The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Kind of off topic on this question but - what kind of incubator are you using? Have you used it before with good results?

I'm hoping that your bleach percentage is too low to cause any problems !!

 

[aoxa]

Kind of off topic on this question but - what kind of incubator are you using? Have you used it before with good results?

I'm hoping that your bleach percentage is too low to cause any problems !!

Jamie said he has often cleaned eggs in a bleach water solution and had no problems with them hatching. Not sure the bleach did it.

 

[Sally8]

Kind of off topic on this question but - what kind of incubator are you using?  Have you used it before with good results?

I'm hoping that your bleach percentage is too low to cause any problems !!

No, I normally use Bleach to clean the incubator with. It's a Little Giant styrofoam and i usually use Bleach and water, let it sit for a couple hours outside, then dump it, rinse well and leave it in the sun for a day. BUT, it was 2:30 am, i didn't like the smell. did no waiting between cycles and i could still smell it. it was totally my fault. The incubator is several years old. I had incubated eggs 1 day at a time for over a week. It was probably a bacteria smell. I'll continue to clean using this method but waiting in between.
Not only am I over stressed but over chicked as well. I still didn't mean to kill them.

I have great results with my own eggs (90+ %) but this year I had 3 different doz shipped. The silkies, only 1 hatched out of 12 and then I ran over it with the car. The super blue egg layers 6 hatched out of 14 and the Barred Rocks 2 out of 12. So I'm saying if maybe they weren't shipped, I'd have better luck ( or not clean the incubator in the middle of the night)

 

[armorfirelady]

Sue if I could have unlimited chickens I certainly would get more from you. The tots are so healthy and growing so well. I would have a yard full if I could. Especially a few more EE .......Edie is so good and friendly I do love their personality.

Glad to hear George is doing so well also. He was still afraid of the hens here. Guess he still has some more maturing to do,

Reds back in the nesting box on top of the 2 extra golf balls I put in since one of the other hens was on the other one and Edie was pacing. She apparently likes to lay where another "egg" is even if its the golf ball variety Lucy is eating oyster shell so I am guessing she must be getting close. I haven't tried to see if she would squat for me or not. Heck Edie never squatted till after she started laying

 

[Leahs Mom]

Question for those who feed raw meat:

For feeding ground meat, what is your best method of feeding to give ALL the birds an opportunity to get nearly the same amount.

I find that they become so crazy that, depending on how I feed, some don't get any or get very little compared to others. So far I've tried:

-Tossing small pieces on the ground in a wide area so they can all try to get some.
-Putting a larger chunk into several plates and putting them around an area that they have to bite a piece off a larger chunk
-Putting small pieces broken off into several plates on the ground as above.

I've probably had the best luck with having multiple plates with small pieces broken off on them. However, I think there must be a better way! I'm only talking about 10 birds but I can't even imagine how you'd feed as many as Aoxa or Delisha have so I'm hoping they'll chime in and give their method!
.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Question for those who feed raw meat:

For feeding ground meat, what is your best method of feeding to give ALL the birds an opportunity to get nearly the same amount.

I find that they become so crazy that, depending on how I feed, some don't get any or get very little compared to others. So far I've tried:

-Tossing small pieces on the ground in a wide area so they can all try to get some.
-Putting a larger chunk into several plates and putting them around an area that they have to bite a piece off a larger chunk
-Putting small pieces broken off into several plates on the ground as above.

I've probably had the best luck with having multiple plates with small pieces broken off on them. However, I think there must be a better way! I'm only talking about 10 birds but I can't even imagine how you'd feed as many as Aoxa or Delisha have so I'm hoping they'll chime in and give their method!
.

I feed wet food, so if I was to feed ground meet, raw, I might just add the water to the meat and top with the feed then stir and feed the chickens. Normally I would let the wet food sit for a while but not if I was going to put meet in it. That said so far I only have small numbers of chickens that I have even tried feeding raw meet to or cooked meet and they would not touch it. I think they wre to young because the older birds loved the meet. I just don't want to feed my production birds meet.

Is there any part of the chicken that I can't feed back to the birds or need to cook first? If it is nice tomorrow DH and I plan to process a few roos.

 

[Quailsong]

Question for those who feed raw meat

I haven't had chickens in a while, so take my exp how you will.

I'd use it as incentive for the birds to get closer to or into the coop at night (+ full crops). I'd want to encourage that activity, so I'd reward the ones who ran up first with a couple treat dishes. They'd end up healthier/stronger, more tame, & would be my ideal breeding birds.

I'd just mix the meat w/ raw eggs & cooked/sprouted/FF grains (kinda like making turkey stuffing). If it was more than 10 birds I'd call 'em in, break off small chunks & fling them around me. This way the meat is fairly spread & the aggressive chickens can't grab all the food at once.

 

[armorfirelady]

I've tried separate plates, putting in multiple spots, etc. those big girls are PIGS and follow me around. If they even THINK the tots have some 30'ft away one of them comes running to chase the tots away

The only time I had success was feeding the big girls outside then going in the coop & waiting for the tots to come in then block the coop door to keep the big girls out.

It's he same way for any meat, eggs, or yogurt. I could make a giant batch for my 8 hens and still would have the same scenario. Those big girls gorge themselves and there is usually very little left. And yes they do get fed FF so they are NOT starving lol

 

[gevshiba]

Lucy is eating oyster shell so I am guessing she must be getting close. I haven't tried to see if she would squat for me or not. Heck Edie never squatted till after she started laying

This made me wonder, when should I offer oyster shell? My turkeys and roosters are 17 weeks and my pullets are probably 18-19 weeks. I think Speckled Sussex usually lay later, correct me if I'm wrong. They get 16% grower, fermented. I try to give BOSS, meat, eggs and kefir at least once each per week. I try to let them free range several times a week for an hour or two, but I lost a turkey hen yesterday to, probably, a coyote. I usually stay with them, but had started leaving them out mid afternoon and putting them up in the evening because it's over 100 degrees here. They do have a large run, but not covered. My pullets (I have 3) are great foragers, despite not going far from the coop. They really don't eat much of the ff. The Buff Orp roosters ( I have 3) are worthless and 2 are going in the freezer as soon as they fill out more. The BBB turkeys range too far for safety! We are on the edge of Corp of Engineer land that surrounds a lake, so very overgrown and wild. With a lot of turkey luring grasshoppers! So anything else I should be providing? Thanks!

 

[CoopChick719]

coopchicken panting is a sign of stress or high temp..bacterial, lung, or both problems in the coop. Makes sense with your wet hot weather. It also might have cocci as a secondary issues. You might want to do an autopsy with your lost bird to help point you in the direction you need to go with the living.

I am sorry for your loss

Thanks delisha. I was thinking of doing the autopsy but wouldn't be able to do it until tomorrow. When I saw the bloody roost, I was just going to bury her so didn't refridgerate her.

Bummer, coopchick.

Panting is not really a sign of Cocci.

Are you sure the bloody poops were blood and not intestinal lining? I'd hate for you to medicate hens that don't need it. Cocci isn't usually a big problem for grown chickens, as they've developed an immunity. Unless there is a big overload where they are.

If you can move your hens to fresh ground it would be very beneficial. Usually barren runs are a problem.

I just finished dealing with Cocci with young chicks. Lost three white silkies to it. It was a real shame. I am hoping that the others are fine. They are eating and drinking and running around like chicks do when healthy. One is smaller than the others.

I have no more Corid on hand. Hope they are good now. Our temperatures have dropped thankfully. No more 100 degree days for a couple weeks now.

The poops were bright red. The intestinal lining I've seen has looked more like raw meat. I don't want to medicate if I don't have to but that blood is worrying me. I've been dumping old shavings, grass clippings, wood ash & finished compost into the run hoping to keep it from being raw dirt. I have no place else to put them. My tractor is too small & not safe with the fox & coon that I've seen in the area.