The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[COChix]

We use Sweet PDZ in our coop. Sprinkle a layer of that and DE on the coop flooring, covered with about 1-2 ft of straw deep litter. Every a.m. I sprinkle a combo of Sweet PDZ/DE on the fresh droppings. Once a week, mostly during the winter, I add a small fresh layer of straw. I use to turn their droppings in the am daily, but had arm surgery so I have not been doing that. We have 24 birds and minimal smells when using Sweet PDZ.

Do any of you re-use your Sweet PDZ? The bag says you can but I have only been using since this winter. Was just curious if anyone has had luck reusing it?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: On the solar, I'd love it if it could work! Just that everything I've read and everything I've been told was that it wouldn't run the heat all night long. Where @armorfirelady and I live, there are weeks on end when the temperatures don't come above 25 degrees. That means that the waterers need to be running heat 24 hours. And her work schedule is such that she isn't home for longer periods of time so the waterers have to be reliable.

In addition, she feeds wet feed during the winter that is in another heated bowl.

Are you saying that we could run TWO- THREE 25 (or 50) watt appliances 24 hours all winter long on one battery?


Eta:
Since the temps are that low, the thermocube won't shut them off until the temperatures are well above freezing. And a thermocube isn't needed with the heated bowls as they have their own thermometer that shuts off like the thermocube.

 

[galefrances]

Hi,

I haven't been on in a really long time, but I'm hoping someone can give me some help. I should probably be in the emergency forum, but I trust you guys and feel comfortable here.

Anyway....one of my hens is injured. I looked out the window to see my Saint Bernard standing over my hen. He tried to pick her up and dropped her when I gave him the command. There are no open wounds. Her right leg seems to be the only injury. She's limping and complains when I move it back and forth. Should I wrap the leg or just let her work it out. I don't feel anything broken. I kept her wrapped in a towel (she was wet from dog drool) until she calmed down. I have her separated from the flock for now.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

gale

 

[Leahs Mom]

@galefrances
Hi! Good to see you!

On the leg, is she able to walk or limp... does she put any weight on it at all?

ETA:
PS: You can send me a PM if you would like.

 

[FridayYet]

Do any of you re-use your Sweet PDZ? The bag says you can but I have only been using since this winter. Was just curious if anyone has had luck reusing it?

I had 5 hens in a 3x5 coop. (Only used for sleeping and to go to the nest box.) I scooped it out every other day or so and never felt like it got saturated or needed to be replaced. I just added more when the level got low. The great thing was that it also helped keep the hens feet clean so they didn't track mud into the nest box. It was a great set-up when I had chickens in the suburbs.

I will probably use it in a mix like you do when I remodel their temporary coop in a few weeks. If the PDZ smells clean and still looks fairly white, I'd reuse it.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: On the solar, I'd love it if it could work! Just that everything I've read and everything I've been told was that it wouldn't run the heat all night long. Where @armorfirelady and I live, there are weeks on end when the temperatures don't come above 25 degrees. That means that the waterers need to be running heat 24 hours. And her work schedule is such that she isn't home for longer periods of time so the waterers have to be reliable.
I wish it was just weeks.............more like months & months of temps below freezing here

In addition, she feeds wet feed during the winter that is in another heated bowl.

Are you saying that we could run TWO- THREE 25 (or 50) watt appliances 24 hours all winter long on one battery?


Eta:
Since the temps are that low, the thermocube won't shut them off until the temperatures are well above freezing. And a thermocube isn't needed with the heated bowls as they have their own thermometer that shuts off like the thermocube.
I would think that I could easily do it with one battery. My automatic pop door while it doesn't take a lot of energy it is always *on* because it has to close and open. I don't shut it off. And it is ran on a small battery maybe 4 inches by 2 inches. (It fits in a plastic container that the Mr Clean white sponges come in)

And yes my heated dog bowls shut themselves off when the temps are above freezing. I would think that the sump pump would take more power.

And I agree the initial costs are the worse but in the long run it will save me $$ & when the power goes out I do not have to worry about flooding or frozen feed bowls

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I have been reading carefully and slowly bits and pieces of old poultry books... 1800's stuff mostly and I have a lot more research to do and trying to understand the ideas behind the care listed...

but I was wondering if anyone uses Tobacco as an insect preventative? I have grown tobacco before (just for giggles, I wanted to see what the plant looked like), I have used it medicinally on family members but never considered poultry uses until reading it has been used as such.

Carbolic Powder?

A lot of what I am reading does not go into the whys so I am just using my own knowledge of herbs and what ever extra I can research to get a better handle on alternative medical and preventative care for poultry...

Hemp seed, anyone feed that to their birds for molting?

Turmeric powder I can confirm does stop bleeding and help with healing, dog was the patient, nothing worked until I tried turmeric powder on her ears to get the skin to regrow she had ripped off... I think big dummy got her head stuck somehow while I was at work.

Dried Herbs in the nesting boxes?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Hey you guys! Check this out. Lots of good speakers and topics, and it's free. Starting Monday, April 6 through the whole week. Workshops will only be available 24 hours after posting so take a look at the schedule and see if anything interests you!

http://www.homegrownfoodsummit.com/

 

[Lacy Blues]

Hey you guys! Check this out. Lots of good speakers and topics, and it's free. Starting Monday, April 6 through the whole week. Workshops will only be available 24 hours after posting so take a look at the schedule and see if anything interests you!

http://www.homegrownfoodsummit.com/

Thank you. I looked at it and decided I need to hear almost all of it. How on earth will I manage that? Anyway, I will catch as much as I can. I hope they are recording it and offering it to the public later on.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Here's an article that is very interesting to me. I've been thinking that many of our concerns about the effects of GMO crops may be more heavily related to the amount of glyphosate that can be used rather than just the genetic engineering itself. That has just seemed like common sense.

I've even tried to keep away from conventional crops even if they are non-GMO because of my "hunch" that it's the herbicides and chemical fertilizers that are causing many of our major health issues. Since both of those are used on conventional, non-GMO crops, I try to be conservative about using conventionally-farmed items and try to use them as little as possible.

So I was interested to see this today.

Is Roundup the Cause of 'Gluten Intolerance'?

A compelling new peer-reviewed report from two U.S. scientists argues that increased use of Monsanto’s glyphosate herbicide (trade name Roundup) could be the cause of the epidemic of symptoms labeled as “gluten intolerance.”

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real...m=HE eNews&utm_campaign=04.06.15 MEN HE eNews