The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Lacy Blues]

Ok, to start with is a picture of how it looked last night before retiring for the night. We had taken one of the pallets off and erected a center post to support the ridge of the new roof. To keep the three bantam males that are in the barn from thinking about prancing about on the roof in the morning, we set a few pieces of plywood in the hole to deter them. The barn is approximately 24 feet square.



Plywood pieces removed. On the left side of the photo you can see the strips of plywood secured over the seams to prevent water from getting in. It didn't work. Every time it rains here, the inside of the barn gets wet enough... too wet!


From the inside. The man who built this monstrosity was frugal, to say the least. Now frugality is a good thing but a proper roof would have been much more appreciated. As you can see here too, the walls are also built out of the same size covered pallets. They have one redeeming factor... they make great runways and highways for mice and nesting spots for wild birds... if you desire that sort of thing. I don't. Every pen in this barn has to be deconstructed in order to get to the screws holding the roof down.


What was in this corner was taken apart today.


This is just to show the amount of light that comes through now that the seam covers are removed. It didn't do much to stop the water.


So that's it for right now. The males that are still in the barn are going to be put in different pens for the meantime... poor boys. Wish I had some bigger pens for them. They won't have much room at all but at least its only temporary.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Lacy Blues
Wow..that's going to be a lot of work! I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I had a "problem egg" today. It appears that it cracked inside the hen, and then it was repaired inside the hen before it was laid.

The large crack right down the center is the widest. That is filled in with what appears to be the membrane that has hardened with a bit of new shell trying to form over it. When I put my thumb nail onto it to test how hard it is, my nail can puncture into it quite easily.




The smaller cracks are just lines in the shell and seem to be as hard as the regular shell.



I have read about this before but never seen it. What I've read is possible stress in the hens. Also a broken egg in the ovaduct which this obviously is. The source said to handle hens gently - implying that grabbing a hen too roughly could break an egg inside her. It also mentioned crowding in the hen house which is not the case here.

I'm wondering if a jump down off a high roost could be the issue?

Anyone had anything like this in your flock?

BTW - the shell quality is good in the rest of the egg and also in the others in the flock when they lay. Molting right now and getting precious few eggs right now.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

It looks like some of the frozen eggs I got this past winter when temps were -20F. Not sure what I would do if I got one this time of year and it was a once a year event. If it was every day, I would be trying to isolate the hen and check for health issues or make a soup.
If rough handling can cause it, I wonder if a rooster could cause it. If that is the case maybe both the hen and the rooster need to be considered for soup. The rooster if he is too hard on the hens, the hen if she is too willing to mate.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I think I remember having one similar to that at some time. It's more like a nagging remembrance than anything clear. The only thing I can think is that maybe she's getting ready to stop laying, due to molting or perhaps they don't have enough oyster shell.

 

[Leahs Mom]

It looks like some of the frozen eggs I got this past winter when temps were -20F. Not sure what I would do if I got one this time of year and it was a once a year event. If it was every day, I would be trying to isolate the hen and check for health issues or make a soup.
If rough handling can cause it, I wonder if a rooster could cause it. If that is the case maybe both the hen and the rooster need to be considered for soup. The rooster if he is too hard on the hens, the hen if she is too willing to mate.

Can't blame it on the roo...they haven't been with one in over 2 months and he's gone to a new home now.

Yep...I'm going to be watching closely for behavior and any signs of illness or being "off" in the flock. I'm not 100% sure which one laid it but I'm pretty sure it's one of 2 hens that are 2.5 yo right now.


@Lacy Blues
I'd also suspect calcium except that the shell quality on the rest of the egg - and the eggs from the rest of the flock - are very good right now.

 

[lazy gardener]

@lazy gardener

Would love to see some photos as you work on things!

here they are. Will get more up as the coop progresses... It's framed now, we'll be working on the siding and roof if the weather permits this weekend. Note the before pic of front side lawn. The wood pile is right at the tree line. In the after pic, you can't see the wood pile. I was standing right beside it when I shot the after pic. Similar expansion behind the house, but not quite as much... still provides a lot more useable space.

SLW... bad girl Alpha hen: Abby Jap. beetle hand trap




Jack and his BSL


My Buddy RIP Love my Day lilies Before: front side yard




One of 5 truck loads



Jack and girls inspecting new Good old Maine "soil" Beginning comfrey
nest box



Siberian Pea tree shrub



After: front/side lawn Salvaged Ash tree Clockwise from 12:00 : Dom, BSL,
RCBL, BSL, ?SLW


Bad girls! This is not where eggs
belong.



good girls put eggs here. Sorghum, alias Milo 9 feet tall!!!

 

[Lacy Blues]

lazy gardener, were you standing in the same place for both pictures of your front yard?

Those sorghum plants are amazing! I wonder if I could plant some in my birds' runs to provide shade for them?

 

[lazy gardener]

No. In the first pic, from the camera angle, I think hubby was standing between the garden and the west corner of the house. The wood pile is about 50' in front of my house.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Facing the Music: Deep litter ain't working in my linoleum-floored coop. I've done all the things - put some compost/dirt down to get it started, throw scratch in to get the girls to kick it up. I rake around the area under the roost to keep it from piling up. But there's no composting of any kind happening. I think I'm ready to suck it up and just deal with the cost of keeping a minimal layer of pine on the floor and replacing the litter once a month. This is the only time I actually wish the coop were smaller - it takes a lot of pine to make a 2" layer in a 12 by 12 foot space. I also kind of hate that this means chickens skittering all over the place when they jump down from the roost. I'll have to build a ramp for them. In my spare time.

So. Before I give up completely, is there something I missed that might make deep litter work for me?