it was scattered everywhere, some in the house, some in the coop, some in the shed, and I was getting annoyed with trying to find stuff all the time. So I had this old cooler that the handle broke off of (a small one) and I put in the following- my lb. of garlic, brewer's yeast, blu kote, neosporin, molasses, tabassco, bag balm, betadine, boric acid, lutein (for cats with eye infections, it's specifically for herpes infections), my coconut oil/lavender antiseptic balm, and my garlic press and a pair of scissors. And yes, blu kote and neosporin aren't horribly natural, but I only bought the neosporin (because I didn't have any, we don't use it on ourselves) in case the lavender balm turned out to be a bad idea. It'll likely sit there until it expires and get thrown out. And I love blu kote, not because it's antiseptic but because it, at least in my experience, keeps the other chickens from bothering a wound. I even swabbed a little on the wounded chicks' heads because the other chicks were starting to peck them. Is there anything you would add to have on hand (the few things we use that keep well, that is- that limited my selection)???

Another thing I've done recently was plant a bunch of the more potent medicinal herbs (the common ones, anyway) right next to the coop in containers. I didn't net them or anything. I planted peppermint, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, and lemon balm. That way I figure they have it right there and can medicate as needed. And I don't care if they destroy a plant or two, but in my experience the only time they damage herbs is by pulling up a poorly rooted plant in the act of snipping off a leaf or stem. Last year my entire personal herb garden was totally available to the chickens, and sure they grazed it, but they didn't demolish anything like they tend to do with OTHER plants. I did fence it off this year though because it's in the same area as a few zucchini plants, and right next to a poor daylily they were keeping mowed to the ground.
I have the pampered chef garlic press and I like it. I don't love garlic presses in general (for cooking), although I can't put my finger on why. Well, maybe I can- pressing garlic makes it super potent because the more damage you do to garlic the more the two compounds that are responsible for the pungent flavor (that I can't remember the names of...) mix. I like sliced garlic, and it's easy to do. And since pretty much anything I put garlic in has onion in it too, I just slice them at the same time. So, since the garlic press IS super handy for putting garlic in the FF, it got relegated to the coop. I don't think it hurts my hand (but maybe I have a different model- they change things) and I really like the little brush/scraper thing that comes with it. A food processor or magic bullet would be no help to me because if it's not right by the feed I just won't do it, and my feed is in the shed.

How long can pressed garlic last? Could you do a big batch at once in the magic bullet and refrigerate, only adding it as needed?

I'm asking for myself.. My hands are sensitive to stuff like that. I pressed two whole garlic (bulbs? Is that what the WHOLE thing of garlic is called?) and my hands felt very sore after.

Drilling the holes in the buckets for FF made them sore too.


this is the press I used.. except we are missing the thing to get the garlic out, so I have to dig it out with my finger nails, and that is no fun at all!

 

[Sally8]

Candling has never killed my eggs.

I've been getting between 80-100% hatches this year. That's not counting any that failed to develop at all.

It might not be the candling but at the end when I check the dead eggs they seem to have all stopped at the same time and it appears to be at that time. Maybe I'm not handling them as carefully as I think. I only candle 1 at a time and open the plastic see through and get the eggs so that I'm not allowing all that cold air to escape. I sold all my BCM and need to incubate some for myself. Kind of my little experiment. Like I said, it could be me.

 

[aoxa]

It might not be the candling but at the end when I check the dead eggs they seem to have all stopped at the same time and it appears to be at that time. Maybe I'm not handling them as carefully as I think. I only candle 1 at a time and open the plastic see through and get the eggs so that I'm not allowing all that cold air to escape. I sold all my BCM and need to incubate some for myself. Kind of my little experiment. Like I said, it could be me.

Strange. I couldn't tell you why that is, just that it's never happened to me. If I get quitters, they are spaced out - so not really able to pin point what caused it without opening them up, and even then it's hard to say sometimes.