The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

Yup. Well, the top one is hay storage, half of the rest seem to be nest/roost. All the coops I saw growing up were done like that, with shelves and sometimes shelves built into cubbies. My girls do prefer the spot closest to the corner for nesting. I also messed up on the height... I started out going 12" high and then started second-guessing myself; I wanted large breeds and thought I'd best switch to 15" high.

its always so interesting to see the way coops are built differently in different parts of the world. Never have seen shelves like that in your coop. Seems very practical!

 

[Kassaundra]

@lalaland , about the roosters. I have not had any roos that were aggressive to the hens (except new young boy hormone overdrive and mating). Right now I have 3 young roos and way to few hens for those boys, but two are waiting for their new homes (they should be leaving in a week or two) one roo has a hen that has pair bonded, but the other two boys including the alpha roo don't harass her at all.

I can't imagine flogging the hen in your lap, if he really was "protecting" her seems he would have flogged you.

If I had hens afraid to go out and not allowed to eat b/c of a roo, and I knew it was b/c of the roo, I would not tolerate that roo's behavior.

I would probably schedule time to have each roo w/ all the chickens at a time when I could watch closely to see how they interact alone w/ the the flock and how the hens respond to them, then based on that make the descision of who if any stay. It may need several days to truly see.

 

[lalaland]

@lalaland , about the roosters. I have not had any roos that were aggressive to the hens (except new young boy hormone overdrive and mating). Right now I have 3 young roos and way to few hens for those boys, but two are waiting for their new homes (they should be leaving in a week or two) one roo has a hen that has pair bonded, but the other two boys including the alpha roo don't harass her at all.

I can't imagine flogging the hen in your lap, if he really was "protecting" her seems he would have flogged you.

If I had hens afraid to go out and not allowed to eat b/c of a roo, and I knew it was b/c of the roo, I would not tolerate that roo's behavior.

I would probably schedule time to have each roo w/ all the chickens at a time when I could watch closely to see how they interact alone w/ the the flock and how the hens respond to them, then based on that make the descision of who if any stay. It may need several days to truly see.

thanks Kassaundra.

I agree about not having a roo that harasses the hens. It was just hard to tell over this winter when they were spending so much time inside in less than spacious quarters.

Good thought about watching the roosters alone with the flock, I didn't do that last fall when choosing who would stay, just watched them all together.

I was a little shocked that I almost culled Booster and then just hours later added the sulmtalers to his new digs.

Added the third sulmtaler hen this morning, less than 24 hour separation, and there was a bit of a ruckus with pecking order.

Both roosters are not quite a year old. Both flocks calmer after the separation. I know I wouldn't get rid of Buster/alpha rooster because he is so good with the hens (except the sulmtalers!). The sulmtalers are huge:



I only kept Booster/jr roo because he was such a good eye in the sky. This past fall, when I culled the extra roosters, I thought Booster would be on trial - if life in the coop with two roosters wasn't going to work then it would definitely be Booster who would be soup.

So now it is still winter and below freezing today again - so watering will be no fun with no electric in the little coop, but it is only a few months before it will be warm enough not to worry.

 

[armorfirelady]

Could we do a list of our top 5-10 things each of us have learned that have helped us raise healthy chickens in a natural way? That might be a good starting point

I had a partial list but decided to do a better list
1. fermented feed (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds)
2. coop with lots of ventialtion even during the winter
3. chicken first aid kit. My top 2 items are Nustock & blukote. I use them both for many things. scrapes, bare feather spots
4. freezer full of veggies for the winter for the chickens. Gather pumpkins free after Halloween, check fruit/veggie stands for free veggies
5. always have herbs on hand-basil, garlic, etc They have many, many uses & benefits. (http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/06/herbal-remedies-all-natural-medicine.html)

 

[kimmers]

I had a partial list but decided to do a better list
1. fermented feed (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds)
2. coop with lots of ventialtion even during the winter
3. chicken first aid kit. My top 2 items are Nustock & blukote. I use them both for many things. scrapes, bare feather spots
4. freezer full of veggies for the winter for the chickens. Gather pumpkins free after Halloween, check fruit/veggie stands for free veggies
5. always have herbs on hand-basil, garlic, etc They have many, many uses & benefits. (http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/06/herbal-remedies-all-natural-medicine.html)

Thanks for the list. I had not thought about herbs.

 

[RedRidge]

Quote:
Mine would be.... In THIS order...
1) Out on grass and rotated to new grass as frequently as possible... only in the coop at night year round. This one thing prevents SO many other problems... available sunshine, bugs, forage, dusting, and lack of boredom that could lead to other bad habits. You simply don't have to fight parasites, sanitation, or a balance diet with this one item.
2) LGDs to make #1 easily possible.
3) Animal protein supplements in the winter months when bugs are available.
4) Fermented grains when supplementing the good ole outdoors
5) Gravity feed all water whenever possible with nipples or nipple/cup combos. This means less water work, much cleaner water, and no frostbite.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Boy am I behind!

Where are you able to purchase your Countryside? Do you have to order it shipped or does a nearby store stock it?

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have a question, I am planning on getting 3 silkies, but probably only should get 2. I've always liked odd numbers of things.... Would just 2 silkies be alright in a mixed flock of full sized hens?

Haven't gone all the way to the end...not sure if anyone answered about the silkies? @delisha
or @aoxa may be able to answer that.

And....Aoxa is in her busy time at work and with breeding so her time is limited and she isn't on as much right now.... probably after Tax time is over with before we see her much

Guess I shouldn't mention that the high is 80* here today. We have a front coming through tomorrow. 40mph wind gusts and only 59* for the high.

Another heavy snow here this morning. It took down the light weight bird netting I have over the kennel run for hawk cover.

Usually the snow just falls through it or I can shake it off but this stuff is heavy and icy. I'm surprised there haven't been more electric lines down. It was "warm" enough that it is icy on everything. Had a hard time getting into the kennel gate!

Supposed to be 2 Degrees F. again tonight.

 

[RedRidge]

Yeah I'm pretty well over this crazy weather. It's 68 right now and i was just thinking maybe I could wash or Carhartt's once final time this year.
But NO! Supposed to be 22 in the morning! :-0
Seriously! ?!

Shearing day is a week from tomorrow - let's hope this is the last of it. Grass is greening up and I'm ready to get the sheep and cattle to summer pastures next week!

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
Mine would be.... In THIS order...
1) Out on grass and rotated to new grass as frequently as possible... only in the coop at night year round. This one thing prevents SO many other problems... available sunshine, bugs, forage, dusting, and lack of boredom that could lead to other bad habits. You simply don't have to fight parasites, sanitation, or a balance diet with this one item.
2) LGDs to make #1 easily possible.
3) Animal protein supplements in the winter months when bugs are available.
4) Fermented grains when supplementing the good ole outdoors
5) Gravity feed all water whenever possible with nipples or nipple/cup combos. This means less water work, much cleaner water, and no frostbite.

Mine in no particular order would be

1. A coop need ventilation all year round, hot climates need full walls open, heat kills much quicker then cold.

2. Ferment food and grain year round, sprout grain in the winter when they do not have "live" food available. Suppliment w/ insects as much as possible.

3. Always ready, willing, and able to cull. An unthrifty bird breeds unthrifty offspring, even if your not breeding them, they still bring the flock down, imo.

4. A raised coop provides a cool shady spot in the summer and a snow free spot in the winter, a dry spot in the rain, basically doubles your coop space in bad weather.

5. In hot climates several pans of water through the summer help the chickens to cool themselves by standing in the water, makes a huge difference and involves almost none of your time.

6. Keep an open mind, but don't believe everything you read or hear.

7. K.I.S.S.

8. No matter how cute or adorable the next color or pattern or breed is, NEVER keep more then you have space for. Crowded chickens invite health trouble, and flock trouble, and personality trouble.

Sorry I went over 5 (but under 10) lol