The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[CourtsCacklers]

Yeah that's right she is hiding & looking guilty!!! Know why?? This scrappy little thing CROWED again. Marched right up the hill to the upper patio, looked down on the other hens and crowed. She's got in trouble!!! She isn't even the Alpha hen

Oh my goodness-- I definitely have a hen that is similar.... haven't heard her try to crow yet but she puffs her feather in times of authority and flaps her wings.... mine is the alpha.... I keep thinking-- just crow already!

 

[TeaChick]

Yeah that's right she is hiding & looking guilty!!! Know why?? This scrappy little thing CROWED again. Marched right up the hill to the upper patio, looked down on the other hens and crowed. She's got in trouble!!! She isn't even the Alpha hen

IDK whether I hope one of my hens learns how to crow or not....... Hmmmmm

 

[aaggjg]

IDK whether I hope one of my hens learns how to crow or not....... Hmmmmm

This is #2 crowing hen .... The other one is the Alpha a Splash Marans and she marches all the girls up to the lower patio to forage. She goes to town and the other girls usually come back down well before Pearl notices... Well the minute she notices she starts YELLING and sometimes crows... I've try to put a stop to the crowing and show her that I am the Alpha hen... but obviously the other hens are learning her BAD BEHAVIOR!!!

 

[armorfirelady]

I'm late to the discussion regarding the color inside the egg but I had a good excuse....Edie was not laying at the time I'm baking today & I remembered to see what the inside looked like. Pretty blue thru & thru

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
they need to relax hunting restrictions on deer not bring in more predators that may or may not actually catch and eat them... for us here, bow season is extended until april 1, and you're not ALLOWED to take an antlered deer during normal hunting times until you take at least 2 antlerless... bow season is a plus for my freezer, for sure. we've bagged 5 so far, during normal hunting times (1 bow, 1 black powder, 3 rifle) but already the meat is getting low, so it's time to add some more. (feeding raw to dog, chickens, cats, mostly)

 

[TeaChick]

This is #2 crowing hen .... The other one is the Alpha a Splash Marans and she marches all the girls up to the lower patio to forage. She goes to town and the other girls usually come back down well before Pearl notices... Well the minute she notices she starts YELLING and sometimes crows... I've try to put a stop to the crowing and show her that I am the Alpha hen... but obviously the other hens are learning her BAD BEHAVIOR!!!

Uh-oh!!!

You keep showing her who's boss!!!

 

[hellbender]

OK...time to be forthright here. I've been having a bit of fun at RedRidge's expense.

While the Komondorok, Akbash, Caucasian Ovacharka and other Old World guardians are supremely efficient in their tasks, they are generally not reliably safe to keep at large in this letiginous society. They are quite liable to land you in court (or jail) because they are rather indiscriminate when it comes to whom or what they consider actual threats.

The Maremmas are very good at their job, will keep home and livestock safe without too much worry of some innocent (or not so innocent) person being killed. Their formidable presence will ward off all but the most insane human predators ( reason for packin') and few animals will challenge them head on!

RON

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Question:
I see some ppl on here (BYC and/or NCK) saying that they incubate in an incubator, then they hatch elsewhere. I don't understand, can somebody please explain?
I was under the impression that the chicks hatched in the incubator.

I need to catch up on NCK.
But as for your question I use a still air incubator as my hatcher. Here are the ways it helps me.
1. I can use my 1588 fancy digital incubator for multiple settings of small batches of eggs of varying sizes.
2. I can have eggs set every 6 days and not need to change the settings on the 1588.
3. I have found it easier to maintain a higher level of humidity without the use of a fan. There is no way to turn the fan off in my fancy incubator. Thus the still air has an advantage for the last 3 days. Still monitoring the temps in the still air can be annoying.
4. I only need two incubators as long as I'm setting smaller batches. If I was to leave the eggs in the incubator they started in, I would need 4 incubators to set eggs every 6 days.

 

[Shan30]

Snares aren't traps and they are very effective.

I'd not worry about black bears.  There's a high ridge on my property where several dens are located and DNR comes in every year and tags them.  

They have been known to take stock but they are the least of my worries...they avoid contact with any dogs and are taught to run  and climb a tree by their moms. Bears will eat fresh meat if they have to but they prefer carrion, along with grasses, berries, grubs, roots...etc.

Just a word of caution... I never used to worry about them either until last summer.

I was trapped in the coop by two black bears who would not leave despite yelling, banging, throwing objects at them and two very upset large dogs loosing their minds. (I had left them in the house) I managed to run to the house when they moved behind the coop and grabbed the 12 gauge. Unfortunately they had already found themselves a chicken breakfast and gone back to the woods.

They spent the entire day (I went to work not thinking they would come back with the dogs now outside going crazy) eating chickens. Unfortunately the dogs cannot get to the chickens as one would probably eat them but it blew my mind that they would come that close to a dog.

One was shot by my husband that evening and the other was shot in a playground nearby. Turns out they had raided two other poultry farms out our way. Being that we raise prey animals and are hunters we spend a great deal of time in the woods and have noticed over the last few years that predators are becoming far bolder.

Lesson learned, gun safe in coop

 

[aaggjg]

Oh and I forgot to mention, my hens think it is Spring... can't say I blame them as we have barely had a winter this year

but most have started laying agin and I even have 2 who have gone broody ..... One little sizzle is sitting at the way back of the coop and every time I go to collect eggs someone is laying ... Well I went to get the eggs on day 2 of her being broody. I opened the nest box and there were a bunch of eggs in the box next to her.... I looked at her and said silly chicken the eggs are over here. Then I thought I should feel under her just to make sure she doesnt have 1 .... Well there was 1 barely under her. I thought oh well you got 1 ... Then I decided to move her and 10

YES 10 eggs were under this tiny little hen... Not so silly after all! .... She was looking at me saying silly human ....