Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[familycomp3]

grease and pan drippings too, huh? I did NOT realize all this Oh, I bet that IS A BIG treat for them. Good to know, THANKS

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

I told her when the cats learned to lay eggs, I would keep the chickens out of their food bowl.
Hahahaha, Jeff! I feel the same way! And while my barn cats are pretty good mousers, I think my chickens would even show them up on that skill

And familycomp3, you can feed them the turkey scraps too, they LOVE it. That's Al's point - chickens are omnivores, and a purely vegetarian diet makes for a less healthy bird than one with a little meat in it! My chickens got lots of pot roast drippings last week, and after roasting a chicken on Saturday, they picked the bones clean and got stock on their food. Now they're not big fans of bananas, but give Em a chicken leg and watch them go crazy!

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

Sorry, I was typing when you had your revelation didn't mean to repeat what you'd already realized

 

[al6517]

Well with all the feed mills switching almost entirely to plant based protiens the birds are suffering, the veggie heads tend to think of their chicken bodies as their own human bodies and feed them as they do themselfs. This is a very bad thing because chickens are different but the huggers think there human LOL, Huggers have more birds die from health issues than the folks who believe and treat their chickens like chickens Fact it is !!!.

 

[JeffOeuf]

They did Jeff.

Well, now, that's a revolting development.

Bee...if you're watching but sticking to your guns, please know that you have far more supporters than adversaries. We didn't always see eye-to-eye, but opinions were always respected. Don't let a few misfits keep you from helping all the hundreds that you've guided and enjoying the camaraderie of like-minded folks.

 

[Maven]

Thanks, Al. My girls thank you, too. They get a lot of meat scrap now, but they'll start getting my pan drippings, too. I keep a jar in the kitchen that it all goes in to keep it from going in the septic. I'll start using that to topdress the feed once in a while.

The chickens have their bluff in on all the cats in the yard. When a bunch of tallow trimmings hit the feed pan the other day the cats had better position, but the chickens came around the corner of the house looking like a track of thoroughbreds coming into the home stretch. My littlest chicken pecked a raunchy old tom right in the head and chased him off. My wife said it wasn't fair. I told her when the cats learned to lay eggs, I would keep the chickens out of their food bowl.

And Jeff - it was somewhere back in this thread a few hundred pages that Al discussed the top dressing - liquid gold he called it. The difference in my birds was almost immediate! they were obviously happier, healthier, shinier, and their feathers are like silk now.

Yeah, they are now pretty spoiled - on the occasion I h ave to take 'naked' feed out to them, they will take a bite or two and then turn and look at me like 'seriously, what is this crap you trying to feed us?'

Like Al says, if you watch and listen to your chickens they will tell you exactly what they need. And mine need all the fat they can get their grubby little beaks on.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I hope the new posters do go and read and understand the first OP post, that thin skinned Unicorn & rainbow ideals is not what were about here.

That's just so, so mean!!! Here I was all set to get you and Kathy new incubators for Christmas and now? I'm so tore up about all this, I can barely type this reply through the tears.
I was going to have a blue haired pony on yours and a red haired pony on Kathy's. Now, my plans are ruined. I'm so upset.

 

[familycomp3]

well I HAVE given them lots of pork actually but I personally just feel almost wrong feeding them turkey since it is so much like a chicken. lol!

 

[al6517]

Quote:

Testimonials are the life blood of the OT thread for those who want to care for their flocks properly, as is your tale. isn't it great to finaly get good advise that actually works and you can then see the difference with your own eyes and not through the eyes of those who just read a bunch of whooooey on the internet. It's so easy raising virtual BYC internet chickens they always look good and never die LOL and they all have names heheheheee.

 

[Maven]

Testimonials are the life blood of the OT thread for those who want to care for their flocks properly, as is your tale. isn't it great to finaly get good advise that actually works and you can then see the difference with your own eyes and not through the eyes of those who just read a bunch of whooooey on the internet. It's so easy raising virtual BYC internet chickens they always look good and never die LOL and they all have names heheheheee.

Yep - I have soaked up everything I can from y'all!

Now if you'll excuse me, since YOU seem to be on Fred's naughty list right now, I'm gonna see if I can convince him to send ME your pretty pink 'bator with thh blue pony on it...