Keeping Chickens NewsletterKeeping Chickens Newsletter Published January 2013 by Mark & Jill: Hi...

Keeping Chickens Newsletter

Published January 2013 by www.Self-Sufficient-Life.com


If you know anyone who may enjoy this newsletter please let them know that they can subscribe at: www.KeepingChickensNewsletter.com

January 2013

Vol.1

Hi Welcome to my Keeping Chickens Newsletter. Thanks to everyone who has sent in their keeping chickens tips, stories and photos etc. - as usual, if you have anything chicken related (tips, photos, stories, questions, coops etc.) you'd like to share in future issues of the newsletter or blog posts then just email [email protected] and I will do my best to answer / include them. Best Wishes Gina



Subscriber Letters

Brenda : Hello Gina and Subscribers! I recently read that chickens need entertainment to remain stimulated, particularly if they are kept confined in a coop. I don't know if there is any truth to this or not, but knowing that I would be bored if it were me, I bought a large head of green cabbage and suspended it from the coop roof support to see if it would inspire my 11 girls. At first they weren't sure what to think about it, but it didn't take long before they had it figured out. Within two hours they had it completely demolished and there wasn't a single trace of cabbage left in the entire coop. It was quite entertaining for me to watch and I think they enjoyed it as well, so I plan to make "cabbage piñata" a weekly event for them! Thanks for such a fun newsletter! Brenda in Texas (A few pics of the chicken carnival are attached.) Chris : The ultimate in upcycling and chicken chic (that's CHIC!!) Every hen home should have one - a carrier bag strip wreath - weather proof and 'green'. I wanted to welcome our four new girls to Worcester, and help Agnes and Betty get into the Christmas spirit. DH and DD2 sat watching me, convinced that I've finally lost it completely - jingle bells!! Chris Porter x



Mark & Jill : Hi Gina, Your newsletter is the best ! Love the articles from all over the world. My 20 "girls" wish you a happy New Year. Reading some useful information posted by fellow chicken fanatics helped me save one of my hens. She was lethargic and had a hard time even standing. I knew it was either egg bound, internal layer or a stuck "soft" egg. Needless to say there was KY jelly & a rubber glove involved. She half way expelled a very soft rubbery shell, which I pulled out. After that, she was fine. Back to doing all the fun chicken things within a day. Since I've held and petted my girls from one day old, they are used to being handled. My husband and I put them "to bed" every night, with a session of lap holding and begging for treats. Our girls are spoiled, but worth it !! The fresh eggs are just a bonus Mark & Jill, Tomahawk, WI PS. I've attached a pic of Penny & Chopper sharing a nestbox. Both are Americaunas. Chopper got her name because of having "helicopter" feathers that stuck out. Even after her first moult, some are still growing out twisted.

200 Eggs a Year

Chicken Care Guide

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

http://www.self-sufficient-life.com/Keeping_Chickens/200eggs-ChickenCare.htm



Scott : Gina, We found this little egg in our next box in December. We have a 3 year old Americauna who is producing fewer eggs these days. I think this is a dwarf egg from this hen as she produced her usual green egg two days later. There are no other birds laying in Iowa at this time and we have never seen another bird in the coop. Have you ever seen a miniature egg like this? Thanks, Scott Nau

My Reply : It may possibly be age related but generally it is normal to occasionally have a weird egg every now and then. I think that might be the smallest one I've seen Very small eggs are sometimes known as wind or fart eggs as they often are tiny and contain no yolk.

Jon : Hello, My name is Jon Puzzuoli. I am a ceramic artist and chicken keeper in South Western Connecticut. I put my two loves together to create an artful way to provide my four Red Star hens with a little extra heat. I thought you would like to see my invention.

I've tested out my heater with many bulbs. What seems to work best is a 40 watt bulb. It doesn't make the body of the heater hot, but rather a nice gentle warmth. If you'd like any more information please let me know. I'm willing and happy to do custom orders for those who are interested.



Richard : I found this egg? Yesterday evening and rightly thought it was a strange one. About the size of a golf ball, soft, rubbery and sticky to the touch. Perhaps you can show the photos to your readers in your news letter and see if anyone has any idea the reason for its deformity. It was soft but firm as I cut through it with a knife. The layers reminded me of an onion. It did smell eggy! Thank you Richard from East Yorkshire in good ole England.

How To Make A Hen Saddle

Simple Sewing Project


http://www.keepingchickensnewsletter.com/Books/hensaddle.htm



Kris : Hi Gina. I have 11 girls who are my little darlings! (7 I raised from 2 days old). I swear, they are the best girls ~ follow me around like dogs! They are finally getting used to this snow & waddle out to front of garage & hang out there! If I let them; they'd come into our home & perch on bed or sofa! I make them noodles/creamed corn every 5 days, rice, they get a banana as afternoon treat... All I care about is keeping them healthy! Cutie is molting & looks so tiny & pathetic. Their heat lamp comes on @ 3:30 & goes off about 1pm. I could go on & on about my girls ;) Thanks for listening...anything I can learn to keep them healthy! kris. (My husband got me chickens when we moved to our dream home on 5 acres in Sept of 2011.) WHO knew chickens would be like little dogs!

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Ayre4S : Hi Gina - I recently was needed, to help a friend dispatch a sick hen that had succumbed to a mysterious ailment. This hen first started showing symptoms of being unable to fly to the top roosts as she normally did and after a few days and lowering rung heights, she was roosting on the ground exclusively. She was off all feed for close to 2 weeks but was given supplemental electrolytes and water until it was obvious that she was not going to bounce back. After I was called to help, I took the hen home and proceeded to perform a necropsy on this hen. Imagine my surprise when this is what I found! I believe these are abnormal ovarian cysts, but this hasn't been confirmed. I was wondering if any of your readers had ever seen anything like this before?

My Reply : Poor thing, no wonder she didn't feel like eating. There are some photos of ovary necropsy findings here : http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/lesion/387 To me your photo seems most similar to some of the first photos which relate to Avian Influenza but she would have to be properly tested for you to know for sure.

http://selfsuff1.chickcoop.hop.clickbank.net



Margaret : Hi Gina: Enjoyed the newsletter. A shout out to Will, I'm so glad his girl is doing well. Animals in general are quite remarkable and it's amazing how resilient some chickens can be. Good for you for not giving up on her and congrats on the contests Currently, we have 5 goose eggs in the incubators and the geese are laying on some in the coop. It's a community event. It has been warm enough here in Fairbanks, Alaska where I live to let them out during the day light hours, so when the goose isn't on the nest, the ducks take over and if they aren't sitting on it, I have a white broad breasted turkey hen that sits on it. Quite the group.

This is the clutch of eggs that the geese are working on and the turkey getting in on sitting on

the eggs when the geese are away. The ducks go in there and lay on the eggs as well. The ducks in the back side of the coop have a bunch of eggs they have collected, I think ducks and chicken eggs so they have been busy. At 21 days, I will have to pull the chicks when they hatch so the ducks will finish laying on the eggs for the remaining 7 days to hatch the ducklings. I may pull the chicken eggs and continue incubating them in the house just to be safe, or put them under a hen if one goes broody.

On New Year's Eve day, my Silkie momma hatched a little one and now there are a few more. Since she wanted to sit, I gave her something to sit on so she has some random chicks (one is a white cochin and the other is blue banty cochin cross – a 3rd hatched chick didn’t make it). I feel bad for the White Cochin momma, I don't think hers are going to do anything because she got them too messy, but since she is willing I gave her some more to sit on to keep her happy. I think this 30 degree weather



at my house has them into false spring fever. As long as they are happy, I am too.

The above photo is looking out of part of my chicken coop and my big bronze turkey, Bubba is such a sweetie and everyone gets along nicely in there. Winter is actually a nice time to get more acquainted with the birds that don't want to be touched during the summer. The roosters that kind of run wild in the summer don't mind being handled or petted in the winter while they are contained. It gives me a little more intimate relationship with all of them. Because of some of the breed specific ideas I have, many are in cubbies of their own. White Silkies, White banty cochins, old english roo with his duckwings, seabrite and other old english banties. Large Cochin with each other. You get the idea. It's a little more challenging for them to be contained this way in the winter but necessary. In the spring/summer, we have to put up netting because we have an owl or two that keep coming back for my crew and a nasty red fox that tools around for any one that is loose. Damage from predators has really been a problem in the last year. It's heart breaking to lose a hen or roo that is part of my breeding agenda. Then you have to start all over again. Margaret.

Guinea Fowl

A Guide To Raising Guineas


http://www.self-sufficient-life.com/1/Guineas



Elaine : Hi, Gina... I love your newsletter, look forward to it every two weeks (or so).. I wanted to encourage anyone hoping to add one bird to a flock. I had two Black Australorps, sisters raised by a hen. Bonnie Victoria broke her leg and spends most of the day in a nest in the small enclosure, so I thought Linda could use some company. There is a wonderful company here in California who raise birds, sell them, and even deliver one bird. I ordered a 14-16 week-old Black Australorp. Everybody warned me there would be a war, and the first day, young Bella got bullied so badly that I decided to separate the birds with a fence, to let them get used to each other, but mostly to let the youngster grow to full size. I figured Linda wouldn't be so quick to jump on her, if she was grown.

Boy, was I right..Bella grew to be a sweet bird, anxious to join the other two, and slightly bigger in size than the sisters. Last week, I took away the fence. It was as though the girls grew up together, because they get along perfectly. It took a few days to get Bella to go into the coop, but now she goes in and out by herself. I'm hoping that the laying will begin soon. The two sisters stopped laying when they started moulting, and Bella just hasn't started yet. It's December here in Los Angeles, and there isn't much sun, so I'm hoping they'll start when the days get longer. I'm not sure my method will work for everyone, Black Australorps are notoriously docile. But that quality, and the fact that they are great layers, is why I did the research and decided they were the birds for me. Elaine P.S. Bella laid her first egg today!

Jan : I saw a nice shed on sale in a big chain D.I.Y, all ready put together as if on site. I bought it, and all seemed fine and they agreed to deliver it next morning. At about 8 pm that night, a lady from said store rang up to say that they could not dismantle the shed for Health and safety reasons, and the deal was off, and I would get a refund. So I said, what would happen to it then? And she said that it would be taken back by the makers. So I asked if they would still deliver it if I dismantled it myself, and she consulted and said that would be O.K. So I presented myself to the manager in the morning with my bag of tools, and a few wops with a big hammer, and a lever with my house breaking tool, shed was undone and ready for transportation. I did get some very funny looks from other customers - an elderly lady attacking a shed on display can't be a regular sight. Cheers Jan Cheryl : Will chicken wire over the top of chicken coop keep a huge hawk out of my coop...I have lost 6 ducks and two chicks to him! I know if I stop his food chain he will move on... I pray this will work..plz help suggestions would be great! My Reply : Chicken wire is easily bitten through by predators and can be pulled out of shape so would not be suitable for the main coop protection, but it should do fine as a covering to keep hawks from swooping in.



Secondlifefarmer : I have not had chickens very long compared to others owners but I have learned along the way. Here are some things I have learned.

1) Be careful what you teach your chickens as they are imprinted on that behavior forever!!! During my knee surgery and recovery my daughter took over my chickens. We left the "last batch" in their cage too long during the day. They were the 3rd wave of broodies and on the low end of the totem pole. The older chickens chased and attacked them so the younger ones flew out of the pen everyday. Frustrated, my daughter left them in their kennel during the day. When I could take over the care again they did not know how to be out in the large pen area. To this day, they sit in a corner of the big pen and ....sit all day. They have learned to scratch for food because I throw organic whole grains out on the ground and that is hard to pass up. Now, I start them on the behavior that I want to see from the beginning. For example, I brood the chicks inside my house for awhile. I bring fresh greens that I have cut/pulled/snipped and put them in the box in the 2nd week. I start chopping up their organic whole grain diet and mix it with the starter feed.

2) I buy raw, organic grains from the health food store and make a mix that I throw each day. (Oat groats, white wheat, red wheat, buckwheat, spelt, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc) . In addition, I have made arrangements to get their cast off veggies and fruits that I pick up in a compost bucket. I dump it out on the ground and they scavenge through it! These supplement the feed I buy from the store.

3) I pick up bags of leaves in town off the curb. I dumb them on the floor of the pen. This gives them something to scratch through, bugs and seeds to find and also adds compost material to the bottom of my pen.

4) At work, the maintenance man mows and weeds the gardens. He has been wonderful about putting all of it in a bag for me and putting it behind my van for me to load up and take home.

5) I found out that they love to eat wood chips and wheat straw! I not only use it for bedding and nesting boxes but I throw some on the ground so they can scratch and eat.

6) If you raise chickens with ducks and geese they are not afraid of water....of any kind!

Thank you for the newsletter!!! Secondlifefarmer

http://www.self-sufficient-life.com/1/OffGrid5



Ash : Unusual surrogate mother Hailey, the hybrid between black Cochin and light Sussex sat on 6 eggs for almost 16 days. She got bored and left the nest. Chatterbox, my lovely Pekin took over her place and Skype hatched. Chatterbox was a great mum, but only for a month. She started laying eggs and left her son, Skype. Meanwhile Hailey had gone broody again and started sitting on some eggs in the main house. I tried to move her to the maternity ward. She refused to move there and went back to her house. At nights Skype started sleeping under Hailey who adopted him as her son.

Ten Acres Enough How A Very Small Farm May Be Made To

Keep A Very Large Family

Ten Acres Enough is a self-sufficiency classic written by Edmund Morris, and is his personal story of his journey from city businessman to farmer. In this book Edmund details the first 3 years of his 'back to the land' experience and explains honestly what worked for him and what did not.


http://www.self-sufficient-life.com/TenAcresEnough/selfsufficientliving.htm

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