The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

High winds here as well and it's blowing the bottom of the billboard I haven't secured yet. Thank goodness I didn't move hay bales yet. I put them up against the sides with some wood on top to secure it until after tomorrow when the snow comes.

LM here's an inside look of the nesting box. I removed the divider this morning. It really was to small for the girls to fit in. It can still fit 2 hens even 3 when they walk on top of each other lol As you can see there was a line. I added the wood in front to keep the shavings & wood ash in. If you look closely you can see the lighter spot in the middle that's where the divider goes

And I also found a way to keep the grit & oyster shell up off the ground and more inside the container than out. I can adjust the height as the DL gets thicker during the winter. At the end of the string is caribiner a for ease of movement.

I keep it at head level so no one decides to try and scratch in it. The flock block was moved as well for the warmer months

I now have room for their dust bath container in the coop again. As you can see it fits 3 LF girls quite comfortably I mix in some peat moss to make the wood ash go farther and it keeps the ash from clumping when it gets damp. I sifted the metal garbage can of ash today and filled a large tote with it. I'm also mite & lice free since I decided to do it today when it's super windy not one of my best ideas but at least it's done!!

And a better pic of the billboard on the east side & clear plastic on the south end. It's def warmer in the coop with the darker color but once I get the sides up for the warmer months it will be cooler in there. I can say when it gusts it blows thru the coop with the ends not fastened lol

 

[Leahs Mom]

There will probably be much better input on this than I can give as I've only had 1 broody hen raise 2 broods.

If she were mine, I'd keep an eye on her for the next couple days to see if there are any more "incidents". If it looks like she's killing them, I'd remove them to an incubator to finish. Hopefully it was just a sick or dying chick that died on it's own and the rest will be okay.


I kept my broody & chicks in their separate space for about 1 week then let her out w/the rest. It was a huge brawl the first time - she made sure everyone knew to stay clear. Looked like a couple of "rooster fights" but after that, no one bothered her or her chicks. If they came near they learned better.

If the mamma is a good mamma, she'll take care of it all. Teaching them where the food and water is, showing them how to forage, etc.


But...
You need to answer this question for yourself. If you let them free range around with the rest, there is a greater possibility of the babies being nabbed by a hawk. The mamma will watch them very closely and will get them under cover if possible. But sometimes a baby will lag from the group and they are easy game.

I'm kind-of torn on that one myself. My "mamma" kept them in the kennel pen for quite awhile and didn't stray far from the house with them even though the gates were open. But she did take them farther and farther by the 3rd week or so and they are still tiny at that age and easy targets. She was a great "watcher" of the sky, but they are still more vulnerable.

I think next time I may keep the mamma in an "overhead-protected" area longer than I did the last times. Not sure...still trying to decide on that one.

 

[taylynnp]

There will probably be much better input on this than I can give as I've only had 1 broody hen raise 2 broods.

If she were mine, I'd keep an eye on her for the next couple days to see if there are any more "incidents". If it looks like she's killing them, I'd remove them to an incubator to finish. Hopefully it was just a sick or dying chick that died on it's own and the rest will be okay.


I kept my broody & chicks in their separate space for about 1 week then let her out w/the rest. It was a huge brawl the first time - she made sure everyone knew to stay clear. Looked like a couple of "rooster fights" but after that, no one bothered her or her chicks. If they came near they learned better.

If the mamma is a good mamma, she'll take care of it all. Teaching them where the food and water is, showing them how to forage, etc.


But...
You need to answer this question for yourself. If you let them free range around with the rest, there is a greater possibility of the babies being nabbed by a hawk. The mamma will watch them very closely and will get them under cover if possible. But sometimes a baby will lag from the group and they are easy game.

I'm kind-of torn on that one myself. My "mamma" kept them in the kennel pen for quite awhile and didn't stray far from the house with them even though the gates were open. But she did take them farther and farther by the 3rd week or so and they are still tiny at that age and easy targets. She was a great "watcher" of the sky, but they are still more vulnerable.

I think next time I may keep the mamma in an "overhead-protected" area longer than I did the last times. Not sure...still trying to decide on that one.

Thanks, that's good advice. I hadn't thought so much about over head protection against hawk attacks. Hopefully the leaves come out in the next couple of weeks. Then I can allow them to hang out in an area with a little more security.

 

[Leahs Mom]

And I also found a way to keep the grit & oyster shell up off the ground and more inside the container than out. I can adjust the height as the DL gets thicker during the winter. At the end of the string is caribiner a for ease of movement.

I keep it at head level so no one decides to try and scratch in it. The flock block was moved as well for the warmer months

Looking good ! Did you add the handles to the top of the calcium and grit feeders? What did you use? I'm wanting to work more at getting things off the floor too so looking for easy ideas.

 

[misbhaven]

I used to keep my oyster shell in a corner littler box thing for rabbits screws right onto wire....now I use a 3lb feeder..and that will be lowered for either a dust bath (bantam run) or for treats. } repurpuse every thing.....btw one of thos cube holders like. 20$ makes an easy 6 hole bantam nest box... my kids tore up all the fabric cubes ...and right now my ducklings are drinking out of an paper oj half gallon with the hole cut in it for their height..brownie pan with cheap dollar store cooling rack bent around scraps of hard ware cloth on top..no mess in the brooder.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: OMG you do realize they are plastic?

I drilled a hole in each side and just thread the rope thru it. Quick & simple. And off the floor & the fact I can raise it as the DL grows works as well. I am looking for something to hold the flock block that I can repurpose.The one I made is really heavy on its own & then when you add the flock block its twice as heavy. I have it secured to the cattle panel so I am not worried about it falling on the girls. Something like the chick feeders here but square would be perfect. I need to see if it would fit in one of the rubber bowls I have i could easily drill holes on the side & hang it. Hmmmmm maybe I just found my solution....just need to make it tip proof

 

[armorfirelady]

I know someone was looking for ideas for hide outs for chicks & hens & Leahs Mom asked I report my pics & I finally remembered lol

This was just a small one made from leftover fence pieces & some camp fabric stapled on top

This I used to feed the tots in when they were small. The front slats are just screwed on so I could change the width size as they grow. The back & sides are covered with plastic netting tho its hard to see in the pic. The big girls could not fit in there much to their dismay.

Leahs Mom also used pieces of metal fencing with slots to accomplish the same thing. I have a limit to the number of hens I can have so it will be awhile before I can add young ones again so this worked better for me since I repurposed it as an entrance cover during the winter

 

[bluebirdnanny]

The Hen House That is what I had the first winter when I was given chickens from a friend moving and had to do something quick. She had three and it SAID 10!!! No way.... I surrounded it with wire, put it on a platform off the side of my shed and plastic to cut the wind. Then moved it onto a platform for the new Woods coop I was building as soon as weather broke..... Nursery / Grow pen only housing babies to 10 weeks. I too would NEVER Jam a full size Hen even Bantam in here but it makes a Great Grow pen and will be a nice brooder box with some more tweaking.

I took mine apart so the front half became a screened layer with roof taken off and old crib sides added to top so I can use it for a brooder/grow up area or breeder pen. The back part I pushed back against the roost bars in the new coop and they still use the boxes for laying although there are several places in the larger coop surrounding it. They also use the roosts behind the peak or up over the rafters top of the brooder for roosting when windy or cold.

@tjo804 I think that's a great use for one of those coops!

If you have any predators in the area I would surround it with small hardware cloth pen and screening WITH a cover over it..... they are not very sturdy and a coon can break off the nest boxes or push up on the bottom panel of the nests and get in......I caught one trying... it would have been successful if I had not.

 

[tjo804]

@tjo804

I think that's a great use for one of those coops!

If you have any predators in the area I would surround it with small hardware cloth pen and screening WITH a cover over it..... they are not very sturdy and a coon can break off the nest boxes or push up on the bottom panel of the nests and get in......I caught one trying... it would have been successful if I had not.
we screwed the nest boxes down so they cannot be pushed up from the bottom.
We added Hardware cloth and a wood frame on the top area so it can still get ventilation or a heat lamp without preds getting in.
We keep it right off the back deck so we can keep a close eye on the babies.
And when it is not as windy as it is today they still get to range the yard because I just think it is small. but that is what I wanted for the stations plan I have in mind.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

That is good to hear! Knowing how flimsy it was when I bought it I was concerned for your girls. Sounds like you caught things earlier than I did and remedied them. Great job.