The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[stonykill]

I'm impressed as well. Also cool that she is using this time off to molt. Might as well do it when she's not laying anyway.

I have been thinking the same

 

[TexasLisa]

Good Morning!

Aoxa, the barn is absolutely beautiful! I can't wait for you and Susan to fill it up with your animals!

Okay, I have a couple of questions: I have been raising 4 Barred Rock chicks (4 weeks old), in the house. They almost have all their feathers. They go out at first light to a pen and I bring them back in at dusk. Their outdoor pen is inside the big girls outdoor run. I let them free range in the afternoon for a couple of hours under my care. The big girls for the most part ignore them but when my cocky chick (I'm thinking a roo), decides to run at them, he gets pecked. When can I let them stay in the coop with the other chickens and let them free range all day?

Thanks!

Lisa

 

[aoxa]

I have been thinking the same

I had two hens do that last year. I was very impressed at their timing. So they were even extra grumpy than regular broodies.

Good Morning!

Aoxa, the barn is absolutely beautiful! I can't wait for you and Susan to fill it up with your animals!

Okay, I have a couple of questions: I have been raising 4 Barred Rock chicks (4 weeks old), in the house. They almost have all their feathers. They go out at first light to a pen and I bring them back in at dusk. Their outdoor pen is inside the big girls outdoor run. I let them free range in the afternoon for a couple of hours under my care. The big girls for the most part ignore them but when my cocky chick (I'm thinking a roo), decides to run at them, he gets pecked. When can I let them stay in the coop with the other chickens and let them free range all day?

Thanks!

Lisa

Thank you Lisa!

I have been letting my 5 week old chicks (and 4 week old duck) free range as long as weather permitting. We've been getting a lot of rain as of late (and with that it's pretty chilly), so I let them out when it stops raining and warms up a bit. I'm not worried about the older birds though. The chicks can hide/get away fast enough.

You can do it whenever you feel comfortable doing it. They are going to get pecked, but that's part of the integration process.

 

[aoxa]

Leigh,

I posted these pictures on sexing your EE thread, and everyone loved the visual. Maybe you can use them for your thing.

PS: Post 15,000 for me.. Had to make it here

 

[lalaland]

They sure seem to have very little feathers for 3 weeks. How hot do you have the heat lamp?

Oh and chick pictures; Taking them out of their brooder seems to be the only way. They are too fast. Which is why you never see me have pictures of them in the brooder

Well, in most of the brooder, which is 10' x 8', it is averaging about 65-70 degrees. The windows are open, sometimes the door if I am there, and outside temps range from 55 - 75 rignt now depending on night or day. there are breezes (read drafts) but they can warm up if they want. There is a heat lamp that is in one corner, I don't know the temp directly underneath it, it just warms the wood shavings - the little banty runs under it and recharges there.. When I've turned off the heat lamp, the banty within minutes starts to chirp in distress. Thats in broad daylight so it isn't the lack of light.

There are other chicks of different breeds that are much more feathered and some that are even less!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: We decided to keep her in our garage for a little while. So we gave her a cardboard box with some shavings, but no front ledge to jump over. The roosters started circling her when I tried to put her back in the coop this morning. I guess they knew she could not get away.

Quote: Glad to hear your guy is doing better. I really don't want to put this hen down as she lays great and her eggs are larger than the other hens' eggs.

Lovely duck pictures Stony. I have the eggs you sent me in the incubator now. I would say they look great but it would not mean much as I don't candle till day 10. Your packing job was wonderful none of the eggs were even cracked.

 

[mlowen]

Quarantine questions: I am almost finished with my coop/run. My preference/fantasy is to find 4-6 pullets (Barred Rock, Light Sussex, and Silver-laced Wayandotte) all living at the same farm, so I can bring them all home together. I know this is unrealistic. So I most likely will find one breed at one place. No quarrantine problem. BUT if I ordered a couple from two (or three) different places, I would want to/need to quarrantine, right? I only have the one coop/run. I'm in a residential neighborhood (can have up to 12 hens, but am feeling like 6 is plenty) and have spent all my money on the main coop/run so I don't have space/money for extra safe coops/runs. Advice? Thanks.

 

[stonykill]

.

Lovely duck pictures Stony. I have the eggs you sent me in the incubator now. I would say they look great but it would not mean much as I don't candle till day 10. Your packing job was wonderful none of the eggs were even cracked.

cool. Only 1 person reported a cracked egg. Out of maybe 35 dz shipped so far this year. Hatch results vary depending on how bad the PO beats them up. The best was 11 of 13 developed. Only 7 hatched but 11 of 13 developed. A few of hers died while haatching, a few others were late quitters. Good luck!

 

[aoxa]

Well, in most of the brooder, which is 10' x 8', it is averaging about 65-70 degrees. The windows are open, sometimes the door if I am there, and outside temps range from 55 - 75 rignt now depending on night or day. there are breezes (read drafts) but they can warm up if they want. There is a heat lamp that is in one corner, I don't know the temp directly underneath it, it just warms the wood shavings - the little banty runs under it and recharges there.. When I've turned off the heat lamp, the banty within minutes starts to chirp in distress. Thats in broad daylight so it isn't the lack of light.

There are other chicks of different breeds that are much more feathered and some that are even less!

Sounds ideal. They still are only 3 weeks. Need heat for a while yet

Quarantine questions: I am almost finished with my coop/run. My preference/fantasy is to find 4-6 pullets (Barred Rock, Light Sussex, and Silver-laced Wayandotte) all living at the same farm, so I can bring them all home together. I know this is unrealistic. So I most likely will find one breed at one place. No quarrantine problem. BUT if I ordered a couple from two (or three) different places, I would want to/need to quarrantine, right? I only have the one coop/run. I'm in a residential neighborhood (can have up to 12 hens, but am feeling like 6 is plenty) and have spent all my money on the main coop/run so I don't have space/money for extra safe coops/runs. Advice? Thanks.

This is a tough one. In a perfect world I would quarantine separately, but since you can't, what can you do?

Are you getting adult birds?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quarantine questions: I am almost finished with my coop/run. My preference/fantasy is to find 4-6 pullets (Barred Rock, Light Sussex, and Silver-laced Wayandotte) all living at the same farm, so I can bring them all home together. I know this is unrealistic. So I most likely will find one breed at one place. No quarrantine problem. BUT if I ordered a couple from two (or three) different places, I would want to/need to quarrantine, right? I only have the one coop/run. I'm in a residential neighborhood (can have up to 12 hens, but am feeling like 6 is plenty) and have spent all my money on the main coop/run so I don't have space/money for extra safe coops/runs. Advice? Thanks.

While not the fasted way, if you have a garage or basement or anywhere you can house 1 bird for 30 days, then get them 1 at a time. A back shed if it can be sectioned off would work great.
Another option is to build a small A frame tractor style coop with a roost bar for the new bird. But these are not easy to make animal proof and keep mobile.
Another option is a 5 ft x 3ft x 2ft high pen for each bird. Also not super safe at night but you would be able to cheaply make a few of these to get the birds at the same time. Not a ton of space either but enough for 30 days. it would need to be covered with a tarp to provide shade and rain protection. They would need to be place with a decent amount of space between them too. And I'm not sure it would really provide that much protection against airborne stuff.

Quote: I just want two or three hens at the most. So 7 hatching would be great and give me wonderful odds of getting 2 girls.