The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

How big should we make each of our nesting boxes guys? I need some dimensions...


I want something like this (wooden) but can't find proper dimensions.. Needs to fit big breeds of chickens. I was thinking 12" x 12", but not sure if that is big enough. Thoughts?

Thinking of doing 15-20 holes. Would maybe do same as above with one more row at the bottom.

 

[Bill Matthews]

New scientific knowledge inevitably leads to new technology.....Rather than being afraid I think we need to take action to understand and control these changes.....The development of widespread alternative food sources is one answer.....The citation of studies is usually not helpful because the people doing the studies usually have a built in bias that renders their work misleading and useless......The Chooks4Life Soy Protein "replicating alien DNA" comments are very suspect to me....I, like most old fashioned people, wish there was no such thing as industrial agriculture.....I hate the whole thing, totally!!....But I am realistic enough to know that with the ever exploding population of the world old time agriculture cannot feed these human beings....Cheer up a little, Leah's Mom....It's probably not nearly as bad as we sometimes think............Best Wishes Always.

 

[Fred's Hens]

How big should we make each of our nesting boxes guys? I need some dimensions...


I want something like this (wooden) but can't find proper dimensions.. Needs to fit big breeds of chickens. I was thinking 12" x 12", but not sure if that is big enough. Thoughts?

Thinking of doing 15-20 holes. Would maybe do same as above with one more row at the bottom.

12x12 is fine for most breeds. However, we've got some birds that are not "most breeds". LOL Some of these large, standard bred fowl are HUGE and need the larger space a 14x14 or even a 14x16 size provides.

 

[aoxa]

12x12 is fine for most breeds. However, we've got some birds that are not "most breeds". LOL Some of these large, standard bred fowl are HUGE and need the larger space a 14x14 or even a 14x16 size provides.

Thanks Fred. I have some very big Rocks right now. Hens are very large. Biggest Rocks I've ever had.

Finally got some really good Barred Plymouth Rock stock! Not as nice as yours, but the best I've seen around here.

Need to really get some pictures..

So Maybe I'll just do 14x14 to be safe.

 

[armorfirelady]

Aoxa- I made nesting boxes out of empty cat litter buckets ( the buckets that hold the clean litter lol) they are not wide, maybe 12x12, and while my hens are not as big as rocks they def are no small. They are long so the girls get right in there easy enough & somehow manage to turn themselves around and seem to like to buckets. I prefer the plastic because then I have no worries of creepy crawlies living in the wood ad they are easier to clean/disinfect if I need to.

 

[lalaland]

I've seen the larger "communal" nest boxes in use and kind of like them. I am going to put some in when this current crop of chicks gets to point of lay as the 5 boxes I have now probably won't be enough (depending on how many chicks turn out to be roos)

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa- I made nesting boxes out of empty cat litter buckets ( the buckets that hold the clean litter lol) they are not wide, maybe 12x12, and while my hens are not as big as rocks they def are no small. They are long so the girls get right in there easy enough & somehow manage to turn themselves around and seem to like to buckets. I prefer the plastic because then I have no worries of creepy crawlies living in the wood ad they are easier to clean/disinfect if I need to.

I love those kitty litter buckets, and would love to do individual nesting boxes like that for the breeding pens. However, Rod is building the boxes - so I'm getting him to do it just so.

I used a dog food container very similar to the kitty litter ones for my silkies. They LOVE it. Wish I had more.

 

[Mumsy]

Eggs have exploded on my kitchen counter. But....It was my forgetfulness that caused it. They were in a decorative basket and were pushed back where they remained forgotten until....Well you know what happens to rotten eggs? One exploding egg in my kitchen was one too many!

For nest boxes I got lucky in a second hand store. Picked up four wooden light weight cabinets and pulled the drawers out. The hens like them so much and nice and easy to clean. I secured them with bungee cords to the wall and put shingles on top to prevent roosting. They are 14"x14". My Buff Orpington crossed hens fit stem to stern in them just so.



I left the drawers in at first and fake eggs. The hens didn't like that tight squeeze so when they were removed they moved in. They prefer the top box and most days they all use the same one. The bantam RIR pullets are laying now and prefer the solitary box in an a-joining pen.

 

[Sally8]

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 think (if I can remember) my first attempt at incubating turned out very well. I baby sat that thing like I had no life. Today, I tend to let them go longer without turning them, I don't pay as much attention to temps or humidity. (I've been dry incubating for the last couple of years and it works very well on some breeds, especially turkeys). I didn't find it confusing as I had watched my parents. (My parents had a metal round one.) I incubate every year. My advice is to be patient. don't adjust the temp once you have the eggs in and it becomes stable, the first time. Don't overdue the humidity. I recently have decided that my failures during incubation have to do with candling. I will be incubating BCM in a month and have decided that I won't candle or maybe once just to check fertility. I use the Little Giant and because we heat with wood, it has a great impact on temperature fluctuation during the cold months Somehow, I've sold more chicks/chickens than I hatched, this year. How could that happen? lol

 

[farmerfogg]

Check to see if her crop is empty in the morning before she gets to eat. If not she may have an impacted crop and is eating the sand in place of grit. 

The jerky motions is something I see often when they eat too fast or eat too much at once. They are adjusting their crops.

It appears to be impacted. She gets up in the morning with a full, firm crop. Is there anything I need to do to assist her? Or will it work it's self out on its own?