The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[loanwizard]

Quick question. Halloween is coming and I have already place a facebook call to my friends and neighbors not to clog the landfills that my hogs and chickens will love them. How many is too many? I don't wish to make them sick. Can I just add them to the compost heap and pull some out every once in a while?

90 layers, 9 hogs.

 

[Adenium]

Well, the hay that the Bat brought home was moldy...bad moldy.  It was free, so one cannot complain..but the mold got Katy Chicken to wheezing and sneezing again, poor thing. 

To economize and make do with what we have, I will be encasing these bales in heavy duty leaf bags and using them for insulation anyway.  It won't look as pretty but it gets the job done and will make the bales easy to clean, while still sealing in the mold and providing an insulator for this open air coop. 

I found that I don't need as many bales to make this coop snug but will hold a few bales in reserve in case the cold gets more bitter this winter and I need more oomph in the coop.  I doubt I will....

Now, off to rake up some of these beautiful leaves to place in the coop and in the nest boxes.  LOVE fall leaves and their bright faces! 

 

OK, so I'm a little late in joining this thread - I've lurked here for ages. Figured I might as well step in, especially since Bee mentioned noticing the viewing members on the side and made us sound like stalkers....... Don't hate me because I only have 3 acres and there are 4 silkies in our little flock (husband wanted them, part of the bargain to get chickens period). I've mostly stayed out because I gain from reading, and I can't fully participate in the grand natural experiment because I don't have the ideal set-up some of you have. So perhaps you'd feel I shouldn't have chickens. We do the coop/run set-up with free roaming when we're outside. We aren't in a position to have a dog to patrol right now and we are packed to the gills with foxes, coons, fisher cats, coyotes, bears, hawks, etc. But I learn where I can and do the best possible for my chickens, who so far seem happy and healthy. I don't agree with absolutely everything in this thread, but I think there's a lot of common sense and I really appreciate the helpful hints and the camaraderie here. Like Bee, I'm a nurse, and I like to see evidence-based care I too was horrified reading the doom and gloom of the standard chicken texts. I am a grad student at UCONN, and while I initially thought "ooh, local poultry experts" I then realized that their poultry NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY. I'm not interested in the agribusiness model. I'm not floofy, but I do view my animals as a bit more than a meal source. Oh gosh, I've got lots of bad points. Silkies, a BO, coop/run, oh and did I mention I was a vegetarian for 15 years and now eat only eggs/dairy/fish? Anyway, I hope I can still play here. Don't throw fermented pumpkins at me.

I've been curious about BK's rather open coop and the hay bales as insulation. (I dream of a second coop, built cheaply rather than bought, so I can have my big fat standard fowl and my husband can sequester his delicate fluffballs). Wouldn't you eventually have mold as an issue? I know I saw a picture of a sort of tarp awning somewhere Bee, but doesn't moisture get in anyway? Plus it's on the ground. So, 1) do you get mold when you overwinter with your hay stacks and 2) does it end up affecting your chickens? Same with adding leaves. Don't they mold in the coop if you add them to the deep litter?

I've wondered this because obviously many chickens roam around scratching up forest floor, which around here has plenty of leaf mold. And yet so many talk about preventing mold in the coop, stirring litter to avoid a mold cap, etc. Is it different varieties that are benign or harmful? I know when we brooded in my basement the chicks were all sneezing a little, and this dissipated when we moved them to the coop. There was a little mold under their shavings where the water must have leaked at some point, so I assumed this was the cause.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Yeah and again I'm thinking if it's so good for chickens, how about us?? Based on this thought line I finally ordered myself a copy of Sally Fallon's 'Nourishing Traditions' yesterday.

Someone sent me a link to this little documentary on GMO foods yesterday...how it affects US and our animals. A little long, but definitely worth watching if you're interested.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My girls are not so impressed....he is trying to mate unreceptive females, which means a lot of running, squawking and resistance to his charms. Then some big ol' Toby running to the rescue. Young and dumb...but a good looking guy if you like this body type on a rooster.

Actually Bee he looks like he could use of ff.

 

[Miss Lydia]

OK, so I'm a little late in joining this thread - I've lurked here for ages. Figured I might as well step in, especially since Bee mentioned noticing the viewing members on the side and made us sound like stalkers.......

Don't hate me because I only have 3 acres and there are 4 silkies in our little flock (husband wanted them, part of the bargain to get chickens period). I've mostly stayed out because I gain from reading, and I can't fully participate in the grand natural experiment because I don't have the ideal set-up some of you have. So perhaps you'd feel I shouldn't have chickens.

We do the coop/run set-up with free roaming when we're outside. We aren't in a position to have a dog to patrol right now and we are packed to the gills with foxes, coons, fisher cats, coyotes, bears, hawks, etc. But I learn where I can and do the best possible for my chickens, who so far seem happy and healthy. I don't agree with absolutely everything in this thread, but I think there's a lot of common sense and I really appreciate the helpful hints and the camaraderie here. Like Bee, I'm a nurse, and I like to see evidence-based care

I too was horrified reading the doom and gloom of the standard chicken texts. I am a grad student at UCONN, and while I initially thought "ooh, local poultry experts" I then realized that their poultry NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY. I'm not interested in the agribusiness model. I'm not floofy, but I do view my animals as a bit more than a meal source. Oh gosh, I've got lots of bad points. Silkies, a BO, coop/run, oh and did I mention I was a vegetarian for 15 years and now eat only eggs/dairy/fish? Anyway, I hope I can still play here. Don't throw fermented pumpkins at me.
I've been curious about BK's rather open coop and the hay bales as insulation. (I dream of a second coop, built cheaply rather than bought, so I can have my big fat standard fowl and my husband can sequester his delicate fluffballs). Wouldn't you eventually have mold as an issue? I know I saw a picture of a sort of tarp awning somewhere Bee, but doesn't moisture get in anyway? Plus it's on the ground. So, 1) do you get mold when you overwinter with your hay stacks and 2) does it end up affecting your chickens? Same with adding leaves. Don't they mold in the coop if you add them to the deep litter?
I've wondered this because obviously many chickens roam around scratching up forest floor, which around here has plenty of leaf mold. And yet so many talk about preventing mold in the coop, stirring litter to avoid a mold cap, etc. Is it different varieties that are benign or harmful? I know when we brooded in my basement the chicks were all sneezing a little, and this dissipated when we moved them to the coop. There was a little mold under their shavings where the water must have leaked at some point, so I assumed this was the cause.

I actually bought this book and way before i found this thread but it gives you lots of info on the basis of open air housing. http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/fresh-air-poultry-houses2.html

 

[delisha]

Bee,
I have pretty much eaten the ones I found I did not like. I guess it would have to be that I know I have to eat them or sell them earlier. They get pretty fatty around 4 years old.I try to avoid problems and keep the flock healthy. If I kept fat old birds longer they slow the flock during foraging and are easier targets. A few pics of the woods.

 

[Beekissed]

OK, so I'm a little late in joining this thread - I've lurked here for ages. Figured I might as well step in, especially since Bee mentioned noticing the viewing members on the side and made us sound like stalkers.......

Don't hate me because I only have 3 acres and there are 4 silkies in our little flock (husband wanted them, part of the bargain to get chickens period). I've mostly stayed out because I gain from reading, and I can't fully participate in the grand natural experiment because I don't have the ideal set-up some of you have. So perhaps you'd feel I shouldn't have chickens.

We do the coop/run set-up with free roaming when we're outside. We aren't in a position to have a dog to patrol right now and we are packed to the gills with foxes, coons, fisher cats, coyotes, bears, hawks, etc. But I learn where I can and do the best possible for my chickens, who so far seem happy and healthy. I don't agree with absolutely everything in this thread, but I think there's a lot of common sense and I really appreciate the helpful hints and the camaraderie here. Like Bee, I'm a nurse, and I like to see evidence-based care

I too was horrified reading the doom and gloom of the standard chicken texts. I am a grad student at UCONN, and while I initially thought "ooh, local poultry experts" I then realized that their poultry NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY. I'm not interested in the agribusiness model. I'm not floofy, but I do view my animals as a bit more than a meal source. Oh gosh, I've got lots of bad points. Silkies, a BO, coop/run, oh and did I mention I was a vegetarian for 15 years and now eat only eggs/dairy/fish? Anyway, I hope I can still play here. Don't throw fermented pumpkins at me.
I've been curious about BK's rather open coop and the hay bales as insulation. (I dream of a second coop, built cheaply rather than bought, so I can have my big fat standard fowl and my husband can sequester his delicate fluffballs). Wouldn't you eventually have mold as an issue? I know I saw a picture of a sort of tarp awning somewhere Bee, but doesn't moisture get in anyway? Plus it's on the ground. So, 1) do you get mold when you overwinter with your hay stacks and 2) does it end up affecting your chickens? Same with adding leaves. Don't they mold in the coop if you add them to the deep litter?
I've wondered this because obviously many chickens roam around scratching up forest floor, which around here has plenty of leaf mold. And yet so many talk about preventing mold in the coop, stirring litter to avoid a mold cap, etc. Is it different varieties that are benign or harmful? I know when we brooded in my basement the chicks were all sneezing a little, and this dissipated when we moved them to the coop. There was a little mold under their shavings where the water must have leaked at some point, so I assumed this was the cause.

Yes, you can play. No, we won't throw pumpkins. Yes, I may make fun of your silkies and BOs.

1. It's all to do with ventilation and not having a very high mold count. Wet hay bales mold from the inside out and everywhere in between....they are just one big square filled with mold spores. That's a little more concentrated and difficult to provide ventilation for and, added to that, you have the humidity of the hay and the birds making the coop into a happy funhouse of mold. Or not so happy.

2. Bales that are barn kept in lean-tos and are tarped over tend to get a little surface mold, are not likely to have mold growing throughout the interior , but this surface mold growth is lessened, to some degree, with good ventilation. With time, even those bales can get filled with mold, all depending on the ventilation, how they were baled from the field and how they are stored.
3. Yes, it can affect your chickens if they live in an enclosed coop with high mold spore counts...this coop has plenty of air flow to prevent the spores from being a respiratory problem for the birds. That is, if I don't block off the air flow and fill it with mold filled bales of hay.

That sort of stacks the deck a little...
4. The leaves, and any bedding, will mold to some degree because this is one of the steps of decomposing or composting. Heavy mold growth, though, is not desireable and can be avoided by keeping moisture and humidity levels down, providing some aeration at the surface levels of bedding so that the birds don't have to breath the mold spores.

In the end, it's all about the proper air flow at the floor level and good ventilation throughout. Fresh air is important and can prevent problems with mold formation. We all live surrounded by mold spores, molds of all kinds are the most prevalent life on the planet and can survive and thrive in all climates and mediums. No matter how dry and clean you may try to keep your coop, there will be places and pockets of mold and these can affect your animals if they don't have ventilation.

That's one of the reasons we frown upon air tight, small and heated coops in the winter....like placing your birds in a little mold cooker, the humidity levels combined with the mold and pathogen growth in such a little mold cabinet are a recipe for illness.

The only reason I am using hay bales are to block the wind and provide some heat conservation at floor level. I never close my pop door unless the wind is blowing snow in the coop too badly...that pop door is my source of air intake. The openings at the roof line and several smaller openings throughout the coop provide places for humidity and stale air to escape.

Once you play with chickens and coops for a number of years, you find your groove on ventilation and things like mold infestations. Each coop is different and must be learned, according to how many chickens live there, your climate, the air flow in that section of your land, etc.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Excellent example of intensive management....thinking ahead! Excellent and open range, BTW! Look at all those foraging opportunities....

 

[Leahs Mom]

I actually bought this book and way before i found this thread but it gives you lots of info on the basis of open air housing. http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/fresh-air-poultry-houses2.html

I also ordered and read that book after some discussion with JackE over on this thread he started...and after seeing his amazing henhouse. Here's his thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter

He was very helpful in answering my questions directly as well.

ETA: If anyone starts reading the thread, notice all the well-meaning people who start advising him to close it up...like they totally missed the point

Later on they thin out and there is some good discussion.

 

[Adenium]

(Meant to quote Miss Lydia's link to Fresh Air Poultry Houses)

Yes, this is where I first heard of the idea - I've been a little nervous about it though given CT weather... and the silkies that were foisted upon me. They're impractical chickens, but cute, so I'd like them to live. That and I'd be divorced if harm were to come to them.

Bee, thanks for your help. Can you share some pics of your open hoop once it's winterized?

Our coop needs more ventilation. We ordered it (she says with a wee bit of shame) and had gable vents put in, but they're so small. When it arrived I told my husband we should enlarge the holes or at the least removed the stupid mini-louvered vent stuck in there and just put in hardware cloth, but I lost the battle. So now we either have open windows (big air flow) or the vent at the back (which dumps air right on their roost). Or the pop door, once our run is finished. I always keep the people door open during the day, but shut everything at night now that we're hitting the 20s. We had been leaving one of the front windows open overnight, but once again it's the silkies.....they haven't all put on great weight yet so I close stuff up at night. I know, I know, I need to get FF going for their delicate little intestinal tracts.

It's a blustery, gray day today but my coop is at least fully open so all the little poopers can get aired out. Sigh.

For fun we look at land in Maine and Montana, nice big tracts of land. I envision large flocks roaming the varied landscape, watched over by a LGD. Sigh. Someday.