The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[ChickChickChicky]

Hmmm I will try some seeds, don't have any calf manna but I might try meat. They clearly like chicken

. I'm considering trapping my big Tom cat in the people portion of the coop for a few days.

If you don't have any luck with just the BOSS (and/or cat) try getting some Calf Manna. Your birds will love it and it's a great treat & conditioner for them. It's been awhile since I bought any but don't think it's too expensive, and a little goes a long way (in other words, a bag will last a LONG time). PS - Calf Manna smells great too, has a strong licorice-type smell (although I wouldn't eat licorice if you paid me, I still think it smells wonderful)!

I think meat in the traps would probably work too, just hope you don't draw in any coons or possums with the meat. Dry cat food also works well to attract rats. And don't forget, if you bring in your cat, to disarm all of the snap-traps or you could be looking at a dead or seriously injured cat.

 

[aaggjg]

I'm in Los Angeles too! Yay! Where are you in LA? I am just about dead center in LA city near Baldwin Hills.

Are you taking about Amber Waves Silkies? They will also do a one time rooster return/swap for less than the DNA test, of course you then have to start over if you are unlucky but it gives you an out at least. They are very nice and have lovely birds.

Yep Amber Waves.... My friends got some dwarf? goats from them that are the CUTEST things EVER!!!!

I am in West LA.....

 

[ki4got]

Quote: THANK YOU!!!

What's got me asking about the phosphorus is the level that might be in ground bone. I got some inexpensive "dog food" meat from one of the local butcher that includes ground bone. I've been hesitant to feed it due to the levels of raw ground bone in there. Just trying to decide whether to send on to a friend for dog food or try some for the chickens.

it isn't the amounts you worry about, but proportions. and the calcium/phosphorous balance in raw bones is just fine. I wouldn't worry too much about using it unless you were feeding it as a large portion of their daily meal. I would say, for layers, it should minimize the need for oyster shell somewhat. ground bone is way more than just calcium/phos. it's also all the good stuff found in the marrow and cartilage, which makes up a larger portion of the bone itself usually, than just the hard part you see on the outside. the actual ossified bone matter is very thin in most cases (especially if it'll grind). any weight bearing bones usually won't grind and are sold off as soup bones.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: Interesting.

I just know that "in the wild" a bird probably wouldn't be eating bone ground w/ meat. Meat, yes. And if it is a mouse, snake, or other similar small item they probably DO eat the bones. But as you say, the bones in that meal are relatively little.

I love this butcher. They are selling "bone dust" from the grinding machine that is mostly meat that needs to be cleaned out of the the machine and a little bone for .50/lb.

If they do a mix with liver, chicken skin and bones, and the bone dust, they charge $1/lb.

If I get just the liver it's .50/lb.

 

[Anna6]

Where are you in SoCal??? I live in Los Angeles ..... I hatched all the ones I have and I LOVE THEM .... I bought my 1st silkie chick at a feed store (Kahoots) but it turned out to be a boy ... then I decided I wanted better quality ones ... so I got some eggs from Catdance in WA.... I know there is a silkie breeder out in Norco who will do DNA testing so you can make sure you get a girl ... Its not cheap though ....

I LOVE my silkies they crack me up every day!!! Hope you find some for your girls!

We are in the SD area. How many did you order and how many actually hatched. We do have an incubator, Hovabator Genises 1588 with egg turner, but we just have our first batch of Barn Yard chickens in it. (gift from a friend- EE rooster and several different breeds of hens) I am hesitant to order eggs because I am scared of having a high number of losses and it costing me in the long run. If your experience was really good I will definitely reconsider. It would be fun to hatch our own silkies. I can just imagine the girls following the whole process and then having these adorable chickens at the end. We plan to caponize the roos and since a silky is more of a tiny pet, he will most likely have a very long life.

 

[delisha]

Quote: 1. remove all food out of the coop..do not feed in the coop
2. Move the food in a secure area (cement bunker)
3. Set traps where chickens do not have access.

Quote: Interesting.

I just know that "in the wild" a bird probably wouldn't be eating bone ground w/ meat. Meat, yes. And if it is a mouse, snake, or other similar small item they probably DO eat the bones. But as you say, the bones in that meal are relatively little.

I love this butcher. They are selling "bone dust" from the grinding machine that is mostly meat that needs to be cleaned out of the the machine and a little bone for .50/lb.

If they do a mix with liver, chicken skin and bones, and the bone dust, they charge $1/lb.

If I get just the liver it's .50/lb.
great information..
I would be getting some of that bone dust
liver for that price is wonderful

you worry too much...

 

[Leahs Mom]

Just have to think these things through and not "force" feed something that could be detrimental....

 

[TeaChick]

why would you think a crock pot would work?

I read on here somewhere (not this thread, on BYC) some woman finished an egg in her crock pot; she put it in the crock pot at night and in her bra during the day, etc. I didn't realize how impossible it is to regulate the temp or that it was going to be way too hot.
Yes, I see the idiocy of it now, but at the time, I really thought it would work.

Sorry it didnt work out for you .... My first hatch I heard the chicks peeping and nobody hatched ... It was SO DEPRESSING .... I have no idea what went wrong. Luckily I had a second incubator going that hatched a few days later. It is heartbreaking after waiting 3 long weeks for not one chick to hatch so I feel your pain!

When you candled did you see the black dot moving in the shell?? There is nothing cooler then candling eggs and I think it is so cool to share with kids!! Try again .... watching them hatch is SO COOL. Now I want to hatch chickens!!!

Thank you. Yeah, that's awful; glad you had two going at the same time. =)

No, DH helped me with most of the candling (I'll be doing it by myself now that I've figured out how to do it without him) and he didn't just sit there with the box and the flashlight like a good candling box would, so I just got to make sure the air sac was getting bigger and that there was a blotch in there. I had no idea the blotch was the white cooking and I thought the air sac got bigger as the chick developed, not as the egg cooked. Ugh.

 

[delisha]

Quote: I don't think it was idiotic at all....... I think it was very creative. I know because of experience and knowledge that it would not work in a traditional sense, but, I think one could be improvised that would work. Most slow cookers and crock pots have too high of a temp to work. But with some adaptations it would work. The biggest thing would be air holes. The next would be insulation and heat regulation. You might get it to work by putting it in an insulated box with the top off and the eggs setting above the crock pot..the possibilities are endless..

 

[aaggjg]

We are in the SD area. How many did you order and how many actually hatched. We do have an incubator, Hovabator Genises 1588 with egg turner, but we just have our first batch of Barn Yard chickens in it. (gift from a friend- EE rooster and several different breeds of hens) I am hesitant to order eggs because I am scared of having a high number of losses and it costing me in the long run. If your experience was really good I will definitely reconsider. It would be fun to hatch our own silkies. I can just imagine the girls following the whole process and then having these adorable chickens at the end. We plan to caponize the roos and since a silky is more of a tiny pet, he will most likely have a very long life.

I hatched silkies a few times... The first time was my 1st hatch every and not one hatched ... It was a real bummer .... but the 2nd one 2 hatched ... then I got some free local silkie eggs and almost all of them hatched! Shipping does a real number on the eggs. Once I got my hatching skills up I ordered some from Catdance and had a good hatch maybe 7 or 8 out of a dozen ... and then I did it again and with more or less the same results ... but I put a few of those under a broody hen who got confused and switched nests. Silly girl. Barnyard is a great way to start as they are easier to hatch as they haven't been damaged in the mail. There is a great thread that shows you what the inside of the egg should look like on each day.

Anna Are these your first chickens?? Are you fixing the roos so that they wont crow?? I have never tried that but from what I understand it is very expensive, does not always prevent the Roo from crowing and can kill the chicken. just food for thought

Teachick Here is the link to the thread, so that you know what to look for in the egg..... The black dot in the middle will pulse like a heart ..... as the chick grows to fill the egg it will be really dark in there and hard to see anything. The air sac does not indicate a growing chick it just lets you know that enough moisture has evaporated from the egg to make a big enough space for the chick to turn and pip into & supply it with air until the external pip. Ok here you go :
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation