Showing posts with label Food Forest Poultry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food Forest Poultry. Show all posts

Welcome to the Holistic Hen - Sharing Experiences Raising Organic Chickens, Quail & Pigeons

Organically raised chickens, quail, fantail pigeons and the occasional guest poultry all living in 1000m2 of organic forest garden. My articles attempt to look at the poultry's view of life in the backyard and to observe and share how they thrive and survive in the environment we created for them. On the occasions when I need to intervene, I do so with a holistic approach to the bird as an individual and also to infer from the situation what this tells me about the general health, happiness and dynamics of the flock. I also look at stress management and show how to use nutrition and phytotherapy for both prevention and cure of various conditions. 

LATEST ARTICLE


Raising Mealworms Organically for Optimum Poultry Protein - Part One - Sourcing/Detoxing & Creating an Environment


Raising Mealworms Organically for Quail

Can't wait for  a mealworm!

I've always been concerned about the level of protein in the diet of my quail. This is not only from the point of view of egg laying but also and more importantly because from my observation that my quail undergo a complete personality change when they are short of amino acids such as L-methionine. They become fractious and argumentative with each other and shout angrily at me when they see me in the garden. ...read more 

Part Two - Optimising the Environment, Population Growth & Grain Mite

Raising mealworms organically for poultry

As with all my work both writing and films, my intention is to share that observation is key in the understanding of how we can best raise our poultry. This also holds good for how we raise their food. Understanding how invertebrates live, reproduce and interact with their habitat, helps not only in time-saving and avoiding unnecessary labour but also in getting positive results. The first conclusion we came to was that the plastic box was not an optimum environment!......read more 

These articles are on-going, they occur either as they happen to us or because someone has asked me for help with their birds and thus to share what I have learned from the experience. Below you will find my my latest YouTube video:


Organic Poultry Food For Free - Creating Leaf Mould


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Cochin Craze 3 - Cochins for You - loveable, loyal, funny, fluffy, bright and adaptable

These are our little Cochins photographed the day after they were hatched I always like to get chicks outside but we had terrible weather that day; storms with occasional 'sunny spells'. An easy improvised run is a cardboard box with the bottom folded back. It keeps the chicks near the mother so they can easily get under her if cold and provides an all round shelter against the wind. If the grass is too damp, I just let them out inside the cardboard box as they then get a first dose of very necessary Vitamin D3 from the action of the UVB (short-shadow) sunlight. Later in the afternoon the wind went down and they were able to explore.

Cochin pekin chickens for your organic flock


Cochin pekin chicks for your organic flockThe Cochin like all ancient breeds are excellent foragers and quickly become a vital part of any garden, keeping down weeds and pests. And as not all of the Cochin Craze story was 'spin', once they have gained your trust, both males and females can become tame and friendly. If you have a forest garden like ours, where the birds are free to roost in trees at night, then the Cochin, although not great flyers, are great climbers, so they do very well in a wooded environment. They are also, obviously with their abundant plumage, an excellent  breed to have in cold climates

Cochin Pekin cockerel rooster organic free-range flock

However, they are also quick witted and adaptable so easily find shade in the heat.

Cochin Pekin Chickens organic free-range flock

 

The Strong Silent Type

Cochin Pekin mottled cockerel rooster
Unlike many of the other rare heritage breeds we have here, Cochins are less vocal, and communicate more through body language. In my experience, this can be very physical; jumping up, pecking or pulling at clothes or perching on my knee willing me telepathically to understand want they want. I have a bantam Cochin, 'Panda', who likes to eat her breakfast alone. She remains roosting in the outbuilding where she sleeps until I lift her off and put her near a food bowl by herself. You might think that is strange but as a small hen in a largish flock she knows that to get her share of food she can rely on me.
Cochin Pekin chamois cockerel rooster forest garden
Many of my Cochins exhibit this body language and so do our fantail pigeons. I can usually interpret to some extent what they mean and find a solution. Poultry trusting the keeper as an arbitrator/provider, need to communicate basic needs:- I want food, someone is; in my nest box, stealing nesting materials, on my place on the roost, etc.,. Of course as we really know so little of the thoughts of birds and animals, at best this is guess work but in general the more we engage with our flock the better our understanding.
Cochin Pekin choosing chickens for a forest garden

Me and my empathy, courtesy of Panda

Although sometimes they can be determined and independent of the flock, if you bring up Cochins together they will, being of similar temperament, tend to remain as a cohesive group. Similarly, with certain individual birds it can take some time to fully gain their trust.

Cochin Pekin choosing chickens for a backyard


Cochins, like elephants, never forget, particularly when they have been helped in some way. We hatched a trio of Columbian Cochins a couple of years after we arrived to live permanently in France. I was not aware at the time but my first hens, two Ardenners I was given as a gift, had brought scaly leg mite with them from their previous flock. This transferred to my Columbian Cochin cockerel/rooster and because of his extra feathery feet, these parasites took hold even before I was aware of them. When I did finally understand and treated his feet, 'Snowman' who had been rather offhand with us since a juvenile, became inseparable and as he got older was always hanging about the workshop rather than hanging out with the flock.

Cochin Pekin choosing chickens for a forest garden


 

All Pluses and Preventable Minuses

Cuckoo Cochin Rooster for a forest garden

Cochins have little stubby wings and don't fly well but my can they jump. If you are thinking of them for a forest garden then know that they can climb very well and also that they are not afraid to experiment in climbing and jumping techniques to reach safe roosting heights.

Cochin Pekin chicks choosing chickens for the backyard

The only potential minus for Cochins is their feathery feet. These can get really water logged and muddy in heavy soils like ours but we can work around that by providing rain shelters and walkways.

Cochin Pekin Cockerel Rooster for a forest garden

Cochin Pekin Black Frizzled Cockerel Rooster
The other more serious aspect is that you can miss noticing a proliferation of scaly leg mite, which can cause foot damage if left unattended.  Cochins also seems more likely to transferring scaly leg mite to the face. You should check over your Cochins' face, in particular, around the ear covers. This seems to me yet another case for symbiotic and holistic poultry keeping. Give your Cochins a hug, it'll do your heart good and also give you a chance to check feet and face.

Are you ready to order some hatching eggs?

I hope it will also convince you to add some of these fascinating birds to your flock. In the next article in this series I will be looking at Cochins as mothers, fathers and the importance of family bonds.

Thanks for dropping by and do feel free to share experiences or ask for further information in the comment section. If you have enjoyed this piece and found it useful think about sharing it with your family and friends, on social media and also maybe about joining this blog and/or subscribing to my Youtube channel or even supporting us on Patreon or
It all helps to keep me going!

Until next time, all the very best from Normandie! Sue
© 2018 Sue Cross


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