The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[BlueMouse]

excellent, I will PM her so as not to clutter up the thread horribly

 

[aoxa]

I thought these side by side (diagrams? Not sure what to call them) might help some of you guys sex your chicks.

I did two comb side by sides, which is your very first sign if chicks aren't sex linked.






Both sets are FULL siblings. Same mother and same father. It makes an easier comparison that way.


Okay here are some leg size differences too

Colour sexing BPR (can be done as early as 3 weeks) Reliable once feathered out.

If you still aren't able to tell, at 12 weeks and older, look for these signs:

 

[lalaland]

We had a rough night last night.. Had to tell a family that we can't let our puppy go with them. we had a bad gut feeling about them not being suited to our little runt girl, but did not say anything the night they came. We took the deposit and felt this sinking feeling like it was a very bad decision...

They did not take it well... I hate disappointing people. Chloe, the mother told us right away that it wasn't right... Mother knows best right? We met another two people last night for another puppy and Chloe LOVED them, as did we.

I get these same feelings when I sell chickens. I've only ever once made a sale I regret... We need to listen to our instincts in the first place.

glad you listened to your gut! and dogs are pretty good at picking out people, so hurray for you and the little runt puppy girl. think how awful you would be feeling now if you gave in and let them take the puppy.

 

[delisha]

I would send in the chicken in the freezer if it is still intact.



This is my little 7 year old gardener. Double cold frame with hay bale construction north, east, west walls, cattle panel top, gate across front to keep the girls away from the salad bar.




The squash vines that took over my entire garden. Under the mountain of green is a swing set trellis... for my pole beans. 185 pounds of butter cup and red kuri from one lasagna style hill 3' x 4'. The biggest butter cup was 22.5# Tomatoes still growing well in green house.








5 girls... 5 eggs. Lacy... my prettiest and wildest girl, lays the biggest egg. She's currently challenging RIR for top of pecking order. This has been an incredible bee year in my yard. Almost every dahlia blossom has at least one bee sleeping on it in the morning.



The coop... Took me way too long to build it, was supposed to be a tractor, but ended up being way too heavy to move after it was maneuvered into it's final resting place.
Beautiful garden..and coop..I visioned putting little chicks in your habit trail....well when it could be turned into one.

 

[Quailsong]

We had a rough night last night.. Had to tell a family that we can't let our puppy go with them. we had a bad gut feeling about them not being suited to our little runt girl, but did not say anything the night they came. We took the deposit and felt this sinking feeling like it was a very bad decision...

They did not take it well... I hate disappointing people. Chloe, the mother told us right away that it wasn't right... Mother knows best right? We met another two people last night for another puppy and Chloe LOVED them, as did we.

I get these same feelings when I sell chickens. I've only ever once made a sale I regret... We need to listen to our instincts in the first place.

How do you deal with folks like this? Do you just say "BTW..." or do you build up the conversation? I'm sure I'd be nervous of saying 'No' but I def don't want to cave when my gut is against it. The biggest issue is folks would be driving so far to get to my place, so they'd feel they deserve compensation. Do you give this or just say 'sorry'?

 

[Quailsong]

anyone on here make milk keffir? I was given some grains and I haven't been sucessful yet.... it keeps starting to seperate at the top, not the bottom and it has a little discoloration on the top, yellow, trenting to slightly orange. I've fed two batches to the chickens so far (who looooove it) First one I did forget about and let sit way too long. this batch I put in the cabinet next to my tea and checked a few times a day, and it seperated at the top, not the bottom, and the top looked cottage cheesy sort of...... today I was going to try gently rinsing the grains in cool filtered water before I start a new batch....

I make milk kefir, though I've been a bit lax with mine. Keep yours in a place where you'll be near it often, stir every time you pass by. This way it doesn't settle & separate.

Whether this is a myth or not I'm not sure but - In the older days, kefir used to be put in a type of waterskin & hung near a main door, so everyone who passed by had to squish the skin a few times. It was a sort of community thing (whether just the family or not).

 

[delisha]

www.pleasantspringsorpingtons.weebly.com​

I put up a website and was wondering if people would go check it out and give first impressions..and issues they had understanding my layout and any bugs they encountered.
I also have a facebook page under the same name and it would be great if you liked it.. and added on friend list.

Thank you.

 

[aoxa]

How do you deal with folks like this? Do you just say "BTW..." or do you build up the conversation? I'm sure I'd be nervous of saying 'No' but I def don't want to cave when my gut is against it. The biggest issue is folks would be driving so far to get to my place, so they'd feel they deserve compensation. Do you give this or just say 'sorry'?

Oh it was tough.. I left it to Susan. She deals with delinquent youth yelling all sorts of things at her, so she can handle this.. though it did really bother her as well.. the kids were very upset. They weren't bad kids, just hyper.. They would have been a good family for a large breed dog.. one that can handle being wrestled with, or dropped.. I don't feel like this little pup would have been a good fit. For the longest time we thought she was blind, but she was just very slow to develop her sight. She would look into space. She had a big piece of skin missing off her head and the vet wanted us to put her down becasue they have never seen this before.. we decided to give her a fighting chance and treated her all naturally with coconut oil to fight off infection. She healed all up and looks like a healthy puppy now. Had her vet check and the vet said she is perfect, and it's a good thing we didn't listen to the other vet who advised euthanasia!


This is her here. She is a tiny little booger. We want her to go somewhere special for sure. It's hard not getting attached...

I'm overwhelmed with people wanting them today. Big interview process goes on. We are very thorough. We even make them sleep on the decision.

 

[aoxa]

www.pleasantspringsorpingtons.weebly.com​

I put up a website and was wondering if people would go check it out and give first impressions..and issues they had understanding my layout and any bugs they encountered.
I also have a facebook page under the same name and it would be great if you liked it.. and added on friend list.

Thank you.

I see some orpingtons under your Ameraucanas and Wyandotte page, but looks great otherwise

 

[Quailsong]

Oh it was tough.. I left it to Susan. She deals with delinquent youth yelling all sorts of things at her, so she can handle this.. though it did really bother her as well.. the kids were very upset. They weren't bad kids, just hyper.. They would have been a good family for a large breed dog.. one that can handle being wrestled with, or dropped.. I don't feel like this little pup would have been a good fit. For the longest time we thought she was blind, but she was just very slow to develop her sight. She would look into space. She had a big piece of skin missing off her head and the vet wanted us to put her down becasue they have never seen this before.. we decided to give her a fighting chance and treated her all naturally with coconut oil to fight off infection. She healed all up and looks like a healthy puppy now. Had her vet check and the vet said she is perfect, and it's a good thing we didn't listen to the other vet who advised euthanasia!


This is her here. She is a tiny little booger. We want her to go somewhere special for sure. It's hard not getting attached...

I'm overwhelmed with people wanting them today. Big interview process goes on. We are very thorough. We even make them sleep on the decision.

She is a cutie!

Thank you for explaining your methods. I am a big believer in following my gut as it has saved my life & others many times. Unfortunately, I'm a tiny person & as the expression goes I 'wear my heart on my sleeve' X100. I'm very open & child-like in appearance, so some folks tend to (maybe subconsciously) stand over me in a "I'm in charge" type of way. I can't deal with folks yelling at me. I take it personally & feel guilty for days, months, even years. I think I'll try your method of letting folks sleep on decisions & maybe even putting in a disclaimer in a contract saying that for any reason I can decide to pull from a sale.

And then I'll just let my partner be the one to be the 'mean guy' & say 'No'. He's a big guy so nobody would mess with him.

As an aside, I'm also scared of folks trying to take revenge. Atm, my lot isn't secured (no fence) & I've no lock on my coop. I've read so many stories of jerks coming back to stomp on birds & destroy things. So I'm def looking to secure my yard asap as a discouragement to such actions. Even looking into security systems & other self-defense options.