The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Eggcessive]

I have a production RIR roo. He is nice but lately I have noticed that the bottom inch of his legs and most of his toes swell as the day goes on. By night fall his legs and toes are quite large, but they look fine again the next morning. I have checked for bumble foot but don't see any thing that looks like it could be cut out. It is both fee as well not just one. He does not limp but he does not run as fast as the other roosters I have either. He is still mating of course, after all he is a rooster and knows that he either mates well or bye bye.

It seems to me that Beekissed talked about one of her hens or roosters having swollen feet in the Gnarly Bunch thread. She used to talk about massaging them and putting Nustock on them. I can't recall exactly , but maybe she thought it was gout?

 

[Leahs Mom]

it could be roo damage, but it also looks exactly like the start of feather picking - I had a hen that started getting bullied and picked on and that was how she looked before it go worse. Might be worth spending some time observing both on the roost and during the day. If it were roo damage, I would expect to see a little damage at last on the back of the neck - but maybe your roo doesn't grab hold of the back of the neck?

That's the interesting thing. He DOES grab them at the back of the neck- and quite forcefully. I'd think they would all have bare necks.

And he doesn't have spurs (yet?). Just nubs.

Oh - and no picking on Charlie's sister.

 

[stonykill]

Has any one seen their chickens eat a snake? Mine caught a little foot long one, and were chasing each other over it!!! RIP little snake.

all of the time. It is quite fun to watch!

 

[aoxa]

Mom had her ducklings out today..


she hatched out 14

So cute!!

We spent part of yesterday at a little Boer Goat farm and learned quite a bit. What are you using for housing for these 2?

Also curious - are yours tested for CAE?

Do you have them in the same area as the chickens? How is that going?

No not tested as far as I know. Though I have no plans on breeding them beyond what is necessary. I just want Alice for our own personal milk. I'll breed her of course to get the milk in the first place, but her kids will be sold off once weaned, although I would like one more doe for milk.

 

[loanwizard]

Incubation Station what's your Function?

1st time, I pored over the information on this site, candled 3-4 times, worried, had 85% hatch rate and the next time did about the same and had about a 40% hatch rate.....

Now.... I candle on day 14-16, lock down on 18....

Bought a fancy incubator off Bruce.... never used it yet. I want to incubate 200 eggs at one time, cull 100 roosters, completely new flock for this winter.... or.... maybe not lol.

New subject. Found tomatos on sale at TSC. Bought some, flipped a pallet upside down, put old garden dirt in it.... dirt prepared by Burt and Ernie 2 years ago (1st pigs).

Went to barn to dig into some of that deep litter..... Ummmm...... relatively dry on top..... Solid, wet, not at all decomposed under the surface.....Stinky too. Any ideas how to proceed? Gonna be a LOT of work to take a years worth of litter from 100+ chickens that is wet, full of hay that acts like rebar....I wonder if I switched to shavings if it would help. Remember, I have a very wet environment.

Figure I best get that stinky wet stuff out and to some sort of compost heap.

Made Goose mad today too..... Took her unfertile eggs and fed them to the hogs.... Talk about stink.... I think the chickens cleaned it up. I couldn't stay in the barn til it was all over. Remember, my goose thinks I am her mate and protects me from the chickens.

 

[salt and pepper]

That's the interesting thing. He DOES grab them at the back of the neck- and quite forcefully. I'd think they would all have bare necks.

And he doesn't have spurs (yet?). Just nubs.

Oh - and no picking on Charlie's sister.

Looks just like my rooster's favorite hen, and I KNOW she isn't getting picked on, because she's the picker!! lol

 

[Leahs Mom]

That skin looks like it would be ouchy!!!

 

[Mumsy]

An incubator question.

For those of you that have incubated, what was your FIRST experience like?
-Was it easy?
-Confusing?
-Would you do it again?
-What would you say to a person who has never used an incubator before - your #1 tip (or 2 or 3).

I don't remember the first time but it must have been successful enough for me to keep doing it. I hatched two hundred chicks out of a cheapo Little Giant that first year. It was easy enough that I kept putting eggs in it and enjoyed the experience for the most part. Learned all the tricks to help with those successful hatches.

Number one tip to someone that is starting out for the first time? Buy the best thermometer/hygrometer you can afford for use inside what ever brand of bator you use. Use clean eggs from healthy, fertile, birds that have been stored properly before incubating. Relax. Don't get all crazy and anxious for the next twenty one days. Enjoy the process. It is a wonderful way to add to your flock and get what you want when you want it.

 

[aoxa]

Love this one Stony! Best one yet of them

An incubator question.

For those of you that have incubated, what was your FIRST experience like?
-Was it easy?
-Confusing?
-Would you do it again?
-What would you say to a person who has never used an incubator before - your #1 tip (or 2 or 3).

1) Yes
2) No
3) Uhh yeah.. lol
5) Tip 1) Do not add water to your incubator for the first 18 days. you will have a much better hatch rate if you don't. 2) Don't lock down until chicks have internally pipped.

I had such a blast with aoxa today! Thank you so much for letting me tag along and sleep over. You guys are a blast to hang out with! Came home with the most awesome little guys. 10 mottled houdans, 10 easter eggers, 10 Blue australorps, 2 turkeys and one tiny little naked neck turken barred rock cross that I watched hatch out of aoxa's incubator . Got to see their new barn and it is gorgeous as well as got a chance to visit two other farms all with beautifull free range birds. It really is making my decision of opening up the other half of my barn up into a coop and free ranging my birds even more of a firm decision in my mind.

We really had fun too Camille!!

We drove 2 hours with 65 chicks, two turkey poults and 6 adult barred rocks + 40 hatching eggs. All in all very eventful trip, and I am tired!!

 

[Mumsy]

Here are some photos. You with "roo experience"...what do you think?



This is Charlie's Sister. CS for short. She has a "fancy pants" tail that she keeps upright most the time. If that tail is down, you can see some bare skin now.

This looks like roo roughing to me. How many hens is he covering? If she is a favorite, she is going to get worse. More hens for him would be the answer or cull. This sounds really harsh but I am a firm believer in only using hens with good feather covering over the saddle. If the skin breaks, infection is a real possibility. Hens that constantly squat and are over used by the roo will not last long. They wear out faster. This has been my experience.