The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

I like that idea! The wetting of starter with the fermented broth. I want to at least feed wet, but they look at it like it may bite them. These chicks aren't the smartest cookies in the jar. I will try the wet food again with the fermented broth on it and see what they think.

sometimes it helps to sprinkle something on top - dry oatmeal, dry grain - Ithey are looking initially for something to peck at and that helps them get the idea.

 

[armorfirelady]

Thanks hellbenders for your thoughts. I plan on getting stuff this week for them since I need to make another giant batch of mixed grains to get them thru the summer. Tho I am guessing it will be more like fall with cutting back their feed. I need to see how long this last batch lasted bit if I had to guess I would say about 6 months. I only have 8 hens so it lasts me a lot longer.

Lala I don't measure as much in the winter. I tend to keep food available all day for them. They have zero forage when the snow comes. Sometimes they ate all of the food sometimes they didn't. I filled a coffee can half full and dumped it in their heated food bowl. Plus when my mom stopped by she would toss cracked corn and boss into the coop for them. She likes giving them a treat when it's so cold. But It doesn't seem like they put on extra weight from the corn & boss mix when I pick them up. I'm guessing with the arctic cold winter we had they put anything they ate to good use trying to keep warm

 

[lalaland]

AFL, yeah, thats my experience too - what seems to be a pretty variable amount in what they will eat one day compared to the next.

Its blizzarding here as I write. No one will come out of either coop, I think it is possible they would get blown into the air with this wind - it is howling. Robins are finally here, and are miserable. No bare ground anywhere.....

I finally decided not to breed sulmtalers - I'm not ready to raise meat birds, and they are gorgeous and docile but their eggs are smaller - my egg customers arent too happy because I also have a few small icelandic eggs in the mix too. So, not eggs, not meat.....I'm going to get some cream legbar pullets this spring and maybe a few more welsummers or some other dark brown egg layer.

Buster the rooster still seems to be having some fertility problems. I've been watching and I'm not altogether sure he can do the deed. Looks like he spends most of his time trying to balance on the hens shoulders .....

Happy April Fools Day!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I am afraid to believe anything I hear today on BYC......

So...if you have an emergency situation better start your post by saying it's the real thing..... Just sayin.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Its blizzarding here as I write. No one will come out of either coop, I think it is possible they would get blown into the air with this wind - it is howling. Robins are finally here, and are miserable. No bare ground anywhere.....

Happy April Fools Day!

Is it really blizzarding????? If so, that's totally crazy.

 

[lalaland]

yeah, no joke. the wild turkeys are coated in snow, you cant see their feathers. Started with rain last night, now there are a couple of inches of ice under the new snow. I'm not going anywhere today, except to go do chicken chores. But tomorrow it will be a couple degrees above freezing, so....better warmer times acoming

 

[RedRidge]

It must all be an April fools joke.
Almost 70 degrees here and not even noon yet. I'm trimming the rose bushes and butterfly bush. Thinned the tomatoes and peppers for transplant in 5 or 6 weeks. I'm going to have to either put some sheep or cattle in the front yard, or fire up the lawn mower.

 

[armorfirelady]

Ok it's not an Aprils fool joke. The video is of Sophie's behavior. I just gave her a syringe full of olive oil & massaged her crop. It's not hard more squishy. I can feel little hard things in there. I'm hoping its grit since I would think the grains would be softer since they are fermented? She is eating & pooping just fine. I took a bowl of yogurt & garlic out with me so I could grab her. Massaged her crop for a few minutes while we talked. Her breathing seemed a little raspy but in no distress. It could of been because I just squirted the olive oil down her throat. She had no problem with me massaging her crop. I'll give her some more olive oil and massage it again later.,see if its gone down some more or not.

Thoughts?

And it's 50 here. I turned the furnace off and opened the windows in my room so the paint dries faster

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
I feed everyone FF from day 1. the youngest chicks either get added to a slightly older group, or I put a few older chicks in with them to teach them about food... it's usually feeding frenzy within 24 hours.

if the food is a bit wet, i'll put some crumbles on top of it to soak up the wet.

 

[ki4got]

It must all be an April fools joke.
Almost 70 degrees here and not even noon yet. I'm trimming the rose bushes and butterfly bush. Thinned the tomatoes and peppers for transplant in 5 or 6 weeks. I'm going to have to either put some sheep or cattle in the front yard, or fire up the lawn mower.

grass? what's that? my free ranging horses and chickens have taken care of all the grass that used to be. LOL