Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Teila]

Ah, feather boa, what a good idea! Will have to remember that if I am ever in the same situation.

Well, mother nature was kind to us and apart from a shower this morning, it didn't rain the rest of today. The lawn is still squelchy but the runs appear to have tried out a little; hopefully tomorrow may bring not too much rain and some more sunshine.

We got the framework done on the extension for the bubs and threw a cover on it and some plastic coated wire around it (temporary) so they could have a play in the sunshine without the risk of aerial attack.

They loved all the extra room and I loved not having to watch for aerial attack or littlies squeezing through the gaps in the temporary run

The little black Nugget which I am certain is a boy (comb colour and size) was checking out his Aunty Dusty on the other side of the wire, she was giving him a gentle warning and this not yet 3 week old tyke stood on the other side of the wire, standing his ground ... too cute!

Sadly, I now have my suspicions that 3 of the 5 are boys; time will tell but fingers crossed they are not ALL boys!

 

[tandykins]

Grab a feather Boa from the $2 shop, the chicks I had burrowed in and loved it big time.

Ooo, thanks - I'll try that!!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Call me a worry wart, but after loosing a chick to strangulation by Roos sickle feather , feathers attached by string spell Danger to me.

 

[Sidhe13]

Hey guys, I am looking at extending my "green patch" that I grew for my chooks, but I have some questions, mainly about preventing crop impaction...This worries me to tears! They broke into the green area (I usually cut handfuls of the grass up for them) and I was frantic that they were going to all get impacted crops or get sick from eating so much of it!

I grew barley last time and I want to know at what length the barley grass is it risking crop impaction?
Is it just grasses that do this?
And is there such a thing as too many greens or will they not eat beyond what is good for them?
I have read articles saying that Day 4 sprouts are at their most optimal and digestible and wonder about combining this with the "green patch" so they still have an area to scrounge around in... thoughts? Opinion?

Their diet mainly consists of layer pellets and whatever they can scrounge up in the yard. They get the odd treat of mealworms or kitchen scraps. Any and all advice or ideas! welcome!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Hey guys, I am looking at extending my "green patch" that I grew for my chooks, but I have some questions, mainly about preventing crop impaction...This worries me to tears! They broke into the green area (I usually cut handfuls of the grass up for them) and I was frantic that they were going to all get impacted crops or get sick from eating so much of it!

I grew barley last time and I want to know at what length the barley grass is it risking crop impaction?
Is it just grasses that do this?
And is there such a thing as too many greens or will they not eat beyond what is good for them?
I have read articles saying that Day 4 sprouts are at their most optimal and digestible and wonder about combining this with the "green patch" so they still have an area to scrounge around in... thoughts? Opinion?

Their diet mainly consists of layer pellets and whatever they can scrounge up in the yard. They get the odd treat of mealworms or kitchen scraps. Any and all advice or ideas! welcome!

Your best not to cut it but let them peck it , that way they only get small amounts and in the length that is palatable for them.if the barley is left in its matted form they are less likely to swallow it whole. I usually feed mine on day 6.
When feeding greens it is important to offer grit.

 

[Sidhe13]

Cool thanks for that! I am also looking at herbs to add to their pen and nesting boxes. I have always wanted to go the more natural route, but still like giving them the reliably balanced diet of pellets. They prefer the pellets too, given a choice between that and grain. They only thing they like more than pellets is whatever is currently in my hands (bugs, scraps, greens, boiled eggs, etc).

I keep all my eggshells and grind them up for grit. Is this enough? I figure it also acts as a calcium boost but I am not sure how finely crushed it needs to be to be of actual use.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Cool thanks for that! I am also looking at herbs to add to their pen and nesting boxes. I have always wanted to go the more natural route, but still like giving them the reliably balanced diet of pellets. They prefer the pellets too, given a choice between that and grain. They only thing they like more than pellets is whatever is currently in my hands (bugs, scraps, greens, boiled eggs, etc).

I keep all my eggshells and grind them up for grit. Is this enough? I figure it also acts as a calcium boost but I am not sure how finely crushed it needs to be to be of actual use.

A good quality pellet has most of their requirements most everything else falls under the heading ' treat ' . Shell grit is much coarser and heavier than eggshell.
It has various sizes of shell and some sand in it. You can buy bags of it and some free range feeds have it addad . Sounds like your birds eating well.
If they are free ranging they will also pick up little rocks and sharps in the course of the day.

 

[vehve]

Yup, egg shell or oyster shell is a poor substitute for grit. The gizzard is actually pretty strong, and needs something hard to grind up the food with. Egg shells disintegrate within seconds in there. Something resembling sand in different sizes is your best bet. Or if you have some sandy dirt somewhere, that works too.

Like Fancy said, if they cut the grass themselves, you need not worry about crop impact. It's the stuff you cut up yourself that might cause problems. I've given the birds grass cuttings without issues though.

 

[IamSamSam]

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~whitewyandottes/Centenary Book.html

Anyone who is interested Wyandotte club has put out a book history and breeding of Wyandottes

 

[satay]

Hey guys, I am looking at extending my "green patch" that I grew for my chooks, but I have some questions, mainly about preventing crop impaction...This worries me to tears! They broke into the green area (I usually cut handfuls of the grass up for them) and I was frantic that they were going to all get impacted crops or get sick from eating so much of it!

I grew barley last time and I want to know at what length the barley grass is it risking crop impaction?
Is it just grasses that do this?
And is there such a thing as too many greens or will they not eat beyond what is good for them?
I have read articles saying that Day 4 sprouts are at their most optimal and digestible and wonder about combining this with the "green patch" so they still have an area to scrounge around in... thoughts? Opinion?

Their diet mainly consists of layer pellets and whatever they can scrounge up in the yard. They get the odd treat of mealworms or kitchen scraps. Any and all advice or ideas! welcome!

I grow this in containers in the runs in winter.
Clucker tucker

http://www.greenharvest.com.au/PoultrySupplies/PoultryForageSeed.html