The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Have you decided what breed you want? And... it always seems that those of us that want a broody don't get one. And those of us that don't want a broody have more than one

Sigh....

 

[Leahs Mom]

Oh...on the roos...
One thing that is helpful is to have somewhere that you "could" put him separate if needed. Especially here in the winter when the girls just don't want to go out on snow, they appreciate not having to be in his presence all the time.

Of course that's not necessary, but it is nice to have if you can accommodate that. When we repurposed our shed for a chicken house we divided it so that there was an area that I could separate to if needed for a broody, a mean bird, etc. It wasn't huge but it did serve the purpose as needed.

You can kind-of see how we did the divisions inside in this photo and the links to the posts that follow. I have to leave right now or I'd post some updated photos.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ad-ots-welcome.729605/page-3788#post-16537782


https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ad-ots-welcome.729605/page-3800#post-16776480

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I highly recommend bantam cochins, the roosters are often gentle, though they can be stinkers at times, but I adore them anyways. I believe they are called pekins in the UK.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@oldhenlikesdogs
Do the bantam cochins have feathered feet?

 

[Amanita]

Oh...on the roos...
One thing that is helpful is to have somewhere that you "could" put him separate if needed. Especially here in the winter when the girls just don't want to go out on snow, they appreciate not having to be in his presence all the time.

Oh yes, I meant to mention before but I forgot! We do have a reasonable amount of space - about 2 and a half acres, although not all of that is well-maintained since we only bought the property less than a year ago and there's been a lot to do on the house too! But we have the room to spread out a bit if needed, is the point

I don't have an exact breed in mind, although I have definite preferences I suspect I'll be limited to a certain extent by what's available... I'd like chickens that are... well... chicken-like (sorry, Silkie people! ) and dual purpose would be good. We don't particularly need a lot of eggs, in fact one reason I want them is to fertilize the garden but I haven't seen any productiveness scales for poop
I'd like to learn how to process them but I'm sure it won't be easy; I'm trying to psych myself up to the idea.

Ok, I'm rambling again, sorry, I'm just a bit excited about the whole thing at the moment...

I was actually looking at Dorkings, they look like they might be a good balance plus very traditional and nice to look at.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

@oldhenlikesdogs
Do the bantam cochins have feathered feet?

Yes they do, my avatar shows one of my frizzled hens.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I think I may have asked you about this before so you'll have to forgive my lack of memory here. But I read that folks are concerned about feathered feet for ranging birds. Also about them having issues in winter with the feathers getting wet then causing frostbite.

You're obviously in a very cold area so you must not have any issues with that?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I think I may have asked you about this before so you'll have to forgive my lack of memory here. But I read that folks are concerned about feathered feet for ranging birds. Also about them having issues in winter with the feathers getting wet then causing frostbite.

You're obviously in a very cold area so you must not have any issues with that?

I don't have any problems with any of my feather footed birds, so I don't know why some people do.

 

[armorfirelady]

I don't have any problems with any of my feather footed birds, so I don't know why some people do.

I have 2 foot feathered girls. For the most part they are fine in the winter months. The only time I had a problem is when one put her foot in the heated water bowl & got frostbite. It has since healed itself, the toe nail that fell off grew back in & she has had no lasting effects. But they have never had any problems traipsing through the snow with feathered feet. And mine do walk thru the snow on a daily basis to get to the old run where they like to hang out.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks! @oldhenlikesdogs and @armorfirelady