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

[Miss Lydia]

Okay. I object to anyone in their 40s being referred to as "Granny" anything.

Grannies are at LEAST sixty, have at least 75% grey and preferably wear polyester. Like my late MIL.

Noooooo! I quit fb cold turkey and I ain't agoin' back!

Bee, is there any way to edit the thread title? I need to start on the OT thread, but tbh, I fear my family would not see me for a couple weeks. And then I'd have to catch up on this and the ff thread when I was done...

Okay i fit that category some what, I'm over 60, have about 30% grey hair, but I hate polyester.

I am with you on the fb tried it 2X never again.

 

[Beekissed]

Beekissed.....thank you thank you for this thread.

I originally got on this thread because I have a couple hens with pale combs, sneezing, and prolonged molts. This morning they have ACV back in their water and garlic in their morning treats. Don't know why I stopped the ACV....busy work schedule? Lazy? But it's back now and won't ever be gone again. Plus I am going to get my ferment going. The hens get sprouted grains here and there as a treat along with spent brewery grains which are fermented. They LOVE that stuff. So glad for the FF idea...don't know why I hadn't thought of it before. I expect to see improvement shortly!!
I have learned more about chicken husbandry reading this thread than I have in the last two years of online searches. I live in an area that used to be more rural. Sadly now the livestock is mostly gone - replaced by suburbs - and we only have small animal vets that won't look at poultry. People like me with chickens are left to our own devices and what we can learn on the internet. Unfortunately there is a bunch of scary hooey about disease and the necessity of antibiotics on the web. Seriously...chickens are hardy little creatures and just need a healthy environment in which to thrive! I REALLY appreciate the knowledge you are sharing here. Until this thread I found most of my information on animal husbandry on British "small holding" websites because I just couldn't find enough over here! So thank you for sharing!!
I have the link to your website saved by the way and will check it for progress.

Welcome to the flock! And thank you...it makes me happy that someone finds the information useful. I hope you post here with the progress of your flock on the FF and such. Any new info and pics go a long way to building a foundation of proof that these methods have merit.

 

[lalaland]

FF and winter and more
ok, I think I have it figured out. Since it is dark when I go to work, and when I come home, I don't think I can feed FF during the week - I fear by daylight, when the hens wake up, it will be frozen solid once it gets a little colder here. But, I can start FF every wed night, and feed it during daylight on sat and sun, starting over again the following wed. So two days of FF a week, probably better than none!

I did restart FF (got to the point where the chickens refused to eat it, even with no other feed available), and they are happy with it again. Not sure what went wrong, as it smelled good to me, but....and at least one chicken has started laying again after moulting.

Legs look good too, after I applied a second round of nu stock. Still have uplifed scales, but the overall appearance is better .

 

[Beekissed]

That's good to know! My chickens have all sloughed but two, Toby and Turkey still have a few scales that are holding on.

Now, for the FF and winter temps..some folks are using heated dog bowls. They are about the same cost as a heat mat for seedlings and sometimes the heat mats are less...see on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...words=heating+mat&sprefix=heating+mat,aps,181

There's one for a windowsill that would be ideal attached to the underside of a trough feeder.

 

[Bulldogma]

Hey everyone - Bee has given us so much wonderful information. I'd live to know what tidbits you personally have found the most helpful, the most surprising or have made the most impact on your chicken keeping!

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

Hey everyone - Bee has given us so much wonderful information. I'd live to know what tidbits you personally have found the most helpful, the most surprising or have made the most impact on your chicken keeping!

Great question!
#1 Chickens eat less FF than dry (waaayyyy less, as it turns out!)
#2 It is far easier to keep a chicken healthy than to try to correct poor husbandry
#3 Chickens are happiest when they are allowed to be chickens and not small dogs or pampered cats.
#4 When in doubt, turn to an Old Timer for an answer.
#5 ACV is the answer, almost no matter what the question was.
#6 Expect to cull for quality traits, if you are keeping a sustaining flock.

There is so much more, but those are the biggest things for me.

 

[Mumsy]

Okay i fit that category some what, I'm over 60, have about 30% grey hair, but I hate polyester.

I am with you on the fb tried it 2X never again.

Well...I'm 59 and a Granny four times over. My hair is 40% grey to my waist when it's down and my Grand babies call me "Tu Tu" (Hawaiian for Grandmother)
I despise polyester and refuse to wear it or sew with it. Cotton, wool, or silk for me thank you very much. I still sew my own clothes and will for anyone in my family that requests it. I don't knit, hate rocking chairs. I grow my own vegetables, can or other wise preserve my own food. I live on an island and put up salmon, trout, Dungeness crab, and venison when I get my hands on it. My three daughters know how to cook, garden, and make jam because I taught them. My son can cook and hunts deer and elk with a bow. I love the Granny label when it fits. I am a Granny and proud to say so. Facebook is not that great anymore. Filled up with dumb jokes, religious, political, and other spam. And....way more cat pictures than chicken. Just sayin...

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

. Facebook is not that great anymore. Filled up with dumb jokes, religious, political, and other spam. And....way more cat pictures than chicken. Just sayin...

Then you are obviously not friends with me!
Join me in posting more chicken pics!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

I had to laugh! Everyone's perceptions of granny's are just gonna have to change, aren't they? My mother is granny to many and doesn't own any polyester either. She line dances and square dances and worked from daylight to dark yesterday on hauling brush, firewood and building herself a ground blind for hunting. She's 78 and puts all us youngsters to shame...some kind of granny!

 

[Beekissed]

Then you are obviously not friends with me!
Join me in posting more chicken pics!!!!

We could always post the Mad Vent...I posted it on my FB and never got one single comment. I don't think anyone knew what it was!