The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Mrs Hutcherson]

Question....
Some of my girls should start laying in the next week or 2, I've ben collecting egg shells and crushing them up, should I wait to give them until they start laying for a calcium boost or start now?
Please and thanks!

 

[aoxa]

Sending good thoughts your way, hoping Friday is a gorgeous day.

Since marriage is now legal in minnesota for everyone, effective aug 1, more than 50% of all marriage licenses are going to gay men and lesbians....and I've been to 6 weddings, skipped 4 and have two more to go! all these folks who have been together 20 -30- even 40 years! some very sweet ceremonies.
wishing you and Susan the best this weekend

Thank you So far Friday AND Saturday are perfect temps and sunny!

It's been 8 years now since same sex marriage has been legal in Canada nationwide. I feel very lucky that we have that option.

Our dresses are not conventional at all. Everything about our party afterwards is country. Mason jars.. wild flowers.. We're doing caramel corn for wedding favours and I designed our own wine labels and invitations (with some inspiration). I've linked our pinterest album where we got a lot of our ideas. Our house is too small for the party, so my parents are hosting it at their cottage. Plus that allows for us not to have to clean our place before and after as well We're doing gourmet sandwiches, cheeses, carrot cake, lemonade, and veggies.



The wine label.

Sorry this is so off topic. Maybe I should bring a chicken lol

 

[armorfirelady]

Question....
Some of my girls should start laying in the next week or 2, I've ben collecting egg shells and crushing them up, should I wait to give them until they start laying for a calcium boost or start now?
Please and thanks!

I have oyster shell & egg shells out for my laying girls even tho the tots were with them. The tots ignored it all and the big girls ate what they needed. I have never seen my girls who are not laying even taste the oyster shell or egg shells. They know when they need it

 

[armorfirelady]

Since a couple of our chickens "possibly" have favus or fowlpox, how does that affect eggs and meat? Should I be concerned about eggs and meat also if I forego natural treatment and use conventional treatment?
Thanks!

I hope you do some more research to see if your hens have anything. My hens occasionally have black spots on their combs but they don't have any symptoms just those spots. They seem to come & go? I have had the big girls for over a year & the tots since May. They are all very healthy & happy. I kind of think of the spots as something like freckles. I have even seen them at fairs on the hens in the poultry barns.

Here's a pic of Lucy my EE/BCM mix who has a few. Its not a good pic but you can see them (she was busy eating yogurt & trying to get as much as she could before the big girls pushed her away

)

 

[lazy gardener]

I can't speak to any diseases affecting combs, however, my BSL was hatched with a BLACK comb. When she started reaching POL, the new tissue was red, like you'd expect, however the black pigment remained, so now her red comb looks like it's covered with black pin-dots. Her wattles (?sp) are completely red.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I get the black spots too with no issue.

Rooster boy had black spots when he was younger....I'm sure he had "issues" when the older ladies would grab him by the comb and wattle and take him off the pullets

Left him bleeding which developed into black spots more than once!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Justine - I love that pinterest board!

My daughter got married in the barnyard and had her reception in the barn of an old homestead that had never had electricity or running water on the property. My hubby (mostly) and I decorated the whole barn and even built a stairs to the upper level lofts so that we had enough seating. We brought in a generator for electricity and they had portable pit toilets as there was only an outhouse on the land!

It was wonderful and homey.

Your things are so pretty!

I'm sure you'll LOVE the way it all turns out! And your food sounds great


ETA: Here's a link showing my daughter's set-up...The magazine asked her to do a piece on barn weddings so this is her article if anyone is interested. http://digital.ipcprintservices.com/publication/?i=67036 Begins on page 20/21.

 

[aoxa]

Justine - I love that pinterest board!

My daughter got married in the barnyard and had her reception in the barn of an old homestead that had never had electricity or running water on the property. My hubby (mostly) and I decorated the whole barn and even built a stairs to the upper level lofts so that we had enough seating. We brought in a generator for electricity and they had portable pit toilets as there was only an outhouse on the land!

It was wonderful and homey.

Your things are so pretty!

I'm sure you'll LOVE the way it all turns out! And your food sounds great

I've been instructed I am NOT ALLOWED to wear my rubber boots. No fair lol

I would have loved to have it here, but thinking of all the people and the goats.. and the possibility of any of the chickens or geese being chased by children.. yeah doesn't sound stress free to me.
Not to mention clean up.. which I already did

Your daughter's wedding sounds like it was amazing!

 

[delisha]

Since a couple of our chickens "possibly" have favus or fowlpox, how does that affect eggs and meat? Should I be concerned about eggs and meat also if I forego natural treatment and use conventional treatment?
Thanks!

Favus is a white powdery fungus. Even in early stages is looks like someone sprinkled baby powder on a comb. It has a leathery feel and texture. I see blues and purples in the comb discoloration. To me it says hormones, too much heat and or and lack of O2 or a chicken that is too fat. it might be my computer, but I do not see either disease. Can you post more pictures of the whole bird and more of the head?


Fowlpox looks like chicken pox

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Favus/Favus.html

 

[Alibabe]

Thank you So far Friday AND Saturday are perfect temps and sunny!

It's been 8 years now since same sex marriage has been legal in Canada nationwide. I feel very lucky that we have that option.

Our dresses are not conventional at all. Everything about our party afterwards is country. Mason jars.. wild flowers.. We're doing caramel corn for wedding favours and I designed our own wine labels and invitations (with some inspiration). I've linked our pinterest album where we got a lot of our ideas. Our house is too small for the party, so my parents are hosting it at their cottage. Plus that allows for us not to have to clean our place before and after as well We're doing gourmet sandwiches, cheeses, carrot cake, lemonade, and veggies.



The wine label.

Sorry this is so off topic. Maybe I should bring a chicken lol

Sounds wonderful. Good luck for your special day. Your board is beautiful, please post more pics from the day.

to you both.