FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Do you feed it to them whole or chop it up?

I don't have chickens myself, even though I wished I had the time to get some, but I do know of someone who uses comfrey for chickens, and they simply feed the leaves whole.

If you grow it, I would suggest having it fenced in so the chickens don't just end up killing the comfrey every time it tries to grow a little bit.

Interesting about the comfrey! I had never heard of it either until my recent bicycle wreck. Evidently it can be used to help speed healing. I've used it in a compress a couple of times on my shoulder.

Looks like I need to read up on it.

Heres an update on my chicks. Someone is finally laying eggs but im not sure which one it is. Now these birds are not photogenic. Its like im pointing a gun at them everytime I raise the cam...they dash! I finally got a few shots but the buff orpingtons were just too shy .

They're beautiful! Congratulations!

Just found this topic! Great chickens you all have!
Wanted to share my story with my feathery animals, since it is a little too tragic and long.
Since I have always been confined to a small yard in our house and I always wanted to have chickens, specially at scholar years, one day I discovered that there was another type of bird to keep. Quails. Japonica coturnix
So I went to a farm and got my first couple, very soon, since I took them out every day to the yard, the male went flying away and I could never find him, the female was the one left. This was my first ever loved pet, and by being alone and all day with me, she knew how to get out of the cage by itself (never went back in) but followed me into the house or outside, and answered to some sort of squeek I could make when young, but this birds only live about 2 years, many live a little less, and just like 4 months of getting my first ever digital camera, she died..


So I went back to the farm, and got 2 more, one white and one black, and these did live a very long life, 2.5 years, they even went sometime to school and to the school gardening classess, and the white one got all brown from all the dirt. Both had a happy life and died from age weakness to illnesses I think



While having them, as the white one died first, I got some more, but the farm had already closed, and I went to another farm (that was also closing) and got some more, this time, baby ones, just like 2 weeks old, and with a male I found somewhere else I could make an incubator with a lightbulb and started to hatch my own quails.



So in that days I continued to have an average 4-6 quails all the time. And here comes the crisis of all of this, I never knew what was it, maybe some rat or something small enough to enter, but it literally slaughtered all but one of the quails I had, and that one was a white one that ended up one eye blind, then as she was handicaped, she did not see a sticky rat trap that was on the house and ended up stuck on it, so trying to take her out some tissue got damaged, and made her not be able to walk (so she rolled all over the cage for food an water). And then... I already had some more new quails, and a Boa constrictor entered one night and ate 5 quails!! and it was so stuffed it could not get out by itself...
And guess what, the white, half blind and handicaped quail was the only survivor again!!



And finally all went all right, continuing with the plan with only some of them at the same time, breeding them and no predators at sight (unless my dad ended up some day leaving the cage open and 1 of them went out and a cat ate her). I have taught all of them to be calm enough to eat from my hand, they like to eat a weed that grows in the yard and also tuna cactus, and go crazy after mealworms.

Sorry for all of your troubles coline. I'm glad your story had a happy ending. Luckily, I havent had many tragedies. One of the birds I hatched last time got out of the cage and my dog yanked it up and literally swallowed it whole. I was crushed so I couldnt imagine losing multiple at once.

Good luck with your birds! Hope they live a long life.

As you get used to see them so short lived animals you end up being used to see them go very quickly, so when bad things happen the only thing may happen is that you get angry about that, or do nothing, if they just natually die, which is what happens now most often

Looks like they are all grown up eh. Thanks for the pics.

Wow, these birds have grown. I, unfortunately, lost all of my silkies. Was crushing, to say the least, but next time i'm going to spend a lil and try to get some show quality silkies that will hopefully be a lil less prone to disease. I think my most beautiful bird is my golden polish x EE hen. Love the black on gold.

Very nice ones! I'm at about 2 years time to finally be able to have my henhouse

Very nice birds!!