The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Lacy Blues]

Roosters are going to get it here soon too. Where do you get your bags? I have been using ziplock freezer bags but the larger roosters don't fit.

I have used two-gallon zip locks for my large cockerels. They are mixed breed and from the yard bird layer flock.

I picked up a few shower curtains to try this this winter. Also snagged my sister's old clear shower curtain when she replaced it.


YES, we have used the bucket successfully at our cabin. ALWAYS have at least 4 mice in it everytime we put it out. I think our maximum was 5 mice. We use peanut butter on the can and water or RV antifreeze in bucket depending on the season. Temps in Northern Maine are often in the negative digits.

I used peanut butter too but they didn't seem to want it. It works in the house!

 

[Turk Raphael]

Interesting, I'll admit I won't even try these. I am a visual person when it comes to picking food out of my freezer. I need to see it. Other than the beef I have in there, almost everything either has a picture on its packaging or is in clear packing.

The shrinking bags are quite fascinating though.

They're easy enough to mark and like I said, Stuff will keep fresh, without freezer burn for many, many years. The key are the oxygen absorbers.

To be honest, I likely wouldn't use them either if I had to pay for them.

 

[delisha]

@delisha
I didn't get a chance to take the photo yet. Too much going on today. Will soon.


And..
I FORGOT TO ASK WHAT SIZE SWEETER HEATER YOU HAVE! Since they come in about 5 sizes

I use the largest they make in the insulated brooder room. I do have the 12x12 too, but that is use when I have brand new chicks.

Shrink poultry bags. Love em. I use em for rabbits too.
http://poultryshrinkbags.blogspot.com/?m=1

I use these too.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Is there something similar to the sweeter heater, that won't set a coop on fire, but costs less than 50 bucks?

I know, I don't ask for much.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Is there something similar to the sweeter heater, that won't set a coop on fire, but costs less than 50 bucks?

I know, I don't ask for much.

The small heat plate from Premier is $49. That's what I used when I brooded without a broody.

http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=120893&criteria=heat+plate


OH.....guess I should have asked if you were wanting it to heat the coop or use for brooding. The heat plate wouldn't heat the coop if that's what you were looking for.


PS: Don't need the cover.

 

[ronott1]

Is there something similar to the sweeter heater, that won't set a coop on fire, but costs less than 50 bucks?

I know, I don't ask for much.

Premier1 has two brooder heating plates, one is under fifty and the other is seventy one.

http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=120893&cat_id=165

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Thanks for the replies!

I just need heat for a brooder, but I'm planning to brood in the coop, or my garage.

Now I'm having a DIY fantasy about making my own heater with one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repti...=1414502805&sr=1-2&keywords=under+tank+heater

And some plywood, and four dowels for legs. Can you picture it? Plywood on legs, tank heater stuck to the underside of the plywood, plugged into a thermostatic controller. Would probably cost me more than 50 bucks to build. So nevermind.

I like the look of the premier unit!

 

[sunflower4you]

@sunflower4you
I'm in Indiana. When the flock was smaller I kept the feed inside. I prefer the feed inside, but my hen shed was such that I did not get rodents inside (and still is).

Last year I had to put it outside because of not having enough room indoors. I really don't like the feed outside as I feel that it draws rodents to the living area. Funny how the inside feeders say they like it because it keeps rodents away; the outside feeders like it because it keeps rodents away

. But in a barn-type setting which isn't rodent tight, it would be totally different for which I like better.


Anyhow... They will go out if they can see ground to walk on. I did a lot of shoveling last year. Alternately you can throw wood chips or leaves on a path to the food which helps them see that it is the ground.

I refuse to do all that shoveling this year which is why I want to move the flock into the pole barn for the winter. Food will be inside and I'll have to keep mouse traps set all the time unfortunately. I really prefer them to stay in their normal setup as they will be able to get outside more. But last year the older hens wouldn't let the pullets go inside and it was way too cold weather for that ridiculousness. Since the hen shed was really too close of quarters for them to be inside all day long, it was a constant issue. On the worst days I left the pop doors shut to protect the pullets from being shut out in the extreme cold. But it was NOT a good solution.

Therefore...kennels in the pole barn this year. It's an experiment and I may hate it but I'm going to at least try it. The part I won't like is that they won't be able to go outside freely if they choose to do so. But it will give them more indoor room and keep the youngers from being banned outside in extreme weather.

Thanks. I have kept feed outside all summer/fall and have not seen any evidence of rodents so far. I think I will try to keep it outside as incentive for the birds to come out of the coop!

I live in northern mn, and keep the water and food outside during the winter. Leah's mom is right, I have to make sure there is a shoveled path to it (keep it out of the snow) or throw hay, etc so they will walk to the food and water. On rare days, say 40 below plus a horrid windchill, I might add food and water just for the day to the inside of the coop. With the setup you are describing, as long as they can reach the food and water without having to walk thru snow, they should be ok.

Some chickens will walk on snow, but that hasn't been my experience until almost spring

I have had chickens who got caught in a snowfall and refused to walk thru one or two inches of snow to get back in their coop at night. Came home to find them in the dark, wet and miserable, covered with snow, maybe 10 feet from their nice dry coop..

I want to keep the water outside to avoid a damp coop. I have 2 plastic heated waterers that I haven't plugged in to test yet. I'm thinking about putting them on a timer so they only turn on for a few hours at night to keep from freezing. Or if I don't plug them in I could just keep one thawed in the garage and swap it with the frozen one every day. The question is how often do I want to haul a 25 pound waterer through 50 yards of snow and cold from the garage to the coop?

Depending on how much snow you get, you may want some kind of a structure under that tarp. It will catch snow and hold it until your tarp rips. If you have a slanted structure underneath, the snow should just slide off once some of it accumulates.

I think that having chickens, period, attracts rodents. They apparently can smell food from an unbelievable distance.
LM, how is your hen shed set up that rodents cannot get in? I'd love to be able to do something like that but in my situation, I don't think its going to happen.

Somebody, I don't remember who, has their birds in a raised coop of sorts and is putting straw bales and windows around the perimeter outside underneath to make a nice warm spot for them that is snow free and they can spend their days there being somewhat toasty. Good idea.

My run is an old dog kennel/run that has arched supports over the top that are designed to hold a tarp so I hung the tarp over those supports. Hopefully it is angled enough that the snow will eventually slide off. Or else I could reach up there with a broom and push the snow off.

My hens feed & water is kept outside all winter. Its in a lean to that is covered on 3 sides. I haven't noticed anymore mice around with it being outside.

My hens will walk thru the snow to get to their old run and the other shelter I put out for them. They very rarely stay in the coop. But I do have to shovel a path for them if the snow is more than a couple inches high. And since I need to shovel when its get deep to make it to the coop myself they always have a path. I also feed their other goodies like veggies and meat outside in the veggie garden. Thats probably why they don't mind coming out. They are very food motivated.

The only time they dont come out is when the wind chills are very low or its snowing hard

This is an old picture but it gives you an idea of my setup

Thanks for sharing your experience. It makes me think my chickens may come out after all!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Thanks for the replies!

I just need heat for a brooder, but I'm planning to brood in the coop, or my garage.

Now I'm having a DIY fantasy about making my own heater with one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repti...=1414502805&sr=1-2&keywords=under+tank+heater

And some plywood, and four dowels for legs. Can you picture it? Plywood on legs, tank heater stuck to the underside of the plywood, plugged into a thermostatic controller. Would probably cost me more than 50 bucks to build. So nevermind.

I like the look of the premier unit!

I use a heating pad that stays on (no automatic off) set on an old oven rack (or something similar) and then covered with something like an old towel or whatever you don't mind getting manure on (or you can enclose it in a plastic bag) and then bedding. They can get under it at night or on top of it, wherever the heat is comfortable for them. I usually keep the pad set to medium heat so it's not really hot and won't burn your barn down.

I showed a youtube video a few pages back. It's a great idea, won't break the bank and you can adjust it to whatever height you need by changing whatever you put under it.

 

[lalaland]

maybe you saw this:

to UM-POULTRY

Huffington Post:
Chickens Look Way Different Today, And Here's The Reason Why

​

​

Chickens have changed. Today's broiler chickens are several times larger than broiler chickens of past decades -- and a new study by researchers in Canada offers an explanation for why the birds got so big.
(Story continues below photos.)

The chickens shown were all raised in the same manner and photographed at the same age. The Huffington Post added the dates to this image. (Poultry Science, Advanced Access, (2014) doi: 10.3382/ps.2014-04291, Figure 1) (Zuidhof et al, “Growth, efficiency, and yield of commercial broilers from 1957, 1978, and 2005")

For the study, the scientists raised three breeds of broiler chickens: one breed that was common in 1957, another from 1978, and a third from 2005, called the Ross 308 breed, CBC News reported.
"We fed them exactly the same things, so we did not provide hormones," lead author Dr. Martin Zuidhof, associate professor of agricultural science at the University of Alberta, told the CBC. "The only difference that was part of our study treatments was the genetics."
(The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has long banned the use of hormones in poultry production.)
What did the researchers find? The Ross 308 chickens grew to be much bigger than the 1978 breed and four times larger than the 1957 breed.
"We had never actually tested our 1978 line before, but where they fell were very consistent with what we believed would be the case based on historical selection for growth rate and efficiency," Zuidhof told the Canadian news channel CTV.
In other words, today's chickens are bigger simply because they were bred to be bigger. Should we be concerned about eating these big birds?
"There is no danger in eating larger chickens," Zuidhof told The Huffington Post in an email. "That would be comparable to saying it is more dangerous to eat bigger carrots because they’re bigger."
The study was published online in the journal Poultry Science on September 26, 2014.