The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[ki4got]

Quote: actually, 3 or 4 comet goldfish in a 110 gallon stock tank isn't bad. usually enough algae grows to compensate for the fish waste... besides, mosquito fish are hard to find in northern climates usually. some states they're illegal because they could go native.

and fwiw, goldfish don't produce any more waste than a similarly sized (by weight) fish... most just have larger body masses for their size than 'normal' fish so people equate them to being dirtier, rather than just larger.

 

[Scott H]

Quote:
+1 Quick search on Google and shipped right to your door....Gold fish (carp) can be even more invasive.

 

[subhanalah]

actually, 3 or 4 comet goldfish in a 110 gallon stock tank isn't bad. usually enough algae grows to compensate for the fish waste...  besides, mosquito fish are hard to find in northern climates usually. some states they're illegal because they could go native.

and fwiw, goldfish don't produce any more waste than a similarly sized (by weight) fish...  most just have larger body masses for their size than 'normal' fish so people equate them to being dirtier, rather than just larger.

I don't think a rain barrel is 110 gallons. And even for their weight, they produce a LOT of waste. The only things comparable are Oscars and large carnivores.

 

[CoopChick719]

Here's the insulated base I made for my water dish, hoping it would keep it from freezing quite so fast this winter. I think it worked somewhat. The pink is that solid foam insulation.

Nice job on the base, Chaos!

Snake poop. I put it in my garage when I was having problems out there. Works like a charm!

I was going to ask where would one find snake poop but LeahsMom mentioned petshop, which I hadn't thought of. Our local store doesn't have many snakes but they do have ferrets!

Oh, they're totally up to something...

Have you seen Chicken Run? By the way, we need a picture of those lined-up eggs!

"I don't want to be a pie. I don't like gravy!"

You have mosquito larva & we have 6 inches of snow !!!!!! But I am going to add goldfish to my rain barrel this year to help keep the Mosquitos from using it.

We got a cold rain in our area but Northern Maine got snow.

 

[subhanalah]

Nice job on the base, Chaos!

I was going to ask where would one find snake poop but LeahsMom mentioned petshop, which I hadn't thought of. Our local store doesn't have many snakes but they do have ferrets!

"I don't want to be a pie. I don't like gravy!"

We got a cold rain in our area but Northern Maine got snow.

zoos, local herpetological clubs/societies/groups. Or even herp shows if you live where they host them

 

[RedRidge]

actually, 3 or 4 comet goldfish in a 110 gallon stock tank isn't bad. usually enough algae grows to compensate for the fish waste...  besides, mosquito fish are hard to find in northern climates usually. some states they're illegal because they could go native.

and fwiw, goldfish don't produce any more waste than a similarly sized (by weight) fish...  most just have larger body masses for their size than 'normal' fish so people equate them to being dirtier, rather than just larger.

I don't think a rain barrel is 110 gallons. And even for their weight, they produce a LOT of waste. The only things comparable are Oscars and large carnivores.

Actually our rain "barrels" range between 50 and 1600 gallons. Some have more algae than others depending on their location and if they are opaque or dark. We keep goldfish in all of them year round and it has really helped with how clean they are. Because we gravity feed everything we ems up with a fish in a large stock tank periodically. .. We just don't worry about it and put them back every once in a while.
Also note that any build up or settling is easily resolved by periodic flushing.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Have you gals tried cracking the peas?
I don't think they ferment very well when they are whole so I put mine through a hammer mill... Course for adults and fine for chicks (even the day old chicks eat them). I've never had any problem with them eating them except when they are whole.

Yep. Mine area always coarse ground.

 

[Rainier]

If you know someone with a ferret their poop will put the run on rats. I used to have one and my neighbor was seeing rats in his barn. I put some of the ferrets leavings in there and he didn't see anymore. Rats are instinctually deathly afraid of ferrets and for good reason. I also knew a guy who would come to your barn with 2 ferrets and turn them loose on the rats. That would clean them out quickly!

We just moved to where we are now. The kids had our ferrets outside yesterday (when the sun did briefly make an appearance for 10 minutes) and our neighbor saw them. She told the girls to be careful because her cat had just caught a rat as big as our ferrets are (about 2-3 lbs).

It didn't even cross my mind to use their poop to help ward off rodents but it does make sense. The kids have been bugging me to get two more to fill up the bottom of our FN cage that is currently empty. Guess they'll get their wish seeing as how our two ferrets are getting old now at 5 and 7.

 

[Scott H]

There have been studies on it and been proven to work. There is nothing more scary to a rat than a ferret.

 

[Binababy]

Hi all! I'm looking for some natural things just to keep my flock healthy! Wow I just used the term flock! Oh my I've gotten so many that they are now a flock! Lol. None are sick that I can tell. I just want to keep sick from happening. I know the best thing is prayer, but I also have to put some back into it So far I've found pumpkin seed, grape extract, alfalfa, & vinegar? Any thoughts on these? Please & thank you