The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[jlynnet]

Not sure where the picture went. 2nd try!

 

[Quailsong]

I scored big time at a little garage sale = found 3 old farming livestock books for 25 cents each. I'm reading the poultry sections - one is written just around the time of "modern" foods being introduced and the author is advocating against them. He suggested milk or buttermilk for an animal protein. Based on what I read, I switched of the two waterers to milk in the chicks pens.

They love it. I"ld go for buttermilk if I could find any of the real stuff. I'm old enough to remember what buttermilk tastes like, which is not what you get in the cartons at the store!

I find Kefir growing in goat's milk to be a VERY close taste to the old style buttermilk. I love buttermilk but I've issues with lactose, yet not with goat milk!

Thanks for the milk idea. I may try that for my quail, along side some fresh water. I know they're closer to being wild birds than chickens but we'll see how the milk works for them.^^

 

[aoxa]

Not sure where the picture went. 2nd try!

Pretty birds!

 

[gevshiba]

Here are one of the Sussex and BO. The BO had mites and is almost feathered in now. The Sussex was picked on. My question is, why only the Sussex? They have a large coop now and I don't think they are overcrowded. One BO and tom will be leaving this weekend, so 2 less. I do think they are bored though. I can't separate. The neighbor is already complaining about the coop. I have to do the best I can with what I have at this time.


Here are the turkeys. They were just settling down from an airplane flying over, thus the red heads.

 

[countrygirl74]

That is a busted air sac. Not dangerous at all. It will be reabsorbed by the body itself within a few days. Countrychick had a NN with quite the large ruptured air cell. It went away if I am not mistaken. I've also had quite a few like this.

Yep - it went away on it's own just fine and it was HUGE. While I was waiting for it to dissipate, it would grow and shrink depending on how full her crop was too - so you can expect some fluctuations...

 

[countrygirl74]

Aoxa - you know my two NN girls.... so maybe you can help me...

Out of the blue, and it seemed so sudden - my really naked one started turning really red and grew a bigger comb and wattles. The other girl (bowtie) is not as red and has much smaller comb and wattles. Is my Squeaky a boy after all with this sudden change? OR, is she just maturing faster than the other? They are both going on 16 weeeks now.

Bowtie girl "Tango"


NaNa "Squeaky"

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa - you know my two NN girls.... so maybe you can help me...

Out of the blue, and it seemed so sudden - my really naked one started turning really red and grew a bigger comb and wattles. The other girl (bowtie) is not as red and has much smaller comb and wattles. Is my Squeaky a boy after all with this sudden change? OR, is she just maturing faster than the other? They are both going on 16 weeeks now.

Bowtie girl "Tango"


NaNa "Squeaky"

She's going to be an early layer like Joy was Still a girl.

Probably will start laying in a few weeks.

Here is a good video on how to tell a productive bird, vs a non-productive one. Works well with young pullets to determine if at POL.

 

[countrygirl74]

She's going to be an early layer like Joy was Still a girl.

Probably will start laying in a few weeks.

Yay! Thanks!!

 

[stonykill]

5 new to us Khaki Campbell's on our farm. 2 of them are camera shy and not pictured

 

[boyswillbeboys]

My 2 day olds settled in for an afternoon nap, all 46 babies puzzled together, none on top of another, just laying side by side.

There is one, the littlest, who is missing most of the fluff when she stretches out her neck, I have seen her picking at her down a lot more than the others. I'm not sure if she is being picked on (haven't seen any of that) or if she's done it to herself.

They are all doing well on plain water, and bagged feed, they weren't mailed, so I decided to skip sugar water or electrolytes, two dirty butts, but nothing pasty, one with a bit of yolk it didn't absorb (thought it was pasty, but realized it was attached, and not actually anywhere near the vent, I'm thinking it should fall off in a day or two)