The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[heartsizedfarm]

My pumpkins last year started from pumpkins sitting out all winter for them to eat. Easy peasy lol. This year I have seeds but I am going to put them where the old compost was. A quick rototill, throw seeds down with some others I have then rake dirt over them. I like easy lol

I started tomatoes and eggplants a new way this year. I bought the plants, put them in a hay bale and covered with milk jugs. I read you can starts plants early this way. Plus I am reusing the hay bales from winter that I got for free.

Here they are. And no the chickens can't get to them. There is a fence between them. Leave it to Edie & Stella to photobomb my picture. They run into the compost pile whenever I get close to the garden

That's a really cool idea. I'm going to try that.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Earlier in this thread some posters were talking about using citrus peel and garlic in the coop to discourage mites. Well, for some reason over Christmas, guess I needed to keep hand busy, I made a truckload of these pomanders. Oranges with cloves stuck in that dry out and keep insects out of closets. Could I use those in the coop do you think? Tucked in nesting boxes? Would the chickens peck at the cloves and could that be dangerous for them? Appreciate all opinions.

 

[lazy gardener]

At least if the chickens ate those cloves, they'd have sweet breath!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Going to do a "Miss Gray" update here shortly, but I wanted to see if @armorfirelady knows the answer to this question. I'm pretty sure you will...

Why did the Barred Rock (and not just any barred rock, but the hatchery variety of barred rock) cross the road?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Miss Gray update.

-Still looking "bright" today but not moving around lots. She spent a lot of time today just laying in the grass but it was not a "sick looking" laying but just lounging.

-She started talking a little today. Yesterday she was silent.

-First thing in the morning she tried to make a nest in the grass clippings I had put in the indoor pen. When I realized thats what was going on, I brought in the portable nest box and gave her an annex and she went right in and laid her egg. All before 8:00 am.

-She is eating and I'm still able to give her a few drops of the wound formula on ground beef. Funny, though, she got wise to it and decided not to eat the pieces tonight that had the tincture on it. So I have to not put so much into each piece. I was trying to get the whole dose on 1 piece instead of spreading it out but she got wise to that.

-Yesterday when I first brought her up I had her in the outdoor portable pen on the grass. Overnight she was in a dog crate inside. When I got home at mid day I moved her outside on the grass to the portable pen. I tried adding Emma to the pen with her...Emma is the only one that is reasonably nice to her in general. That didn't work so I had to remove her again. Emma was intent on being sure that Gray knew she was in charge and wanted to give her a little peck on the back of the neck now and then. However, that's exactly where the wound is and I needed to remove her. She was causing undue stress being in there anyhow as it put Miss Gray on high alert.

I did see that there was more injury than I saw yesterday as she's torn down the left side from the neck. From the evidence I can find, it looks like she was near enough to one of the hawk hide things I put out that she was able to get under it and keep from being killed. Her feathers are all around it. Most of the feathers are pulled out of the back of her neck and some down the side but there were still long enough feathers that it covers things. I decided not to cut them back unless there is a need. It seems that keeping them covered is a good camoflage...I guess I'll have to determine that over the next few days.

I did put more NuStock on the place I didn't see before but at this point I think that's the last NuStock I'll be using on her. I'll explain that in a later post.

She's back in the small crate inside for the night.


Here's the outdoor portable pen when I tried adding Emma. (Got this pen in 2012 when I first got the chicks...from Craigslist. It folds flat. I bungee a tarp on top for hawk protection and shade.









Because I didn't cut back the covering feathers, you can't see the wound..but you can see how it goes down the left over the shoulder.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I let the rest of the flock back out of the pen (except the roo who is under house arrest until 4:00 pm on most days so that the girls can have a break from him) when I came home and staked out to watch a bit before coming in.

About 3:00 I heard all of them shouting the hawk alarm. Went out and didn't see the hawk so it must have retreated when it saw me come. Part of them were in the pen and part in the wooded area. All of them shouting loudly.

Put them back in the pen until I went back out again at 4:30 to rig an extended electric line for the netting (thanks to @RedRidge for making me understand how to do that. I'll have to post some photos of that setup when I get some time.

 

[armorfirelady]

Going to do a "Miss Gray" update here shortly, but I wanted to see if @armorfirelady knows the answer to this question. I'm pretty sure you will...

Why did the Barred Rock (and not just any barred rock, but the hatchery variety of barred rock) cross the road?

Well if it is Stella its because she thinks there is food on the other side or she see's my Mom walking up the street & wants to be the first to greet her & get some Nana scratch

I let the rest of the flock back out of the pen (except the roo who is under house arrest until 4:00 pm on most days so that the girls can have a break from him) when I came home and staked out to watch a bit before coming in.

About 3:00 I heard all of them shouting the hawk alarm. Went out and didn't see the hawk so it must have retreated when it saw me come. Part of them were in the pen and part in the wooded area. All of them shouting loudly.

Put them back in the pen until I went back out again at 4:30 to rig an extended electric line for the netting (thanks to @RedRidge for making me understand how to do that. I'll have to post some photos of that setup when I get some time.

I am kind of curious about the hawk alarm sounds you hear. I know at my house when a hawk shows up the hens become statues & the only noise I hear if I am close enough is soft growling/purr noise. My hens are never talkative or sounding alarms when a hawk is near. I notice more when they are quiet when I am working outside and look up at the sky. I can make the purr sound & you have 8 hens with heads up searching the skies. It doesn't matter where in the yard they are. I have never heard them sound an alarm even when the hawk flew into the electric netting last year trying to get one.

Now they do squawk at the crows when they land inside the electric netting to eat. And sometimes at a passing squirrel or chipmunk. And yes they squawked at Max the other day when he was in the run.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
You're right! Because they think there is food over there. I knew you'd have the right answer!

 

[Leahs Mom]

@armorfirelady

The hawk alarm sounds they make is similar to the "egg song" except they are all doing it loudly.

I've only heard it twice before. One time is last year when the hawk got Miss Gray the 1st. The second time was yesterday.

Mine usually only do the sounds you describe when the hawks are flying high overhead.

My guess is that when a hawk comes down low - either to attempt a strike or perhaps staging itself low nearby - is when they make this sound. Otherwise just what you described. This is only a guess. I want to stake out in a hidden area if I get some time after work today and try to observe what's going on.

If I ever hear that "carrying on", I know to get myself out there post haste because a strike is imminent.

 

[aoxa]

@armorfirelady

The hawk alarm sounds they make is similar to the "egg song" except they are all doing it loudly.

I've only heard it twice before. One time is last year when the hawk got Miss Gray the 1st. The second time was yesterday.

Mine usually only do the sounds you describe when the hawks are flying high overhead.

My guess is that when a hawk comes down low - either to attempt a strike or perhaps staging itself low nearby - is when they make this sound. Otherwise just what you described. This is only a guess. I want to stake out in a hidden area if I get some time after work today and try to observe what's going on.

If I ever hear that "carrying on", I know to get myself out there post haste because a strike is imminent.

I hear the hawk call for everything.. geese flying over, ducks, planes.. When a hawk comes Jagger lets out a loud scream and everything goes quiet as they all take cover. I am not sure how they differentiate between this sound and the sound for other birds... Everyone stops for the other sounds and looks.. but the hawk one.. they just run.. no one looks. They take off. They trust their rooster.

He is ALWAYS watching. I threw some shavings out the window last night into my tractor bucket (so handy!) and my blue Silkie rooster did the hawk call for me. lol