The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[stonykill]

I lost a rooster to an owl this morning. Any recommendations for making the owl go away?

scarecrow and talk radio on 24 hours a day worked for me

 

[loanwizard]

I just set 216 eggs in the incubator. This is the first time using anything other that a styrofoam job. Thinking ahead to what a job candling is going to be and knowing I better or there is gonna be a problem, and that would stink.
I have had it on for 3 days and seems to be holding steady even in the garage.
216,,,, at 3-4 dozen a day, that pushed my 10 day viability belief... I wonder what my percentage will be as I didn't set them all fat side up.... Does anyone get eggs where there is no fat side?
I kept the really dirty ones out but with setting that many I didn't give much thought to genetically perfect eggs.... Too late to have this batch ready for the moult, but I guess that it is better than hatching in November. Still exciting to see what the percentage will be with zero care taken before they were unceremoniously placed in the bator. Never marked the date for my broody, but haven't seen any action from anything but her pecker.... beak, that is.

 

[yellowfuzzies]

Just wanted to say thanks for the suggestion for my hen with the secret egg stash. I moved some of her nest material and a few of the eggs from that nest into a box I made yesterday and this morning she layed in it and did not make a bee line for the old best. Very relieved thanks again.

 

[Alibabe]

the only dumb question is the one unasked.
No, a black sex link is not a black rock, but referred to as a red rock. It is using barred rocks for mothers. The males have dots on the heads at hatch. Both hatch out black, males get bars and females are black with red in neck area.

Thank you Delisha. I have looked at black rocks and thought to myself that was not her but just wanted to be sure

I would love to breed more of her as she is beautiful as a garden chicken for eggs and very sweet natured.

 

[armorfirelady]

...

Helloo, resident lurker Mine seem to be good at ducking for cover too! Not always a legitimate threat but they do react well. They did see a hawk the other day before I did. And you mean I don't have to debone or chop the chicken meat before I give it to them? Bones won't get eaten and stuck?

For the big girls I don't cut anything up. They love a turkey carcass & pick it clean For the tots who are 10 weeks and under I do.

Stony love the pics! We are traveling & my mom a big kick out of seeing momma with her "chicks" Aoxa thanks for the info. I took some pics of Greta's neck feathers. They are getting more copper in them and more copper in her rear nd to lol

 

[pickitfarm]

I've fed an average of a clove of garlic per chook per day in their feed for all their lives, over hundreds of chooks, over years of chook keeping, without any problems. Often the chooks prefer to have an average of five whole cloves each, which would be over 30% of their daily feed ration. I don't know about cayenne or oregano as I don't use either often as they're potent, but garlic's never given me any issues, in fact it's dealt with the majority of issues that commonly crop up seasonally with my neighbour's and friend's chooks. Or I assume it's dealt with them as I never see them despite practicing quite lax bio-security and bringing in birds with those issues without trouble.

Chooks4life - How do you feed your chickens the garlic, is it put in their feed or feed separately? It is crushed up or whole?

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Ok, good news. "Purr Boss" (actually the most docile but perfect colors) laid right after I got home today.

Now I have two so far and the consistent layer is the one who hasn't yet (littlest red neck rebel.... the little most likely to attack the others). Now if I get a warty egg later will know which it is for sure.

Do I assume Purr Boss was wanting to brood and was hiding eggs in the woods? That day she came out of the woods cackling was the first time I had heard it in two weeks. Glad I know for sure she laid again.... and as usual from her the darkest most perfect of all three girls! Breathing a sigh of relief.

Thinking it was either broodiness or the change of food. Couldn't find the organic grain layer and had bought 'Natural Feed Layer' but it was pellets. Since it didn't ferment well (went to more mushy than cornbread batter you added too much water to!) I bought and fermented (first two days just got it wet down from morning til night) those little grain cereal things from Bobs Red Mill you can get at groceries according to the mix for organic feed rations found on this site and the thing and now three days later she laid again......in the nest box.

So feed CAN make all the difference if that was it. Or she was broody looking for a spot outside of the coop. Maybe why she was hardest to get into coop at night.

 

[Bill Matthews]

To Stonykill.....Thanks for the info..........I was the chicken keeper on the farm growing up in KY in the 1950's and my Grandma had a phobia about hens laying in the haymows and under the feeding troughs of the cows and mules in the stalls...She told me to let the beginning layers out of the hen house late morning or early afternoon for about two weeks so that they would get used to the nests..I would come home from the two room country school house at noon to open the doors..There were always lots of morning eggs and fewer at end of day....I think she was assuming that given about two weeks after they started to lay most of the pullets would have hit a morning cycle....I know it worked for me...If anyone lets their chickens freerange(sic) and doesn't want eggs all over the place there aren't many other options.......I really thought about what you said and appreciate the info about the 25 hour egg development cycle......Actually, both your objection and her trick are based upon the same assumption: A group of hens given enough time will lay their eggs one or several times within a predictable time frame....Thanks for the reply. I had totally forgotten about the 25 hr egg development. Also this trick may not work now with pullets other than from a production strain because of the tendency of mixed flocks to commence lay at different times...Best Wishes and Thanks for all the effort you make to help people.

 

[stonykill]

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: Thanks, This is easily done. With children that like to play outside, I'm sure I can have a different look to the area easy enough. I'm also sure they will like decorating the chair differently each night. To think I was doing the exact opposite by making them pick every thing up and put it away at night.
Removing the limb may be harder it is quite high in a dead tree. I've been asking DH to get rid of the tree but it is not an easy task. It also perches on our privacy fence around the pool. We need to keep that. I wonder if there is a smell t hey don't like. I could spray the fence down with it. Maybe I could get my son and DH to mark the area if that would help.

I just set 216 eggs in the incubator. This is the first time using anything other that a styrofoam job. Thinking ahead to what a job candling is going to be and knowing I better or there is gonna be a problem, and that would stink.
I have had it on for 3 days and seems to be holding steady even in the garage.
216,,,, at 3-4 dozen a day, that pushed my 10 day viability belief... I wonder what my percentage will be as I didn't set them all fat side up.... Does anyone get eggs where there is no fat side?
I kept the really dirty ones out but with setting that many I didn't give much thought to genetically perfect eggs.... Too late to have this batch ready for the moult, but I guess that it is better than hatching in November. Still exciting to see what the percentage will be with zero care taken before they were unceremoniously placed in the bator. Never marked the date for my broody, but haven't seen any action from anything but her pecker.... beak, that is.

I have gotten some that looked the same on each end, the egg was kind of skinny too. I did not set them but they taste great and the yolk had the fertile bullseye in the few that I checked. I get one maybe once every 2 weeks. not sure which of my hens is laying them. I do know it is not my limping hen as she lays some of the larger fatter eggs.

Quote: How load did the radio need to be? And does the scare crow need to move or just be moved around the yard every night. I'm sure DH has some old clothes, Although I'm not sure what would be best to use as stuffing. We do not have enough dried grass and straw gets full of bugs pretty fast. Maybe balloons, then the wind could blow the arms around easy enough.