The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[circlehouse]

If you have a stash of fall leaves, those work great.  Otherwise, you might use chopped straw, and add grass clippings.  You
could start with shavings, and convert to more natural options as they come available.  

Thanks!!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I heard it was good to start with a few inches of wood chips and then leaves and everything else on top. I'm going to be doing that when i build the new run. Just gonna use pine shavings or sand in the coop though since it's going to be small and raised off the ground. Although I heard oak was toxic to birds? But then I've also heard it's more the green ones with all the tannin? But either way it makes me nervous. Especially since oak, maple, and pine, are most of the leaves/needles we have here

 

[slordaz]

Another Newbie here, this looks like a great thread. I'll be going back and reading some of these pages for sure.

I've had chickens for 1 year (7 hens, 2 BlackLaced Wyandottes, 2 Orpingtons, 3 EasterEggers).
I have 21 eggs in the incubator now, and today is Day #20. I'm an anxious momma....hovering and peering into the windows waiting to see some pips.

Jan

That's the same ratio of breeds Im about to get! Do they get along well?

They should get along just fine, but as always keep a close eye on them when introducing them

my mix increased this year lol and no losses over the winter but did have to process the meat chicken :
Roosters
Barred rock
RIR

Hens:
4 barred rock
4 buff orpington
4 amerecuana
3 leghorns
2 black sexlinks

they won't accept the ones that were raised in the house so taking them down to my niece as she is starting and can only have a few.

Your humor for the day: brought home eggs to put in the incubator and son told me to quit coloring the eggs it wasn't Easter yet. We had white,brown and blue/green.

 

[mlowen]

I heard it was good to start with a few inches of wood chips and then leaves and everything else on top. I'm going to be doing that when i build the new run. Just gonna use pine shavings or sand in the coop though since it's going to be small and raised off the ground. Although I heard oak was toxic to birds? But then I've also heard it's more the green ones with all the tannin? But either way it makes me nervous. Especially since oak, maple, and pine, are most of the leaves/needles we have here

I've been using oak, maple, birch, beech leaves in the coop & covered run for three years. It's mostly oak. I got chickens as much for shredding leaves (for compost) as for eggs. They break the leaves down beautifully and the poop mixed in makes fabulous soil for my garden!

 

[lazy gardener]

My flock was also mainly for the purpose of improving my gardens. Eggs and meat are a wonderful bonus. Entertainment is also a nice bonus. Exercise? Who needs a gym membership. I get plenty of exercise managing my yard: building stone fences, cutting trees, moving mulch and poo piles hither and yon!

 

[jmdes]

Circlehouse: Yes, they get along fine, I got them all at the same time when they were 3 days old, so they were nest-mates. That may make a difference. They have established a pecking order, naturally, so there is one that is at the bottom that they sometimes fuss at. She is not ever injured, and seems to get along fine.

JanetMarie: thanks for your note. That avatar is from my hen named "Hermione". She is very curious and brave and lays nice greenish blue eggs.

UPDATE:

Three chicks have hatched so far !! Woo Hoo !!

18 more eggs in the 'bator. They are cheeping like crazy. They are LOUD !! I nearly fainted this morning to see them, I guess I didn't expect them to really hatch. I was so anxious about the high altitude here, and the temperature and the humidity, etc. etc.. I was preparing for the worst.
I will take photos later when it's safe to open the lid. Now I know how this can get to be so addicting. LOL

Jan

 

[ShrekDawg]

I've been using oak, maple, birch, beech leaves in the coop & covered run for three years. It's mostly oak. I got chickens as much for shredding leaves (for compost) as for eggs. They break the leaves down beautifully and the poop mixed in makes fabulous soil for my garden!

That's great to know! Thank you! I was worried about it but seems it will be fine! Thanks! Plus they have been free ranging lately and they go into the woods so I figure it's not any different hah the compost seems wonderful

 

[Leahs Mom]

In my chicken house (which doesn't have a dirt floor) I start a "deep litter" by putting in a layer of dirt from the garden, then use wood shavings with that. I rake it at some point during the day and add more shavings as needed - mostly just under the roost. Since it's inside and not a dirt floor, I just take some out from time when needed. This same method can be used no matter how large or tiny the house. I just leave a little of the old litter and start again - sometimes adding dirt and sometimes not.

When I take the litter from inside out of the house, it goes right into the run. It makes a wonderful, deep litter and keeps the outdoor run from becoming hard, impacted disease-breeding ground.

I had a tree company chip some wood for me (they'll leave it free usually for the asking). I originally let that set in a pile for about 6 months to "cure"...it became full or red worms and other little bugs by that time. Then I take that over to the run by the wheelbarrow-full and dump it in a pile. The birds LOVE digging through it and spreading it.

Between the wood CHIPS from the trees and the wood SHAVINGS from inside, it makes such a healthy ground! The birds can dig through for worms at any time. Never becomes unhealthy.

Last year 2 of my daughters came over and dug out pickup truck loads to take to their gardens from my run. Just under the top layer is the most beautiful earth - smells wonderful. That combination of the nitrogen (poo) and carbon makes such great soil. And a wonderfully healthy place for the birds.


My birds aren't confined to a run and are only closed in now and then, but if I was in the city or had limited area and they had to be in a run, this is one thing I'd do as a natural/health-building environment for my birds. I think it's probably one of the best little management methods out there.


PS: I only use wood CHIPS and leaves in outdoor runs; shavings inside.

ETA: This post shows what the chips look like in the run: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...eeping-thread-ots-welcome/37870#post_16535295

 

[ShrekDawg]

In my chicken house (which doesn't have a dirt floor) I start a "deep litter" by putting in a layer of dirt from the garden, then use wood shavings with that.  I rake it at some point during the day and add more shavings as needed - mostly just under the roost.  Since it's inside and not a dirt floor, I just take some out from time when needed.  This same method can be used no matter how large or tiny the house.  I just leave a little of the old litter and start again - sometimes adding dirt and sometimes not.

When I take the litter from inside out of the house, it goes right into the run.  It makes a wonderful, deep litter and keeps the outdoor run from becoming hard, impacted disease-breeding ground.

I had a tree company chip some wood for me (they'll leave it free usually for the asking).  I originally let that set in a pile for about 6 months to "cure"...it became full or red worms and other little bugs by that time.  Then I take that over to the run by the wheelbarrow-full and dump it in a pile.  The birds LOVE digging through it and spreading it. 

Between the wood CHIPS from the trees and the wood SHAVINGS from inside, it makes such a healthy ground!  The birds can dig through for worms at any time.  Never becomes unhealthy.

Last year 2 of my daughters came over and dug out pickup truck loads to take to their gardens from my run.  Just under the top layer is the most beautiful earth - smells wonderful.  That combination of the nitrogen (poo) and carbon makes such great soil.  And a wonderfully healthy place for the birds.


My birds aren't confined to a run and are only closed in now and then, but if I was in the city or had limited area and they had to be in a run, this is one thing I'd do as a natural/health-building environment for my birds.  I think it's probably one of the best little management methods out there.


PS:  I only use wood CHIPS and leaves in outdoor runs; shavings inside.

ETA:  This post shows what the chips look like in the run:  https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...eeping-thread-ots-welcome/37870#post_16535295

Thank you so much for all the info!!! This certainly does seem like a wonderful method and now I feel even better about trying it! I hadn't thought of putting dirt in the coop below the shavings, that's a great idea!! Although, do you think I could just put the shavings and take them out every so often like every week or month or whatever or do you think this is better? Also, do you think curing the wood chips is necessary? I was hoping to build a new run in the spring so pretty soon and don't wanna have to let them sit.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Yes, you could do it without dirt. The idea of the dirt is that you get some of the beneficial microbes from the ground that you won't have without and it will help things break down some inside. However, if you don't want to use dirt it's not necessary. I just feel it's a little healthier but I've done it without as well.


The main reason I let my chips "cure" is that they were pretty much all from spruce. At some point I had read that pine can be pretty acidic and I just didn't want to just dump it in there green. I've never used my chips right away so I don't know if there would be any issue. I imagine that the addition of the poo would begin to help it to break down pretty quickly anyhow.

When I left it set it wasn't too long before it was inhabited with worms and/or other little bugs which I took as a good sign.