LGBTQ+ Poultry Keepers

[aart]

I just argue that we should offer to "mow" our neighbors lawns with our goats and then we'd get free food for the goats, they'd get free lawn mowing, and everyone would be happy!

Except goats aren't grazers

Needs you some Sheeps!!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

They won't keep the lawn mowed like they do in Hercules. They'll eat spots bald before eating weeds

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Except goats aren't grazers

They won't keep the lawn mowed like they do in Hercules. They'll eat spots bald before eating weeds

Shhh! Don't tell them that! You're ruining my plans to get goats!

 

[jolenesdad]

Except goats aren't grazers

BUTTTTTTT GEESE ARE!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I only have a specific area I'm allowed to keep birds in due to some strange city regulations of animals house outdoors being 100' away from the house... The goats could live in the garage and be exempt in that sense. We'd get the little ones. I know they're more browsers, but that makes our shrubby native weed population perfect for them! They'd love eating all of our white heath asters!

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far

 

[Chickaritasowner]

@ChocolateMouse Haha I have a great place to keep mine in my backyard! My wife doesn't want geese or ducks because she says you need a pond for both. She said I need to take better care of the yard before she will allow me to have anything else haha. Has anyone in this group added new chickens to your existing flock? My new EEs will be here in a week and a half and I've read a couple of different ways of doing it from putting them in the coop after you let your current flock out and letting them adjust in there for a while to building them their own coop and run next to the current chickens until they get used to each other between the fence. Any suggestions on what has worked for others?

 

[jolenesdad]

@ChocolateMouse Haha I have a great place to keep mine in my backyard! My wife doesn't want geese or ducks because she says you need a pond for both. She said I need to take better care of the yard before she will allow me to have anything else haha. Has anyone in this group added new chickens to your existing flock? My new EEs will be here in a week and a half and I've read a couple of different ways of doing it from putting them in the coop after you let your current flock out and letting them adjust in there for a while to building them their own coop and run next to the current chickens until they get used to each other between the fence. Any suggestions on what has worked for others?

@aart has a great article.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I add new chickens regularly.

If they're young, I make a "creep" for them in the coop, usually about 1/3rd of the way in. This is just a slotted wall or barrier that small chickens can get through and the big adult ones can't. I put food and water on both sides of the creep and let them transition themselves. The young birds can always go back into the creep for food, water or safety and they can take as long as they need. When they start coming out of the creep, I remove the creep in the coop and set up a small creep pen in the chicken yard. That way they're forced to get up with the flock and go to bed with the flock, but they still have a safe space and food and water they can't be bullied from. Eventually that gets removed too when I see them eating/drinking from the main feeders. All around this process takes 2-4 weeks. I'm careful with young'ns 'cause they're too small to stand up for themselves to adult hens.

For adult birds it's not possible to build a creep 'cause they are the same size but that also means they can stand up for themselves more. I tend to quarantine adult birds for a month. When I do, right at the end of quarantine I bring one or two dominant hens from the flock into the quarantine pen for a few days so they have a semi-established buddy. Then I move them all from QT into a pen inside the chicken yard during the day for 2-3 days and back into QT at night. Then on the last day I do this, I stick them all on the roost bars in the coop together after it's dark. When they wake up they're not exactly a hunky dory flock but there's usually no bloodshed like there is just lobbing a new bird in. Takes about a week.

And the real key to integration is to reduce stress points. Make sure there's a LOT of space, that there's visual and physical barriers for chickens to get away from their bullies, multiple feeders and waterers, etc. It's critical, but it's also just good chicken keeping too.

 

[Molly Mojo]

This thread hasn’t been active for awhile, but I though as an LGBTQ+ chicken keeper I should hop onto this thread.

My name is Annabelle and I am a bi & trans woman.

I decided I was a girl before I can remember, so I don’t recall life as a boy. I have never really mentioned I was trans on here, mostly because I didn’t feel a need to. Backlash for being trans is a lot more common it seems then backlash on your sexual orientation, so I also didn’t really want to mention it. But since this is an LGBT thread, I thought I should.

I have been bi for my whole life, and was never really taught it was a thing to be ashamed of. My family as a whole is very accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, so for a long time I didn’t even know I was different. The first negative reaction I had with it was when I went to prom. I went with my best friend ( and later GF) Karen, and it was a blast. There was just this one mother there for some reason, and she just couldn’t have it. Needless to say both of our parent/s got a call from that lady, and it was ridiculous to hear.


So enough about that, I have been near chickens for my whole life. When I was 2, my parents divorced and my dad moved to the city. My mom, on the other hand, stayed on our small farm and raised chickens. It was fun to be around them growing up, and I decided I would have them when I was an adult. But when I finally got out of college, I was broke. I just got back into chickens this spring, and am now completely addicted.

I don’t care who appreciates being in the know or not, but my opinion is, thank you.

Thank you for not only living your truth, but speaking it.

I’m at the age that thinking too hard sends me into fire pit of hell for at least 30 minutes.

It’s so hot, I’m thankful to be a commitment-phobe.