The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

AFL - I'm looking forward to a report.

x2..

 

[lalaland]

after shoveling, the girls spent the late afternoon in the sun eating mud. I mean, they were chowing down. mud. poop. mud. yuck!!! I guess they've missed dirt this winter? while they ate mud, I made channels to help drain the melting snow away. Only needed a t-shirt in the sun. always good to play engineer. trumpeter swans overhead, first of the season. so despite the snow....it might be spring! going to be in the mid thirties all next week, and tomorrow it might get to 40!!!!!!

 

[gevshiba]

My chicks are doing great. My photography skills are lacking and they don't like the camera. But they do love to eat.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Lovely babies!

It's very late in season to be asking this question. But I'm curious on folks input.

Since we can't have regular herbs growing outside in the winter for the chickens to forage on do y'all have any suggestions of where you can find items fresh besides the tiny packets sold in the supermarket?

I can obviously purchase fresh items like parsley and cilantro in the product section year-round. But if I wanted to get items like fresh oregano, basil, thyme, etc., is there a good way to accomplish that? Does anyone grow herbs indoors during the winter? Have you had good luck with them or are they kind-of pitiful?

 

[subhanalah]

Lovely babies!

It's very late in season to be asking this question.  But I'm curious on folks input.

Since we can't have regular herbs growing outside in the winter for the chickens to forage on do y'all have any suggestions of where you can find items fresh besides the tiny packets sold in the supermarket? 

I can obviously purchase fresh items like parsley and cilantro in the product section year-round.  But if I wanted to get items like fresh oregano, basil, thyme, etc., is there a good way to accomplish that?  Does anyone grow herbs indoors during the winter?  Have you had good luck with them or are they kind-of pitiful?

you can get some pretty good herbs, and even peppers to grow indoors if you have a west or east facing window! (Well...In the US, it depends on where you are in relation to the movement of the sun)

 

[Mrs Rebecca]

I have grown herbs in my south facing window all winter. Rosemary, sage, parsley, cilantro, oregano, basil, thyme and chives. The only thing that didn't thrive was the basil. I think it needed more heat. The oregano has grown the most.

 

[tjo804]

I have a Brahma hen that has taken to sleeping in the corner on the floor. she also lays her eggs on the floor of the coop.
If I put her up to roost at night with the others she stays all night. She eats with all and ranges with the flock should I maybe lower the laying boxes? they are at 4' as are the roosts.? Or just add a lower level maybe?

Or could this be a sign that something may be off?

 

[hellbender]

I posted this last night on another thread and some found it interesting and others found it helpful. Still others might be in some sort of psychological SHOCK-TRAUMA facility.

I hope you at least find it an interesting read.


It's late and I'm not sleepy so I decided to hit the high spots of : Basic meat protein portion of our Chicken diet.

Beef Blood 'Cheese'...Beef blood, poured slowly into tubs of simmering water with salt and spices. I get the blood from surrounding farms that slaughter their own beef. They save and deliver the blood to me in 5 gallon buckets that I provide. Many of the folks hang their beef in my walk-in...certainly no charge. I get roughly sixty 5-gallon buckets of this 'liver-like' stuff that I freeze.


Ground Chicken Carcasses...100 to 145 culled hens, cocks and cockerels. After isolation and restricted diets for two or three days, I grind them whole from beak to feet, pressure cook them and store frozen.

Viande de hachee de cerfs mort...Road-kill deer. I get bunches of them. Cut into large pieces, cooked under pressure then ground...and processed like the chickens.

Beef Tripe...Either the farmer brings the whole-filled stomachs or we go pick them up. We store the 'green-material' in 5-gal buckets and dump one or two buckets, semi thawed as needed in the cold months, at the compost pile...birds love it!
Then we cook the tripe....see above for prep and storage.

Once in a while, one of our friends hits a rough spot and has a downed head of cattle. Dead or alive, we pay 90% of market value, have it delivered when they can/will or we pick it up. Pretty much proceed as above.

This constitutes the majority of 'animal protein' that goes into our production flock. I won't go into percentages of this component of our birds' diet, compared to the dry matter that is also added..like alfalfa pellets, Layena, Fermented-feed, even Calf Manna, etc. Don't want to get into a big discussion on that...There's enough here to pick apart.

And NO...we never eat any of the downed beef.

We raise our own grass-fed Angus and Angus/Simmental-cross steers.

I doubt many of you would do this even if you were set up for it. My grand pap and dad bought a lot of machinery over the years at auctions that makes this process a lot less labor intensive as it first appears but it still requires a bit of effort and simple knowledge of handling overhead chain hoists and....willingness to get your hands dirty once in a while...

Thanks for reading...

RON

 

[tjo804]

I posted this last night on another thread and some found it interesting and others found it helpful. Still others might be in some sort of psychological SHOCK-TRAUMA facility.

I hope you at least find it an interesting read.

Thanks for reading...

RON

I did find it interesting!

Do you also save the chicken blood?
Do you cook it for germs or so not to encourage finding their own raw meat? VIA Picking and pecking in the flock.
Do you feed these separate from the FF or do you add it to it?
Is this one of those Cold Weather things? or do you feed this year round?

I would love to raise my own Beef Hubby says no room with 1 acre

Edited to add:
simple knowledge of handling overhead chain hoists and....willingness to get your hands dirty once in a while...

This I can do have helped change many engines in my days!

 

[tjo804]

I have been concerned that my Hens may be to thin.

I have been doing some more reading and internet searching

I am wondering if anyone else uses Layena and has the same thoughts about Skinny gals?