The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[misbhaven]

I have both in my chickens areas along w/ several other "poisonous" plants the chickens have never bothered any of them. That being said my chickens don't live in a run of dirt and have no other plant options to pick at, they have plenty of choices and choose the "non poisonous" ones to nibble at.

And morning glories seeds are not actually poison they are hallucinogenic.

picturing a rooster in a cheech and chong movie.......pass those morning glory seeds

 

[ki4got]

Karen, I'd not use Morning Glories. They're nightshades (I believe) How about the lowly dandelion??

pretty sure nightshade is in the tomato family... LOL but I wouldn't anyways because I want SOME light to get into the pen. LOL

might just plant an assortment... if I can find a cherry tomato plant that doesn't grow 5-6' tall! LOL


this was last August, they'd only gotten planted (from seeds) in mid may! LOL by the time the freeze came around they were spilling over the top of the wire cage (5' tall fence wire)

what other plants will live with tomatoes in a small area?

 

[ChickChickChicky]

pretty sure nightshade is in the tomato family... LOL but I wouldn't anyways because I want SOME light to get into the pen. LOL

might just plant an assortment... if I can find a cherry tomato plant that doesn't grow 5-6' tall! LOL


this was last August, they'd only gotten planted (from seeds) in mid may! LOL by the time the freeze came around they were spilling over the top of the wire cage (5' tall fence wire)

what other plants will live with tomatoes in a small area?

Basil does well with tomatoes. With the limited light you're going to have in those areas, I suspect that most plants will grow just ok but perhaps not "flourish". For chicken food I'd grow collards (leaves), romaine lettuce (leaves), kale (leaves), peas (vines and pods), peanuts (plants and peanuts), alfalfa (plants), chia (leaves and seeds), sweet potatoes (vines and tubers, although mine will only eat the tubers cooked), spinach and/or New Zealand spinach (leaves), any herbs (although most herbs prefer lots of sunlight). Keep the protective wire at least 2-3 inches above the ground so the chickens can't totally demolish the plants. I plant "chicken foods" in the garden and keep the chickens fenced out of it and then I do the harvesting for them.

 

[Shan30]

Karen, I'd not use Morning Glories.  They're nightshades (I believe)  How about the lowly dandelion??

I like this idea, dandelions seem to be a serious crowd favourite at our house and they seem to grow everywhere.

 

[maggiemo]

And morning glories seeds are not actually poison they are hallucinogenic.

Really? Now I want to plant them around my chickens and see what they do when they hallucinate.

 

[Shan30]

I have a question for all you veteran incubators out there...

I'm trying it for my first time. Nerve wracking! Think its going ok though temps are ranging in between 99-100 (more commonly around 99) and the humidity has been sitting around 40%. (Any advice/comments on this are welcome of course)

Only on day 3 so probably getting a bit ahead of myself but here goes! In a nest situation the eggs would not be free to roll around on a flat surface bumping into but they would not be propped upright in a carton either. Obviously mechanical incubation is not natural and no replacement for the real thing but I would like to give these little ones the best start possible. I would think that while trying to escape an egg it wouldn't be all that helpful if the egg just rolled when pecked rather than cracking. As the nest material would slow the egg movement, I am considering placing a towel or something under the eggs during lockdown. They are currently in a turner.

Any thoughts? Being my first time perhaps I should not try to improve the incubator...?

 

[misbhaven]

many people put something underneath hatching eggs to contain mess and so their feet don't get stuck in the holes..like rubber shelf liner etc .i put mine in little baskets with paper towels...no mess at all in the incubator itself. it also contains chicks a bit.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: No snakes

 

[Shan30]

many people put something underneath hatching eggs to contain mess and so their feet don't get stuck in the holes..like rubber shelf liner etc .i put mine in little baskets with paper towels...no mess at all in the incubator itself. it also contains chicks a bit.

Oooh chicks hatching in baskets sounds adorable!

 

[stonykill]

this is adorable hatching