The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

oh my! these are all good suggestions. I've never ever followed most of them - all I do is make sure there is extra food on hand, since the chicken sitter might be extra generous with the food, walk them thru the process of opening the coop, where to find eggs, how to feed and water, how to manage the gate, etc - give my cell phone number, and thats it!

With new sitters, I make sure they know they need to get the eggs out so as not to nudge anyone into broodiness. I had to laugh one summer when I came home and there were a ton of eggs in a nest - asked my neighbor (who is a farmer, grew up on a dairy farm) what was up, and he sheepishly confessed that he was afraid to stick his hand under the hen to get the eggs!

Enjoy your trip. Happy Anniversary too!

 

[COChix]

@Leahsmom - so I was reading a thread on Horizontal nipple waterers and saw that you were using that system. I was wondering if your still using the HN for watering your flock. Can you provide me with some feedback on it, how did it do in below 0 temps did you have problems with them freezing? Also did you use a stock tank heater in the bucket for the freezing?

Thanks!

I am facing wrist surgery at the end of this month and will have limited abilities for two months. Trying to get the chickens more streamlined so it will be easy on my BF. I will be installing a couple PVC style feeders which should help a ton as well. Any other thoughts on things I should be reviewing for the gang?

 

[vpatt]

Frozen water tip: the floating ping pong ball! I've been having a problem in these subzero temps keeping the water from icing over - there is plenty of unfrozen water but a thick ice develops on top. THis is likely because I am still using the plastic ice cream buckets sitting in the heated dog bowl..... so I took one of the cats toys - a ping pong ball sized plastic ball with holes in it, and tossed it in the water buckets. It works! I came home Monday to an iced over bucket, with a drinking hole next to the ball, which was frozen in place. Yesterday I came home to totally open water - even though it was colder than Monday. I think the theory is that the ball floats, the hens dipping beaks in water make tiny waves which make the ball move and the action keeps the water less likely to freeze? anyway here is the ball and a gratuitous pic of Mia who kept going after the ball when I was trying to grab a pic. Please ignore the mess in the background!

So the ball floats even tho it has holes in it?

 

[Shan30]

I admit I've never really worried about those things when we leave either. Always figured if anything went wrong I would get a call.

 

[Shan30]

I assume everyone's heard that there have been confirmed cases of avian flu in multiple commercial farms in Langley and Abbottsford which is across the "pond" as we call it from where we live on Vancouver island.

Well last year we ordered some sexed chicks from a gentleman over there who runs a very clean operation and is very serious about biosecurity. The silver laced polish cockerel we were supposed to receive grew into BCW polish cockerel. I let them know a couple months ago and they offered to send me another free of charge next month hen they begin hatching.

I was all excited until AI showed up and now I'm not sure I should have him send it. He's 10k outside the restricted zone. It really sucks because I wanted a breeding group of the SL polish. I have never seen hatching eggs for sale on the island and really do not want to bring in new birds

Also really feel sorry for the gentleman that I'm dealing with as their business is majorly suffering over this.

 

[chicalot]

Shan30, I personally would not do it.

I read about that. Can you imagine having to lock your chickens down for 8 months!? That was the recommended quarantine time. I hope they're able to keep it in check, thousands of birds have died or been euthanized.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Leahsmom - so I was reading a thread on Horizontal nipple waterers and saw that you were using that system. I was wondering if your still using the HN for watering your flock. Can you provide me with some feedback on it, how did it do in below 0 temps did you have problems with them freezing? Also did you use a stock tank heater in the bucket for the freezing?

Thanks!

I am facing wrist surgery at the end of this month and will have limited abilities for two months. Trying to get the chickens more streamlined so it will be easy on my BF. I will be installing a couple PVC style feeders which should help a ton as well. Any other thoughts on things I should be reviewing for the gang?

So far they've kept open with my "bird bath heater" in it. I have this one (or at least one similar) http://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precis...=1420839742&sr=8-19&keywords=bird+bath+deicer

But I got it locally and it cost me about $29 so the one on amazon is much higher price. I got it at a hardware in a farm community that stocks a few livestock items.



But I have to give the whole story..

I also have this waterer out there as well that that they much prefer over the nipples so they don't use them constantly.


What I have found, though, when the temps get way low is that my jars begin to freeze from the top down (of course...the heat comes from the bottom) after it gets pretty low in temps. They always have enough open water to last for a whole day and then I take them in at night and put out a new one.

So...
I do see some of them drinking from the horizontal nipple bucket and they have worked okay. But since they don't use it constantly, I wanted you to know that. @aart lives about half hour north of me in Michigan and this is the only waterer her birds are using and she's had great success. She started a thread and just did an update on her particular situation. I'm hoping she'll stop in here and give the link and her comments...I've somehow lost her link.


@COChix
Edited to add the link to aart's thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/936870/my-new-heated-waterer

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Shan30

I think I'd be conservative on taking them too. I would probably end up worrying about it if I got them....

I'll have to go read my med book....wondering if it will be passed in hatching eggs.

 

[Shan30]

@Shan30


I think I'd be conservative on taking them too.  I would probably end up worrying about it if I got them....

I'll have to go read my med book....wondering if it will be passed in hatching eggs.

Yeah you guys are probably right... Dang I really want that boy!

I'm not sure whether its passed through hatching eggs. I believe that like other influenzas there is more than one strain and I'm not sure which they are dealing with over there. I don't think that all strains can be transmitted to humans either. Either way it would be great information if anyone has it!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Just looking at the "Chicken Health for Dummies" book and this is what it says about AI: (Bold added by me.)

Quote:

It also says
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