The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

I AM 300 POST behind..

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!

I am fencing..building..hatching..and I finally have not one speck of snow on the ground..it is even clear out of the woods..I am a very happy happy and busy bee. I don't care I am working in a foot of mud in places. There is no more snow!!! I have green grass poking up all over..life is wonderful..

Hey Del

WE still have snow in spots. I give it one more week. Our property takes the longest because of the trees that hug our farm

We got a new farm tractor, so pounding posts in is going to be easy!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Booster the rooster is no more, so it is much easier to care for the three sulmtalers - and if i culled buster, the rooster who hates them, I could integrate back into one flock!

I have the little pointy first tips of tulips sticking up about a 1/4 inch.....spring warblers are here.....frogs singing....its gonna be spring.

Molly's herbals seems to be on hiatus - website says gone 4/26 but she hasn't responded to emails from 4/21. Looks like I can't get the herbal wormer til she gets back first week of May....I want it now. I could try Mumsy's kerosene, but might do pure gum turpetine instead.

I'll bet it's a lot more peaceful around there. Have you considered starting over with a new rooster to replace Buster? If you get a new kid, the older girls will train him well...at least that's been my experience. The young guy was hatched into a flock of 6 almost year-old ladies. They did a pretty good job of training him how to treat a lady.


I've purchased some items from Susan Burek. She doesn't have a specific wormer listed on the site but she does make items to order. I think I'm going to email her and see if she has a worm formula. You might recognize Susan as she writes articles for several poultry magazines as well.

http://www.moonlightmileherbs.com/poultryherbcart2014.html

 

[Leahs Mom]

@aoxa

Photo of YOU on that tractor, please.

 

[aoxa]

@aoxa

Photo of YOU on that tractor, please.

Don't have any. I thought I had one of Sue, but nope.

This was a week ago. The snow is gone mostly now. The mud down at the barn requires us to use the tractor to even get there safely. It is SO slippery.


Susan broke the light off it by running into something. Yeah.. We need to learn how to properly drive this thing LOL Note the rainbow.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
get chains... they saved us this winter on ours... even with 4wd we still spun without them.

 

[armorfirelady]

there is a humungous plant sale every spring by a Friend's school in the cities. They take over a grandstand in the state fair grounds. It started out 20 years ago in a school parking lot and got spearheaded by a gardener fanatic. What is wonderful is the variety - there are plants there that you can literally not buy anywhere else. THe plant list is 2,300 plants! and in 3 days, there are 15,000+ shoppers. Its a zoo, so I volunteer and get to go to a presale with only, say, 500 shoppers. Got my list going...nothing better than poring over a garden catalog.

DId you all know about not buying plants that were dosed with neonicotinoids, which are common pesticides harmful to birds, bees, and groundwater? If you are buying plants at homedepot walmart or any big box store, its 99% probable they've been treated. all the big wholesalers use them.

Wow what a great plant sale !!! I would be in heaven there

And I did not know that about plants being treated with neonicotinoids........I tend to get my perennials from Lowes when they are on clearance super cheap. I guess I need to do some research to see if it wears off after time. I have never read on the tags about insecticide/pesticides that were used on them.

My mom is getting me a dwarf apple tree for Easter/Mothers day but we are getting it from a local nursery. I will get a 2nd to so they pollinate. Hopefully those do not get sprayed also

Susan broke the light off it by running into something. Yeah.. We need to learn how to properly drive this thing LOL Note the rainbow.

At least it was only the blinker

 

[aoxa]

get chains... they saved us this winter on ours... even with 4wd we still spun without them.

Don't need chains on this. This thing does not even come close to spinning out We've tested it. This is why we gave up our John Deere. Even with chains it was always spinning out on us. It was just a small thing, but it was very frustrating! We spent far too much on snow removal this year. Our driveway and road are too darn long!

 

[RedRidge]

 
I am a rebel, I don't buy rocks, I have a yard full of dirt as far as they care to dig, that dirt has all kinds of small stones, rocks for them to use for digestion.

I do provide oyster shell free choice since I don't feed layer pellets, I would even if I did feed layer.  My old shells are for my tomatoes.  I dry crush, soak in vinegar dilute w/ water and water my tomatoes w/ it.

I haven't had a need to buy grit either.  And at the stores here, it costs as much as feed or a bit more depending on the store and the largest bag they have. 

 

Same here. I've never bought grit

 

[Scott H]

We have a friend who wants 3 or 4 chickens....we have a broody hen so we decided to give her a job and are having Chickenhill send us 6 LF Wyandotte and and 2 Blue Penciled Brahma eggs. Should be a fun experiment!

Chickenhill Poultry has some beautiful stock and we are happy with the ones we got from her.

I hadn't noticed she did Brahma's too and had never seen a Blue Penciled Brahma before....ripped from the pages of Chickenhill Poultry.....

Blue Penciled Brahma page.

 

[aoxa]

We have a friend who wants 3 or 4 chickens....we have a broody hen so we decided to give her a job and are having Chickenhill send us 6 LF Wyandotte and and 2 Blue Penciled Brahma eggs. Should be a fun experiment!

Chickenhill Poultry has some beautiful stock and we are happy with the ones we got from her.

I hadn't noticed she did Brahma's too and had never seen a Blue Penciled Brahma before....ripped from the pages of Chickenhill Poultry.....

Blue Penciled Brahma page.

Oooooo