The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Pozees]

I have found having wet hair help some, also wearing one of those neck cooling scarves helps a lot. They say not to freeze the scarf but I still put it in the freezer for 20 minutes to quickly cool them down. When all else fails I will wear damp clothing, or even turn the hose on myself. Now we have air but there were a few weeks last summer we did not or that the air just could not keep up.
A dehumidifier can help too but only to a point.

I just had my first 100% hatch rate. It was only 9 eggs but still after all of the trouble I had with shipped eggs it made my night tonight to come home and see that last one out of the shell.

Woo hoo!!!

 

[NanaLynn]

Lynn, thats great news!

Thank you! Her eye is almost completely open now too. Weirdest thing, but I am happy she is going to make it.

got to watch a mama deer stroll into my meadow off the porch ....she stood there and looked around for a very long time, and then did something with her head and lo and behold, up from the grass comes the twin fawns. She nursed them, and then they all bounded off. I knew there was a reason I wasn't mowing that meadow!

Ahh, that is just too sweet!

Lynn so glad to hear your hens are doing better. I have used blue kote before and it covers very well and last a few days. Just watch your fingers on the sprayer. I ended up with purple fingers for several days

Lala- I so envy you. While I do get deer in my yard it surely isn't as pretty as a momma and her twins in a meadow

Thank you and thanks for the tip about the sprayer, I'll be sure to use rubber gloves. I didn't even think of that.

Yesterday we had thunderstorms and a flash flood in the creek around our house. I think one of our speckled sussex hens got swept away in the rising water where she likes to hang out in the afternoon. Then last night a raccoon somehow opened a very difficult spring-loaded latch on my large broody-breaking pen and got my last remaining silkie. Three ameraucanas escaped into the garden to hide, and my buff orpy was just sitting there this morning with the gate open. We found feathers where the silkie was dragged over a fence into the woods. I have used that pen for a couple of years to raise chicks and break broody hens. This summer I think I have had to break 20 broodies. We are going to try the raccoon trap again, although we keep catching our cats over and over.

Wow that is awful, so sorry about your chickens. I hope that you can trap that raccoon.

Lynn,
Glad your chickens are recovering

Ewwww!

Lynn, very glad to hear your remaining survivors are recovering.

Eggcessive, bummer. What does raccoon scat look like? We are beginning to think there may be one hanging around, finding odd scat about, today's was full of black beetles. We never see whatever it is.

Thank you both!

Justine- I hope that your chickens are doing better and you caught this breakout in time.

 

[delisha]

Quote: 100% is a mile stone. You now have your hatcher at the perfect temp and humidity. I love 100%. I do quite well with my own eggs. I have shipped eggs in the incubator now and I am going to see if my hatch rate is higher than it ued to be for shipped.
what was your secret? What did you do different?

 

[starlingdaly]

So I have witnessed my chickens eating wild mushrooms lately (with all the rain, mushrooms are coming up everywhere it seems).
Maybe I'm just paranoid but some of these mushrooms have red caps.... I just keep telling myself that they know what they can eat and will be fine.
I think my mom just drilled in my head so deeply during my childhood to never never ever even TOUCH a wild mushroom because you could die!!!!

 

[lalaland]

just spent an hour picking wild strawberries - most the size of a pea seed. they are so delicate - cleaned them and gave the chicks the cleaned part (stems, the little green caps, and the smushed ones) - gone in an instant.

not the most logical way to spend an hour or two when there are soooo many chores to do, but you have to make hay while the sun shines. I ended up with maybe a cup and half.

off to the feed store, those chicks have gone thru 50 pounds in 5 or 6 weeks.

 

[aoxa]

Justine,
How are the chicks doing?

Actually 100% better. There were 2 a little slow yesterday and both are fine this morning. All running, roosting, scratching, dusting, eating and drinking!!

Didn't medicate their water yet. Like you and Mumsy said, it is better to be sure. Well maybe, just maybe it was something else. The vet said something about ecoli from hatching. Well I lost 15 I think. Susan removed a lot and is a terrible counter. I tried to count them, but they move so fast. I think at least 10 were red sex links.

I may start free ranging them tomorrow.. But I'm worried about the older birds coming in their pen. Not so much them outside together, but the older birds keep going through the pop door on the older chicks' pens and laying their eggs in there. The duck is also quite large and those RSLs are tiny. The meaties are 2-3 times their size now at 10 days old.

 

[aoxa]

I have found having wet hair help some, also wearing one of those neck cooling scarves helps a lot. They say not to freeze the scarf but I still put it in the freezer for 20 minutes to quickly cool them down. When all else fails I will wear damp clothing, or even turn the hose on myself. Now we have air but there were a few weeks last summer we did not or that the air just could not keep up.
A dehumidifier can help too but only to a point.

I just had my first 100% hatch rate. It was only 9 eggs but still after all of the trouble I had with shipped eggs it made my night tonight to come home and see that last one out of the shell.

100% is a mile stone. You now have your hatcher at the perfect temp and humidity. I love 100%. I do quite well with my own eggs. I have shipped eggs in the incubator now and I am going to see if my hatch rate is higher than it ued to be for shipped.
what was your secret? What did you do different?

I like hatching smaller batches. It's easier to hit 100% and it is a good feeling!

So I have witnessed my chickens eating wild mushrooms lately (with all the rain, mushrooms are coming up everywhere it seems).
Maybe I'm just paranoid but some of these mushrooms have red caps.... I just keep telling myself that they know what they can eat and will be fine.
I think my mom just drilled in my head so deeply during my childhood to never never ever even TOUCH a wild mushroom because you could die!!!!

I've read that it is important to get rid of these wild mushrooms because they can poison your hens. I am not sure if that is true, but you may want to check out this: http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/mushrooming/poisonous-mushrooms

just spent an hour picking wild strawberries - most the size of a pea seed. they are so delicate - cleaned them and gave the chicks the cleaned part (stems, the little green caps, and the smushed ones) - gone in an instant.

not the most logical way to spend an hour or two when there are soooo many chores to do, but you have to make hay while the sun shines. I ended up with maybe a cup and half.

off to the feed store, those chicks have gone thru 50 pounds in 5 or 6 weeks.

Did I share this picture here yet?

We picked hopefully enough for the winter.. Need more...

 

[delisha]

Quote: Set up a seperate temporary pen for them, and block out the older birds. I can't tell you more than you already know.

 

[delisha]

My strawberries ssuffered in the rain this year..I might have gotten two pounds total and not enough to make jam. Joe is so sad..

 

[delisha]

Side note about flushing:

If you have a fire pit with wood ash available to chickens....the chickens will eat pieces of burnt wood. (Chickens are pretty smart)