The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

Japanese beetle control, plant 4 O'clocks, they LOVE them and can't resist eating them, however they are deadly poison killing w/i minutes of eating. No smelly traps just beautiful flowers.




Some of mine this year

Kass! My absolute FAVOURITE flower! They last all season long and are SO easy to grow!

I have never seen a Japanese Beetle before.

 

[NanaLynn]

I think LynnEBC has a nice coop. I would be happy to have one like it. My old barn is cobbled together with found windows, boards, and a mish mash of add ons. My mom calls it "half a bubble off", referencing a carpenters level. But if it works good, looks don't matter.


In the heat of the afternoon, my old shed of a barn and yard has few birds. A half dozen HRIR looking for shade.

Thank you Mumsy! I like yours too. I love reusing items to create something unique and functional. We only spent money on 2x4's for the run and I found hardware cloth 100' rolls on Amazon with free shipping for a great price. Plus we had a lot of nice tools, building supplies and equipment that my husband purchased over the years, it was nice to get more use out of them. Saving money is important and necessary for us.

I hate clipping wings. Especially the Jakes.. as I feel like crying seeing them strut without their full feathers.

I didn't realize turkeys could fly easily, learn something on here each day. I don't like the idea of clipping my chickens wings either. Seems unnatural, but that's me. Plus, if the wings were clipped on my birds a few weeks back, the ones who flew away from the dog attack would not have survived.

Sally and Mumsy: Those are such pretty turkeys!

 

[aoxa]

I didn't realize turkeys could fly easily, learn something on here each day. I don't like the idea of clipping my chickens wings either. Seems unnatural, but that's me. Plus, if the wings were clipped on my birds a few weeks back, the ones who flew away from the dog attack would not have survived.

Sally and Mumsy: Those are such pretty turkeys!

Yep... They sure can fly. They used to sleep on the roof of our previous two story barn.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Folks have commented on the flavor...

Yogurt and Kefir use different cultures also. Yogurt is made with "thermophillic" LAB cultures (proliferates at a higher temperature...you know how you have to culture yogurt at around 110 - 112 degrees F.)

Kefir uses a mix of bacterial cultures and yeasts. The culture is "mesophillic" which means it proliferates at a "medium" temperature. Kefir cultures at room temperature quite well so there isn't the need to heat and hold the kefir at a higher temperature like yogurt during the "make" process.

You know how kombucha has that "fizziness" to it? Kefir is similar - it has a "yogurt-like" tang with a bit of fizz (although I have had kefir that never got the fizz.)

You might want to try some store-bought kefir (if you can find a brand that is as close to the "real stuff" as possible) and see if you like the flavor/texture. Lots of folks like it and some don't. And some like to avoid anything that is cultured with yeasts for various reasons so they stick to the yogurt.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I think LynnEBC has a nice coop. I would be happy to have one like it. My old barn is cobbled together with found windows, boards, and a mish mash of add ons. My mom calls it "half a bubble off", referencing a carpenters level. But if it works good, looks don't matter.

Me too

 

[Leahs Mom]

Kassaundra - I'd love to learn how to capture those June bugs like was mentioned earlier as another source of feed!



Quote: I saw this on a Garden Web Forum Thread:
Seems like we could rig something (like ml said) to capture them...or simply just a shallow pan w/ the alfalfa in it... to draw them in. Wonder if the chickens would eat them right out of the water pan?


PS: Also read that putting a pan under a porch light at night attracts them. They fall into the pan and you can take 'em to the chickens in the morning. So... maybe even sitting out a small light in the evening could attract them in.

 

[wlhtx]

I definitely do not recommend our way of catching June bugs. Back in May when they were so bad here, we would turn on the outside lights once it got dark in the evenings. Then DH and I (and our 6 yr old boy) would go out and just wait for them to fly into the side of the house, then we'd just pick them up off the ground and put them into our son's big bug bucket. I swear we probably picked up 200-300 of them over a course of a couple weeks, at least. A lot of our chicks were still in brooders then, and we would spend hours watching chicken football.

I can't help but feel certain that we are the only crazy people on the face of this planet who have lured and hand-caught hundreds of June bugs for the purpose of feeding chickens. I'm just thankful no one was there taking a video. I can only imagine how goofy we must have looked!

 

[Bulldogma]

Japanese beetle control, plant 4 O'clocks, they LOVE them and can't resist eating them, however they are deadly poison killing w/i minutes of eating. No smelly traps just beautiful flowers.

Some of mine this year

Beautiful!!

I think LynnEBC has a nice coop. I would be happy to have one like it. My old barn is cobbled together with found windows, boards, and a mish mash of add ons. My mom calls it "half a bubble off", referencing a carpenters level. But if it works good, looks don't matter.
I love love love your pictures Sally8! I especially am very fond of those turkeys! Mine learned how to fly up against the gate of their pen tonight and managed to push it open! My husband was grilling steaks outside and says,"Did you turn the turkeys loose in the orchard?"
I go running out there and yep. Sure enough. All five are wandering around the barnyard in a tight group looking very pleased with themselves. Hah! They were easy to put back away.

I agree - LynnEBC - I like your coop very much! And Mumsy - I adore the rustic feel of your coop/barn! I have a hoop coop that has a decided lean to one side, an ancient tarp of an ugly color on top and an all-round odd look... but it serves its purpose.

I definitely do not recommend our way of catching June bugs. Back in May when they were so bad here, we would turn on the outside lights once it got dark in the evenings. Then DH and I (and our 6 yr old boy) would go out and just wait for them to fly into the side of the house, then we'd just pick them up off the ground and put them into our son's big bug bucket. I swear we probably picked up 200-300 of them over a course of a couple weeks, at least. A lot of our chicks were still in brooders then, and we would spend hours watching chicken football.

I can't help but feel certain that we are the only crazy people on the face of this planet who have lured and hand-caught hundreds of June bugs for the purpose of feeding chickens. I'm just thankful no one was there taking a video. I can only imagine how goofy we must have looked!

 

[delisha]

I definitely do not recommend our way of catching June bugs. Back in May when they were so bad here, we would turn on the outside lights once it got dark in the evenings. Then DH and I (and our 6 yr old boy) would go out and just wait for them to fly into the side of the house, then we'd just pick them up off the ground and put them into our son's big bug bucket. I swear we probably picked up 200-300 of them over a course of a couple weeks, at least. A lot of our chicks were still in brooders then, and we would spend hours watching chicken football.

I can't help but feel certain that we are the only crazy people on the face of this planet who have lured and hand-caught hundreds of June bugs for the purpose of feeding chickens. I'm just thankful no one was there taking a video. I can only imagine how goofy we must have looked!

lol..fun for the kids

 

[aoxa]

I definitely do not recommend our way of catching June bugs. Back in May when they were so bad here, we would turn on the outside lights once it got dark in the evenings. Then DH and I (and our 6 yr old boy) would go out and just wait for them to fly into the side of the house, then we'd just pick them up off the ground and put them into our son's big bug bucket. I swear we probably picked up 200-300 of them over a course of a couple weeks, at least. A lot of our chicks were still in brooders then, and we would spend hours watching chicken football.

I can't help but feel certain that we are the only crazy people on the face of this planet who have lured and hand-caught hundreds of June bugs for the purpose of feeding chickens. I'm just thankful no one was there taking a video. I can only imagine how goofy we must have looked!

I just shuddered.

I would pick them up with something (not hands because Junebugs give me the creeps!) once they were dead. The chickens liked them dead or alive.

I think I'll set something out like a rubbermaid tote under the light and let them fall into it for easy feeding the next morning. I won't do alive.. *shiver*