The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[TeaChick]

I lost two of my old chickens and 4 chicks. I have three in the house I am worried about. They are Gold laced Orpingtons. One I will cull and send to the lab if they make it in a month or so. I want to make sure I can use them for breeding and they do not have damage. If they have damage I will consider gathering eggs, hatching a bunch and butchering out my flock. I have several friends that have my chickens I can get my BBS going again, but not my Gold laced. I just hope it did not do permanent damage and I do not think I did. It was such a short period of time and I got them drenched pretty fast and recovery was so quick.

So glad things are looking up. I'm sorry you're losing any!!! Hope things work out well with getting the breeds started back up that you want to. =)

 

[TeaChick]

Well, there's your problem. I had to replace a tatty old water pan (which was blue) and all they had at the store was red.

My hens attacked it for a week straight before they realized that's where the water was!

That sounds like something my chickens would do.

 

[TeaChick]

Any idea why my rooster crows in the middle of the night.

 

[ki4got]

Any idea why my rooster crows in the middle of the night.

can he see a light on somewhere? if mine can see the porch light it sets them off sometimes. tho the light stays on 24x7 usually. only seems to happen on the movable coops when I move them certain directions.

 

[ki4got]

ok, well everyone over 4 weeks old has moved outside to a baby pen... debating if I need to add heat or if they'll just pile up and huddle. there's 3 sfh hatched 9/16, 7 hatched 10/13 plus 2 bantam blrw (9/4) an older bantam blrw pullet who's out of quarantine and been caged with a couple of the younger girls, and a 6 month old cochin cockerel who's also been quarantined but is clean, also been caged with the older girl for the last few days...

the older girl and the cockerel have been outside before, the others this is their first time out of the brooder, besides roaming the floor. LOL

going to wait and see what they do when it starts to get dark. the pen and house both have a nice thick fluffy layer of clean shavings, so if they all huddle like I think they will, not sure heat will be necessary.

it's currently about 40 degrees, low of 28 tonight is predicted... they've been in the 60s for the last couple weeks.

 

[TeaChick]

can he see a light on somewhere? if mine can see the porch light it sets them off sometimes. tho the light stays on 24x7 usually. only seems to happen on the movable coops when I move them certain directions.

I don't think so. I do keep a light on in the house b/c I have a LO who needs to see, but the corner of the yard where the hen house is doesn't "see" that light and I don't think there are neighbor lights.
I was worried that it was a predator, but I didn't want to send DH out on a wild goose chase in the middle of the night, so I thought I'd ask here first.

 

[fosterson]

Quote:
Because they're roosters. :/ Mine crow whenever they darn well please.

 

[TeaChick]

Quote:
I was afraid of that.

At least I can only hear them when I'm already up; I don't think they wake up anybody in the house.

 

[Scott H]

ok, well everyone over 4 weeks old has moved outside to a baby pen... debating if I need to add heat or if they'll just pile up and huddle. there's 3 sfh hatched 9/16, 7 hatched 10/13 plus 2 bantam blrw (9/4) an older bantam blrw pullet who's out of quarantine and been caged with a couple of the younger girls, and a 6 month old cochin cockerel who's also been quarantined but is clean, also been caged with the older girl for the last few days...

the older girl and the cockerel have been outside before, the others this is their first time out of the brooder, besides roaming the floor. LOL

going to wait and see what they do when it starts to get dark. the pen and house both have a nice thick fluffy layer of clean shavings, so if they all huddle like I think they will, not sure heat will be necessary.

it's currently about 40 degrees, low of 28 tonight is predicted... they've been in the 60s for the last couple weeks.

Karen, I think I'd put a lamp where they could use it or not at 28dg....Mine used it for a while last spring at that temp and eventually moved to the coolest part of the coop by an open window. They were 8 weeks old when they weaned themselves from the lamp.

 

[TeaChick]

Slightly OT:

My DS told me that he's into chickens.

He helps me in the evenings.

The next step will be for him to help me take care of my chickens in the mornings (when he learns to be quiet and not talk about everything under the sun just b/c he's excited).

(He's a little like his mother.

)


In a year or two, I plan on giving him some laying hen as a starting flock.

He wants to breed a heritage breed and he wants to raise his chickens naturally.

The only thing is that his flock will be in a pen and he & I will build a coop and all.

I'm so glad that one of my kids is as into raising chickens naturally as I am.