The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[debbiegt]

If you are able to navigate the BYH site, I applaud you.  I had so much trouble finding and searching over there.  I gave up and go to other sites now.  This site is great and very easy for me to navigate.  But that site is not as close to this one in organization as I had

BYH is definitely not as mature as BYC. I figure participating will help it grow!

What does BYH stand for?

 

[hoosiercheetah]

What does BYH stand for?

Back Yard Herds. It's like BYC for everything non-chicken. Goats and rabbits and cows and pigs and horses and llamas and camels and orangutans and sloths and ocelots and manatees and giraffes, well all reticulated ungulates really, and zebras and penguins and bears the brown ones not polar bears cause that would be silly but one lady over there breeds koalas but that's not really a bear and cats and dogs and rats and snakes and spiders but they don't taste like much and bees and fleas and chimpanzees.

And that's all.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

@hoosiercheetah

You can come up here and take cuttings from my 2 acre pasture that isn't in use right now.

Oh, how I wish I could.

Is anyone hunting deer there? Cause then you could say you're pasturing Organic Free-Range North American White-Tails, and there's nothing wasteful about that!

 

[misbhaven]

Most of our rabbits don't live long enough to really care about a diverse diet, except the pure breeding stock. The rest are eaten or frozen, so high quality pellets is far and away, better for us!!!!

As it turns out, our 'yard foreman' really loves rabbit and he and his wife are raising 3 foster kids so we give him a few .75 bloods, now and again. I know they get paid to care for the kids but they still appreciate the added variety for THEM. Mercifully there are still people like them who can deal with kids like that. I get the idea that at least one of them is a really bad problem but they love him and battle on. They also have a 16 year old grandson to care for.

The oldest foster kid is about 7 or so and all of them think it's some kind of 'funky' new chicken...

He's SURE they wouldn't eat a bite if they know they were rabbits because the kids have a couple pet lop-eared things that they adore.

my son goes and looks before he eats anything that could be rabbit...chicken and noodles etc..my 4 yr old well she is at the other end.. butchered a duck she grabbed the head and asked if she could keep it..later said it was yummy and asked when we were going to butcher the rest..

 

[LindaB220]

I am just starting and my buns LOVE sprouts. I do not grow to fodder stage, but the sprouts are their favorite hands down. I plan on sprouts and forage to be the majority of their food adding a handful of sunflower seeds (not sprouted) for nursing or pregnant does.

My wheat came in from Walmart today and I have oats soaking and my bags ready. Gonna start tomorrow. I did have a 10' circle with no grass. I threw out a few cups of soaked oats and covered it with compost. It actually grew and now a week later I'm pulling up handfuls for the birds. It comes out of the ground like a dream and is so tender. I feel like trying it myself. The 6 week old SBEL's love it.

 

[armorfirelady]

AFL, isn't it aggravating when they go broody AGAIN? Seems there are at least two hens broody at all times this summer - not fun!

Yes very. Especially when she upsets the coop at nighttime & makes it so the chicks end up roosting outside on the flower boxes around the coop. Esp when I am out of town & my Mom is trying to figure out what to do. She ended up crating Lucy so the babies could sleep in the nesting box. But still she was finding a few chicks outside nesting. Seems Lucy puts up a ruckous being crated & must scare the chicks enough for them to remain outside. My mom was putting Lucy in the crate after dinner then would stop & let her out in the morning. Last night I gave her food & water and she can stay in there until she breaks her broodiness. I have had quite enough of her nonsense !!!

The chicks are growing like weeds. I need to post some updated pics. My little grey sure has a pink comb. But I think if I remember correctly Edie was pink at this time as well. The others still have no comb color. But it looks like 2 of the blacks are getting muffs now.

I don't have bailing equipment so right now it's just getting mowed like a lawn and totally going to waste. Every time I'm on the tractor mowing I keep thinking about all the meat animals that could be grazing it and how much food is going to waste. There are so many plots of grass like that - even the edges of the road - where animals could be staked or pastured and moved daily to provide meat either for the family or to sell or to give to those in need. It just really bothers me every time I'm out driving and see so much food going to waste.

Any way you could dry it after you mow it to use as DL throughout the year?

P.s love the pic of the youngsters. They are getting so big

 

[lalaland]

Yes very. Especially when she upsets the coop at nighttime & makes it so the chicks end up roosting outside on the flower boxes around the coop. Esp when I am out of town & my Mom is trying to figure out what to do. She ended up crating Lucy so the babies could sleep in the nesting box. But still she was finding a few chicks outside nesting. Seems Lucy puts up a ruckous being crated & must scare the chicks enough for them to remain outside. My mom was putting Lucy in the crate after dinner then would stop & let her out in the morning. Last night I gave her food & water and she can stay in there until she breaks her broodiness. I have had quite enough of her nonsense !!!

The chicks are growing like weeds. I need to post some updated pics. My little grey sure has a pink comb. But I think if I remember correctly Edie was pink at this time as well. The others still have no comb color. But it looks like 2 of the blacks are getting muffs now.

Yeah, nighttime is still a lot of work! Those 6 babies that hatched out this spring are slowly working their way into the main coop. Over the past few days, 3 of the 6 have gone into the main coop and roosted there at night.

Last night when I went to lock up the coops, the last 3 that were still in the little coop weren't there, and weren't in the big coop. I panicked, as usual, because the fox has been around and I had let everyone out into the garden and meadow to forage. After running around like a crazy woman, peering under pine trees, and rummaging through the raspberry jungle and the milkweed plantation in the run, I finally heard a peep. Found them!! roosting way up high in a pine tree in the run. I would let the rooster stay outside as he is going to the soup pot anyway, but the two pullets needed to be locked up inside.

I was full of pine sap by the time I had them all in for the night. And mosquito bites.

And the broody mamas are all broody again, so back to the wire crate. So much extra work, wish there was a way to turn off the broody switch.

 

[armorfirelady]

And the broody mamas are all broody again, so back to the wire crate. So much extra work, wish there was a way to turn off the broody switch.

We could be millionaire's if we could figure that out

 

[Leahs Mom]

Why is it that when you want a broody it seems that you don't get one. And when you don't want a broody you can't stop them?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
I want a reticulated ungulate. I would use it as a hawk deterrent. It would wander around in the range area at will.

Actually...
I could use it for double-duty. I could put a collar on it and use it to pick the highest fruit on trees I couldn't reach. The collar would keep it from eating the fruit. Of course, I'd have to teach it how to pick and not chew.