The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lazy gardener]

Rose Comb Brown Leghorn. Nice looking birds, excellent foragers, lay a white egg. BUT, they defy any fence! They would be good in a set up where they were allowed to free range all the time, without concern about collecting their eggs, or in a very large completely enclosed coop/run. If you want some brain fodder to get you through the coming long months of winter, do some thread searches regarding Sex links, Auto sexing, and any other genetics related topics you can come up with. In a certain sense, PBR and Dominiques, as well as Cuckoo Marans, and any other barred or cuckoo patterned birds should be autosexing. Again, you'll have to do a lot of reading to get the breed specific details. A lot of other birds can be sexed with fair accuracy based on down color and pattern distribution. I wouldn't bet the farm on sexing these chicks, BUT, a little knowledge can be a good thing when looking at a bin full of chicks. One gal on the Maine site, commented last summer that she was at a feed store, and they had a bin full of PBR pullets. She shook her head, and walked out in disgust... they were all cockrels.

 

[barbgookin]

Hi! I was reading your info on Basic H. I have a booklet called Shakleeizing Your Farm. I am a Shaklee Ind. Dist. My husband and I use this product on our farm for many, many reasons. We do use it to worm our chickens too. Have you found it to be helpful?
barbgookin

 

[barbgookin]

Hi! I was reading your info on Basic H. I have a booklet called Shakleeizing Your Farm. I am a Shaklee Ind. Dist. My husband and I use this product on our farm for many, many reasons. We do use it to worm our chickens too. Have you found it to be helpful?
barbgookin

 

[SallyinIndiana]

And I'm guessing that the sumatras can take care of themselves way better than a silkie

I can't speak on the silkies but the sumatras I have both the small one and the LF ones are very little maintenance other than food and water.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'd like to greatly reduce - or totally eliminate - legumes from my feed. (I know I've said that before.)

Therefore...I'm wondering if anyone has a good source for MEAT MEALS. I already get fish meal so I don't need a source for that. I'm not even sure if it would be as economical as just using fresh meat scraps. But I'd like to find out.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Hi! I was reading your info on Basic H. I have a booklet called Shakleeizing Your Farm. I am a Shaklee Ind. Dist. My husband and I use this product on our farm for many, many reasons. We do use it to worm our chickens too. Have you found it to be helpful?
barbgookin

@barbgookin
We've been talking via pm but also wanted to welcome you to the thread! Hope you hang around

 

[LindaB220]

Hi! I was reading your info on Basic H. I have a booklet called Shakleeizing Your Farm. I am a Shaklee Ind. Dist. My husband and I use this product on our farm for many, many reasons. We do use it to worm our chickens too. Have you found it to be helpful?
barbgookin

Yes, Kasaundra has mentioned on other threads that she uses it in her coops. And maybe to wash her eggs? Not sure about that

 

[Kassaundra]

I'm thinking of putting some tall grasses at the front of my property, between the road and the driveway, to soften the visual entry to the yard a bit. They would grow tall through the summer, could be left for the winter or cut down, and when the snow plow knocks them down, it won't be an issue. Also have 13 Bocking #4 Comfrey plants which will be planted here and there. They'll be multi purpose: fodder for the chickens, compost, and, depending on how well they grow, may actually be a bit of a low hedge at road edge. Plan to plant some where ever I put fruit trees.

Don't think it would make a good roadside hedge b/c you harvest basically the whole plant a couple of times a year, if kept harvested it won't get much over knee high and just as it does you'll be cutting in down again. Also on the roadside it might get more pollutants then you would like to feed to your chickens, or use medicinally.

 

[Kassaundra]

Okay, peeps.

I just heard the news guy say we might get snow flurries tomorrow. I have done NOTHING for winter yet. Still contemplating pens for the pole barn instead of the shed so that no one gets stuck out in the cold.

I did find Four 10x6 kennel panels but I still need to find gate panels. I guess I better hurry up.

We were 92 today.

 

[Kassaundra]

Yes, Kasaundra has mentioned on other threads that she uses it in her coops. And maybe to wash her eggs? Not sure about that

I was saying if I were to do a routine worming plan it would either be basic H or grapefruit seed extract in the water for one month, twice a year.