My 2 dogs regularly snack on the FF when the make shift lid I have for it comes off because I forgot to put the piece of firewood on it. They are still doing well....besides I figured if the chicken poop doesnt make them ill after they eat it why would the FF which is the beginning process of chicken poop hurt them?
I would say for my 4 hens they get about 1 1/4 cups of FF every morning. I am using a small black plastic bowl about 4 inches in diameter about 3 inches deep & its filled to the top.
1. Healthy happy hens are much easier to keep then sick hens.
2. Let chickens be chickens. Don't hold, coddle, diaper or snuggle with your hens. They lose their in bred chicken traits & can no longer forage, watch for predators or stay healthy.
3. Chickens are self insulated they dont need heated coops. Dont believe me? Stick your fingers under there feathers on a 20 degree night & surprise yourself with the heat they give off. I did & was surprised.
4. Natural feed/care is better & less work. Back on the prairie days they didnt have $$ or chemicals to deworm, antibiotics, or other meds to treat their chickens. Pumpkin seeds, ACV , whole grains are what they used then & their chickens thrived
5. Chickens dont care if they dont have a state of the art chicken mansion. Use & reuse what you have at home & be creative. My hens are not sad I reused siding, lumber, bowls, etc.
6. Deep litter is the easiest & best way to go. No daily/weekly of cleaning out the coop & runs. Once a week or so stir everything up & once a month or so add some bedding. No fuss no muss & my hens are very healthy
7. Chicken poop......it happens..... dont stress on what its shape,smell, consistency is today.
8. FF is the best way to feed. Less food consumption, healthy hens, glossy feathers & the BEST part is.....NO MORE SMELLY COOP/RUN
I could go on & on but these are the most important things to me.
As for ACV helping in the FF not freezing your right. My mom cleans houses & she leaves vinegar in her car throughout the winter & it never freezes. And we have cold winters
Quote:
Normanack - I believe a standard-sized scoop holds approximately 50 "glugs". That's about as "standard" as anything gets in this thread... Just sayin'
very nice blog .very user friendly .You all are bringing up some fantastic Bee wisdom! Bee has kindly agreed to allow me to use her wise words in the Natural Chicken Keeping blog! Right now I'm going through this entire thread and cutting and pasting her most informative posts. I'll be adding to the blog bit by bit. (And just to make sure I stay busy, I'll be going through the OT and FF threads too - LOL.)
I'm also going to post the entire story of The Gnarly Bunch in there. I have to go through and edit so it will work in the blog format, but it will be coming soon! As I add content, I'll put in a tab with quick links to each subject for reference. Wish me luck - I already have 55 pages (15,948 of Bee's amazing words) recompiled (still need to edit) and I've only worked through page 78 of this thread - LOL. My head is already spinning so I'm going to bed now.
This will be a lot of fun to organize all of Bee's wisdom... perhaps a book will be coming soon
Looks very good so far! I have one teeny suggestion. " . Be sure to use a plastic bowl or feeder to serve the fermented feed to your chickens." I use a ceramic dog dish. It's also easier to clean.You all are bringing up some fantastic Bee wisdom! Bee has kindly agreed to allow me to use her wise words in the Natural Chicken Keeping blog! Right now I'm going through this entire thread and cutting and pasting her most informative posts. I'll be adding to the blog bit by bit. (And just to make sure I stay busy, I'll be going through the OT and FF threads too - LOL.)
I'm also going to post the entire story of The Gnarly Bunch in there. I have to go through and edit so it will work in the blog format, but it will be coming soon! As I add content, I'll put in a tab with quick links to each subject for reference. Wish me luck - I already have 55 pages (15,948 of Bee's amazing words) recompiled (still need to edit) and I've only worked through page 78 of this thread - LOL. My head is already spinning so I'm going to bed now.
This will be a lot of fun to organize all of Bee's wisdom... perhaps a book will be coming soon
#2 - There are some breeds that really aren't chickens at all: ie: silkies. Don't see any issues with handling them. Hard to get your kids to stop picking them upMy 2 dogs regularly snack on the FF when the make shift lid I have for it comes off because I forgot to put the piece of firewood on it. They are still doing well....besides I figured if the chicken poop doesnt make them ill after they eat it why would the FF which is the beginning process of chicken poop hurt them?
I would say for my 4 hens they get about 1 1/4 cups of FF every morning. I am using a small black plastic bowl about 4 inches in diameter about 3 inches deep & its filled to the top.
1. Healthy happy hens are much easier to keep then sick hens.
2. Let chickens be chickens. Don't hold, coddle, diaper or snuggle with your hens. They lose their in bred chicken traits & can no longer forage, watch for predators or stay healthy.
3. Chickens are self insulated they dont need heated coops. Dont believe me? Stick your fingers under there feathers on a 20 degree night & surprise yourself with the heat they give off. I did & was surprised.
4. Natural feed/care is better & less work. Back on the prairie days they didnt have $$ or chemicals to deworm, antibiotics, or other meds to treat their chickens. Pumpkin seeds, ACV , whole grains are what they used then & their chickens thrived
5. Chickens dont care if they dont have a state of the art chicken mansion. Use & reuse what you have at home & be creative. My hens are not sad I reused siding, lumber, bowls, etc.
6. Deep litter is the easiest & best way to go. No daily/weekly of cleaning out the coop & runs. Once a week or so stir everything up & once a month or so add some bedding. No fuss no muss & my hens are very healthy
7. Chicken poop......it happens..... dont stress on what its shape,smell, consistency is today.
8. FF is the best way to feed. Less food consumption, healthy hens, glossy feathers & the BEST part is.....NO MORE SMELLY COOP/RUN
I could go on & on but these are the most important things to me.
As for ACV helping in the FF not freezing your right. My mom cleans houses & she leaves vinegar in her car throughout the winter & it never freezes. And we have cold winters
I can see the chickens like it too, because they stand on your boots to be held.
I'm sure the chickens don't really appreciate it, but I do! 
