Kristine Keeney

Dietrick Klooster wrote:The most memorable doubts came from a sales representative I was trying to buy bamboo from. I wanted the yurt to be extra lightweight so I could carry it into that tucked away spot, and even though this person was supposed to be selling me something,  he said to me, "Don't you think if that we're possible, there would be no homeless people?" Which is a pretty great question to think about, really.

I think there's a lack of nuance to assume that all people are homeless for the same reason and that the reason is they are unable to find shelter.
In my experiences in interacting with homeless people (while few compared to some who work with them frequently), there are as many reasons that people are homeless as there are homeless people. Everyone of them has a different reason, or multiple reasons.

If it were as simple as providing shelter, there have been numerous small house/work equity to ownership/tent and temporary shelter handout programs/other government funded and charitable foundation sponsored programs that have tried tackling the problem from a strictly "give them a place to live" perspective. It doesn't work for many of the people most effected. It's a complicated problem made worse by people misunderstanding how to work to solve it.

No shame to those who are trying. I wish you nothing but success.

April Virginia wrote:So what can we do to prevent some deaths?

-If an egg breaks in the nest at any time, for whatever reason, you need to clean all the eggs, the bird and replace nesting material. Wash the bird with Dawn and blow dry. If there are maggots present, wash with shampoo containing permethrin, which is safe for fowl. Check human lice shampoos or dog flea and tick shampoos in your country.  
-Write with indelible marker on the eggs you want her to hatch. Other birds may add to the nest, some birds steal and add to their own nest. Any egg that appears three days after she starts sitting, is not going to hatch because she will abandon it 2-3 days after the others start hatching. Remove the newcomers, hatch them yourself or eat them.
-If the bird kicks an egg out of the nest, candle it before putting it back in. Some birds remove dead eggs, some good eggs may get accidentally moved out. Candle to be sure. Dead eggs make great compost.
-Only leave an appropriate clutch. Extra eggs risk breakage and rot, which attracts flies and predators.
-Candle the eggs on day 12 to make sure they are growing. By day twelve you will be able to see veins clearly. If they have a crack or are not growing, compost or feed them to livestock.
-Protect your bird from predators as best you can.
-Place food and water nearby to encourage intake. Some birds sit and stay, some take breaks. Make it easy for them to care for themselves during this draining process.
Happy hatching!

In the past 4 years, since my experience with my goose and flystrike, I have lost a chicken to flystrike. Another horrible event and I was about 8 hours late to save her - I have become rather paranoid about flystrike on broody birds.

When Iris, a very young goose (1 year old at the time) went broody, I was checking on her daily. She eventually got used to being picked up and examined, any and all broken eggs removed from the nest, and she would get a bath if there was anything from a broken egg (or probably just being a goose) on her. Over the month, she started bathing herself if an egg broke, and would let me clean the nest of any potential problems,

My chicken hens have, likewise, become patient to my disruptive handling during their broody periods. They stay broody and happily return to their nests after being picked up and checked for potential problems, so I like to think I'm not troubling them much. "Mom's at it again", is the attitude I get from them.

As we're entering a new year of breeding, brooding, and general birds being birds, I'm hoping to be able to keep checking them out for health and safety. If I have to handle them daily for peace of mind, it's a minor issue compared to losing another bird to flystrike.

Addendum to my initial comment.
My Very Young Goose - Iris, at the tender age of 1 year 1 month, sat a nest of 10 eggs and managed to hatch 2 goslings last year - Poppy and Patriot hatched out Memorial Day weekend, May 25th.

I hope to have 2 broody geese this year - Iris has been establishing her nest and my other two geese are sharing a nest like they have been doing for the past 5 years.

Goose eggs are hard to candle, but the tips of using a very bright light, a dark room, and being patient with myself has had good results. I'm learning what a fertile and developing goose egg looks like. It's all a process!

The sauerkraut looks fabulous! I wouldn't worry about the colors - certain food items ferment in interesting ways. As you do more fermenting and play with your options, develop skills, you'll find out what things tend to look like when they ferment.

If it smells good and tastes good, it should be awesome! A little mold, unless you're allergic, won't hurt you and is part of the biological forces you're harnessing to pull this mighty wagon of food enhancement.
Good job on fermenting and nice to meet you!

Thekla McDaniels wrote:One thing I heard was that branches are better than uniform sizes of dimension lumber and dowels is that varying diameters support feet health more flexibility and range of motion …

Ever since that has been my preference.  But I think logs with bark would provide the same benefits.  If anyone knows a chicken podiatrist we could get a professional opinion🤣.

I've been using natural branches and small trees as roosting material and the birds love it.

I noticed that given the choice between 1.5 inch PVC and branches that were at least 2 inches across, they prefer the branches. As I do not debark any of the wood I'm using for roost/perches, I haven't compared barked vs. debarked wood other than who might be in the A-frame that uses milled lumber as perches.

I've started replacing a lot of my old perches and roosting areas with natural branches hung from the top of the shelter. The flock very quickly learned to maneuver around the hanging wires. My spare cockerels enjoyed their hanging natural branches so much that they packed onto one of them and bent the metal arch support that partially held it up. Apparently, that pipe was not enough to hold approximately 70 pounds of chicken!

In answer to some of the questions:
While 9 inches is something you do see, I have experimented; my flock seems to like a solid 12 inches per bird. Sometimes they'll all pack together to save heat, but they like to have the space to sit apart. More space is never a bad thing.

I've seen a "2-foot rule" being mentioned in perch spacing. The perches need to start at least 2 feet from the ground, and have rungs spaced about 2 feet apart if you're making a ladder-type perch, or a 2-foot space between perches to allow the birds a chance to sit without their heads in someone else's tail.
You could probably get away with less space between perches if your birds are smaller than the average full-sized chicken, but 2 feet seems reasonable for my flock.

It's also suggested that you stop perches somewhere below 2 feet of the top of your shelter, too.
I have made perches that were too close to the wire. My poor cockerels, who tried to roost there, just looked sad, all hunched over trying to avoid smushing their feathers and combs into the top of their shelter.

The 2-foot rule, or its equivalent in meters - .61meters, is a good one, even if it's very generic.

Yeah, I think it's mostly used as a treat, but I have seen some homemade feed "recipes" that call for certain amounts. I'm not sure how good it is as a major source of protein.

It's nice to know that roadkill/compost gone wrong could help create something that helps with calcium, protein levels, as well as possible other things.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579126000544
This is a study on black fly larvae and their effect on Salmonella in chickens. From what I've read, it indicates that, while the effect of living black fly larvae to suppress the presence of Salmonella in chickens is known, there seems to be evidence that the same effect extends to *dried* larvae. So, those of us who don't yet raise our own larvae, or who do so seasonally, can reap the benefits of feeding them to our flock dried for long-term storage.

Anything that makes it easier not to develop horrible infections is a good thing!
I hope y'all are as excited about the possibilities as I am!

Howdy!
It's been a bit since I've been back to Permies. Just ... Life stuff going on and trying to get through all the chores and whatnot. I found an article to share with all the chicken peeps, but this thread popped first, so ...

In the past couple of years, I've switched up my plans a bit. I have breeding pens for Black Dorkings, Black Red Dorkings, and a lone Light Grey Dorking pullet that I hope I can pair off with a Light Grey cockerel later this year.
I plan on adding breeding pens for Cuckoo Maran, Ameraucana, and Silver-grey Dorkings this year. I have the start of my Silver-grey breeders and Ameraucana breeders, but need to build the pens and do some culling.
(If you're an East Texas Permie willing to drive here, I will happily share "pet quality" (stew quality?) Dorking cockerels with you.) I have something like 8 birds needing a new home - probably being sent to Freezer Camp.

Deciding on the Ameraucanas was new, as was the addition of the Cuckoo Maran. Maybe I got really lucky with good roos, but I have two good roos of those breeds and want to make more chickens with them.
The Dorking flock is great and they are as pretty and personable as ever. I still love Dorkings. Fun birds.

Anne Miller wrote:I have always heard that geese make great guardian companions.

They're noisy and Very Large birds - they tend to make themselves look bigger by spreading wings and standing as upright as possible.

They're great guardians for any critter smaller that can dodge a bully, and will make a horrible ruckus if something happens that they think you (or the world) should know about - like the UPS man arrived; or there's a low flying helicopter; or the mailman has arrived; there's a strange critter of any sort in or near "their space"(a fluid measurement that can mean a space they're in, something they can see, or space they think should be theirs but the law says belongs to the neighbor); it's Tuesday; they have once again discovered their feet.

My geese have no qualms about yelling at me if I wear something different that they don't approve of, I'm showing up at night or a time they don't think I should be bothering them, or I have neglected to offer them treats.

Unlike many dogs, they can't be bribed into good behavior by strangers - they regard corn offered by me as a treat, but my husband has to scatter it and walk away before they even think about nibbling. I've tried to have someone they didn't know at all approach with corn, but they were seen as a Bad Thing and threatened.

An angry adult goose can break a bone in an adult human if there's a situation that would drive things to a physical confrontation. There are plenty of warnings before that happens, though. They use the same ferocity to protect their spaces and the less aggressive members of my flock, so I'm fine with it. I'm thinking about getting a "warning-guard geese" sign, but haven't decided if it's necessary.
They make great guardian animals and they can be socialized with other critters and will regard those other critters with special favor.  My favorite goose guard was Pat who thought of himself as a Very Large Chicken and slept with the flock.