The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aaggjg]

do you have turkeys?

No...

 

[aoxa]

The female is very loud. The male does quack but I find it sounds a bit raspier like my male(Whom im thinking might not be a pure runner. he looks really big and round to be pure. I know you said some of the runner eggs had a chance to be mixes. He looked pure runner as a baby but now he looks more like rouen-ish in body or pekin. He looks just like my other two. no tall lanky runner look

Some of her runners had a bit of East Indie in them.

 

[lalaland]

You might try "deep litter"-ing your run. Just throw in any leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps, etc. and that will build up the soil and attract good bugs. At least in the worst bare area. It might help & won't hurt. Some people also build little raised beds out of 2x4's and cover with chicken wire, to grow greenstuff. They can eat the greens but not scratch them up completely.

Lalala start throwing down grass clippings, weeds, leaves, pine needles, whatever you have in your bare areas. It will break down and replenish the nutrients in your soil. If you could block of a part for a few weeks you could throw down some seed and let it grow. I was thinking like the stuff you put in your garden when it's finished for the year (sorry I forgot the name of it) but clover would work also

Most of the bare areas are under the pines, and it has been so droughty this year. just dust. I have been putting hay, leaves, weeds from the garden under the trailer coop and in part of the bare dirt, but it is just scratching heaven for the girls.

good idea to block part of it off - could do that and reseed and let it rest for a year.

off to hardware store for a sprayer. I am going to spray the coop with goat lice spray, been messing with these mites for months it seems. time for the big guns for the coop. I'll stick to the sulfur for the girls though.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

On the lighting in coop subject. I have a 4W nightlight I leave on 24/7. It to give just enough light for the birds to see, should anything get in. And it is so I can see without disturbing them or needing a flash light. It is not bright enough to affect laying patterns

 

[BlueMouse]

Thank you everyone for your kind words. I'm really discouraged. My flock is so small, it makes it hard to deal with, both financially and emotionally to lose birds. My DH is outside right now finishing installing a piece of fence which should (hopefully) keep the chickens from going down the driveway to the place where the fox catches them. Maybe that would help. I will try the tennis balls with ammonia in them. I would get the poultry net exept for two things 1) we can't afford it right now 2) The hens free range in the yard and my one year old plays in the yard. I'm a little worried about the combination of electric fence and baby. The older two I can warn, and if they get zapped anyway they would learn, but he wouldn't understand I don't think. It would be lovely to have electronet for grazing the turkeys too. they haven't been able to be out of the tractor as much lately because they showed an interest in visiting our extremely crabby neighbor.

On the subject of coop lighting we're talking about installing a solar light in our coop for winter. Our coop is underneath three huge old pine trees, and directly under the hill. Even in summer it's in heavy shade more than half the day. The window is facing towards the hill, and doesn't get any direct light. So I'm thinking about putting a solar light on a timer inside the coop, set to go on about sunrise, and go off around noon when the coop is brightening up. Since the birds seem to spend more time actually in the coop during the winter I thought that might be a good solution. It's not really supplemental light to increase laying, just making it so they actually get the same amount of light as the rest of us in spite of the unfortunate location of the coop. I don't have any electric in my coop, and may not ever, so this seems like it might be a good solution. This is assuming the stupid fox doesn't eat the rest of my poor chickens before then....

 

[Leahs Mom]

Since we're talking about foxes...wondering if anyone has trapped a fox successfully? I've read about it and it seems pretty hard to do, but do-able in the live traps. Not so sure I'd like to have a live fox to contend with, but just curious if anyone has done it.

BM...Very frustrating. So far I've been very fortunate (or blessed - however you want to look at it) that I haven't had losses to preds. It just makes me sick to think about your situation.

 

[MumsyII]

There is power in my barn and chick house. I keep some lights on in the breeder pens because the inside of the barn is so dark even with all the windows. There are six cockerels housed separately in there right now. Even with the boys penned together there was so much fighting between the top boy and the lower ranking (all others) That blood and wounds were becoming common. When I was at Catdance Farm, I saw she kept all her extra roos caged alone too. This makes for more work for me at watering and feeding but there is peace now and the wounded boys are healed and their condition has improved a lot. Makes it very easy for me to change up my breeding. I can put a hen or two with who ever is next in line without removing the roo from his cage.
I won't use this method with the HRIR. Top cock will run with all the layers with one roo in reserve.


I really like having individual lights in each cage in the barn. Power switch is off at 7 pm every night after closing up time. I have very low voltage bulbs. No hens are in the barn during the day except to lay. In the chick house I don't use any lights. It has a greenhouse roof and windows. I heat chicks with a porcelain 250 w bulb meant for reptiles for chicks up to three weeks. Off during the day. On during the night.

There are motion lights on the outside of my barn next to the porch. I would like another set out where the turkey hoop coop is.

 

[delisha]

I just wanted to say that so many of you are giving such good advise..keep up the good work and share your knowledge..

Well.... I'm about ready to give up on this whole free ranging thing. Which means that I'm about to give up on this whole keeping laying hens thing... Lost TWO chickens today. Assuming to the fox. Both the cornish that I was keeping to breed from, and, much worse, the buff orpington chick that I hatched from my pair this spring. I'm down to my rooster, one hen, three pullets, and the cockerell that we're probably slaughtering in the fall with the turkeys. I'm so discouraged. Tried the game camera, a trap, walking my dog around the perimeter of the property. I've lost seven chickens in two months. Turkeys and meat birds are safe in their tractors. I don't have a run to shut the layers up, and I don't really want to keep my chickens confined to a run. With the way the shed we converted to a cook is situated there's no way for me to build a run that I would consider spacious enough, not to mention a fox proof bird containing run would be expensive. I'm at a loss. And heartbroken over the cheeplet.

Sorry for your loss.
It is tragic when you loose birds to predators. You have received good information and suggestions. I wish I could offer more.

Quote: Than I do not have a single suggestion and i wait for more information and knowledge when you get your test results.
I am sorry you are going threw this.

There is power in my barn and chick house. I keep some lights on in the breeder pens because the inside of the barn is so dark even with all the windows. There are six cockerels housed separately in there right now. Even with the boys penned together there was so much fighting between the top boy and the lower ranking (all others) That blood and wounds were becoming common. When I was at Catdance Farm, I saw she kept all her extra roos caged alone too. This makes for more work for me at watering and feeding but there is peace now and the wounded boys are healed and their condition has improved a lot. Makes it very easy for me to change up my breeding. I can put a hen or two with who ever is next in line without removing the roo from his cage.
I won't use this method with the HRIR. Top cock will run with all the layers with one roo in reserve.


I really like having individual lights in each cage in the barn. Power switch is off at 7 pm every night after closing up time. I have very low voltage bulbs. No hens are in the barn during the day except to lay. In the chick house I don't use any lights. It has a greenhouse roof and windows. I heat chicks with a porcelain 250 w bulb meant for reptiles for chicks up to three weeks. Off during the day. On during the night.

There are motion lights on the outside of my barn next to the porch. I would like another set out where the turkey hoop coop is.

I might have to cage my silkie male by himself..he will not leave any birds alone. He is trying to breed even chicks for crying out loud, I have never had this before.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

bluemouse, sorry to hear that. Once a fox finds your flock, I've never heard of anyone successfully free ranging without LGD's. I managed for 4 years, and then, had to build a run. It is time and epense to build a run, but you can make it as big as you can afford (fencing). Mine is bigger than my house, and has 5 fully mature pines in it, plus some other trees. I do lose a hen to hawks about once a year or so. after 5 years half of the ground is bare dirt and in the half that still has grasses, all the edible weeds like dandelion and clover are long long gone. I don't think it will take that long for the last half to go, plus the dirt just doesn't seem healthy to me - if you dig into it, there aren't a lot of bugs. I know it is time to plan on building a new coop and fence in another run. I'm lazy, I hate the idea of putting down new fenceline, and honestly, money is tight so it will take me a couple of years to be able to do this. So, time and money....but I am going to start collecting the stuff i'll need (fence, wire, posts, and a shed.

It sounds like you have nice large run. A few have already suggested the deep litter method. I'm going to expand on that idea in detail for you, trying to keep in mind that your run is larger than a house so well over 1000 sq ft.
First to cover that kind of square feet you are going to need a lot of litter. I recommend calling a few tree trimming places ask asking for them to drop off the trimmings. (Thank you Leah's Mom as she first told me about it.) Now when they drop off the trimmings, there are a few things that make them different than the shavings you might buy for your coop. First the trimmings are going to be larger pieces sometimes even sticks that are skinny but long. Then there are going to be bugs in the trimmings as well as leaves with the exception of stump grindings. Due to the leaves, you may need to wait a few days before moving the pile but that can kill any grass you have the pile on. Just a few things to consider. Another thing is that it takes lots of time and effort to move a pile big enough to cover 1000 sq feet, try to pick a nice shady spot for your pile that is also close to the run.
Next about planting new grass, there is typically a fall planting time and a late winter planting time. I recommend the fall planting time if you are already going to be adding the litter this fall. After all you don't want to add litter 4-8 inches deep only to seed and straw over it. Next since chickens like seeds, I recomend putting the chickens up while you are seeding until you have the seed covered with at least 2 inches of litter. Since the litter will break down and your chickens will likely find some of the seeds, I also recommend over seeding the area. Now most grass seed has a recommended 1/4 inch for a covering, since you are using trimmings and since your chickens will be stirring up the trimmings, the 2 inches or more of litter covering your seeds should not be a problem. The grass, clover, and other stuff does come up even with the trimmings since the the trimmings start to break down during the winter and the extra trimmings also help even out the amount of chicken fertilizer so the grass is not over fertilized.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

We don't light our coops, but we do have outdoor LED holiday lights strung all around the ceiling of the shed. This gives enough light to work without casting shadows or using a lot of electricity. We bought these in the post season sale. My only complaint with them is the strobing ... they aren't blinking lights, but have a barely perceptible frequency like fluorescents have ... if I'm moving around a lot the frequency of the lights can bug me. It made me sick at first -- apparently I'm sensitive. We were thinking if we ever wanted to add light hours to the coops, that a string of these LED holiday lights might be a decent solution.

I was at Costco yesterday and saw they have all kinds of motion sensor LED lights for indoors and out. And non- motion detector options too, of course.