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
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
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
The
first thing I did (and still do today), was to instigate 'time-out', I
firmly believe in this procedure for both the perpetrator and victim in
cases of bullying and stress and that they should be kept
apart for at least some hours of the day. Most importantly this should
include the key periods when stress levels can become elevated, so, if you have them, set feeding times and the hour before they go to
roost. When you finally decide to regroup them as a flock, you may have to make
yourself the dominant 'bird', so as to ensure that the victim gets well-fed. You can do this either by policing the food plates or more easily getting
her/him out first thing in the morning. At night you may have to
physically arrange everyone on the perch. Not only does this help the
'stressed-out' but also the 'stressor' as it puts you firmly above him
or her in the pecking order.
I
would not under any circumstances put either bird in a cage within view
of the other or any other member of the flock. In fact I would cut out the idea of cages altogether. A cage to a hen is what
it would be to us and just furthers the idea of division and difference
in status. If you do not have the room to move birds about then try to
find a friend to take one of the birds for a day or so. If the worst
comes to the worst, although if you have a homestead this probably means
no big deal, bring your bird inside your house.
Giving
a bird some tlc, at any difficult part of its life not only boosts its
confidence but helps it when it returns into the flock. You have by
allowing it into your domain, given it a little edge, a bond between
you. Hastings (left) had a dreadful fight with his brother over a hen
and the time we spent just calming him down and giving him a big hug
probably did just as much for his stress levels as the electrolyte and
wound treatment achieved.
I
made sure of it then and it is a rule I have followed ever since, that
at night everyone can perch at the same height. I always construct my perches
to be at one level and ensure everyone is positioned on them. I now
instinctively know who will not get on with whom and which hen or
cockerel can act as an intermediary. Again, I think of my chickens as
individuals, hens have off days, particularly if broody, relationships
with others are fluid and thus can change. Any chicken who is broody or
maybe through age or injury can not/or just won't perch is given a
cardboard box. This box has seemingly some significance in hen house
shibboleths, it seems to stand for a separate entity within the house.
Whereas, sitting on the floor or perching on a lower level than the rest
signifies lower station.
Birds
are very much a cohesive group at night, they preen and chatter and presumably
'chill out ' from the tensions of the day. The cockerels flap and crow together
in the morning so any indication that one bird has more height advantage
i.e. status, than the dominant hen and cockerel, can begin to cause problems and
therefore result in stress. Sneezy the Silver Sebright hen, perched left, is in fact dominant!
Physical Fights, Flock and Family Feuds, Stress, Problems and Solutions
The
worst fights with resultant elevated stress levels I have witnessed in
my flock have been duels between brothers over a single hen. The rest of
the altercations between cockerels have been purely ritualistic and
with no actual physical contact. In 14 years these brotherly feuds have
happened 3 times and have always ended in blood and tears or rather tears to
the wattles. Although we have normally been able to sort these out by
implementing the above strategies, I was once obliged, in the case of
three brothers, to finally give one away and interestingly he became the dominant cockerel in that new flock. Mostly however, time out, tlc and
staggered feeding and supervised perching times works. In addition
letting one of the duellists out early in the morning amongst the hens
also allows him to meet other partners and often solves the problem.
Similarly,
I have hens who fight over nest boxes. In the old hen house, we had a
three compartment nest box, which Dorothy and the Ardenners squabbled
over now and again but not with any real elevated stress levels.
However, these two Polish x Ardenner sisters got into such a fit of
pique with each other over the middle box, that I took the partitions
out. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best!
Food,
in particular insect and invertebrate protein and the competition for
it can sometimes cause conflict and stress. So siting a compost bin within each
territory and regularly having digging sessions within the same, really
helps sort this out. The requirement for the amino acid methionine has a
direct effect on the nervous system and something we need to provide
for. Hen fights over food can be nasty affairs, with hens pulling
feathers and pecking at each other. Making adequate provision for a
whole raft of foodstuffs but in particular wild protein and greenery
seems to me to be of tantamount importance. This is never more pressing
than when a hen has chickens, lack of protein for the babies just adds
to the stress. Luckily and for reasons only they could tell you, my four
flocks allow passe-partout in all territories for mothers with chicks
and even later in their development, there is some leeway allowed when these same chicks leave the
nest.
Territorial
boundaries, the siting and design of hen houses and how they affect the
nervous systems of the flock, predator stress and forest gardening
solutions will all be dealt with in the next post.
If you enjoyed this article and found it found it useful, feel free to share, comment and ask questions. All the best and thanks for dropping by,
