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

[adillenal]

The first prize winner for the nastiest farm animal, hands down, btw, is a billy goat.

I raise goats and I really don't think there is anything worse than a buck in rut.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree...actually, I think there are few animals in the animal kingdom that are more nasty than a billy goat.

 

[Terri O]

I agree...actually, I think there are few animals in the animal kingdom that are more nasty than a billy goat.

Oh come on....I am affectionately known around here as "the Goatlady" I dont think that bucks smell that bad. Now my neighbor comes over and he cant stand it and he's an old dairy farmer! I think it is kind of like "asparagus pee" you either can smell it or you cant! I do know that they are slightly stronger (because of some of their "habits") in the fall, but they are just animals after all! Terri O AKA Goatlady

 

[bj taylor]

i'm late getting back to say thank y'all for explaining more about fermented & mash feed. i'm definitely going to educate myself more on this so i can use it for my chickens. heat is a real concern for me & this will be my first summer w/chickens. something to help keep them hydrated makes perfect sense. probably won't have horse pee in it

(no horses).
i intend to have a fan in the coop - not directly blowing on them - because i think they may die in the night in the heat when it won't drop below 95 before 3 or 4 in the morning, if then. i'm finding that my coop, in order to make it predator proof, may have limited air flow.

 

[ldutch123]

i'm late getting back to say thank y'all for explaining more about fermented & mash feed. i'm definitely going to educate myself more on this so i can use it for my chickens. heat is a real concern for me & this will be my first summer w/chickens. something to help keep them hydrated makes perfect sense. probably won't have horse pee in it

(no horses).
i intend to have a fan in the coop - not directly blowing on them - because i think they may die in the night in the heat when it won't drop below 95 before 3 or 4 in the morning, if then. i'm finding that my coop, in order to make it predator proof, may have limited air flow.

We installed a screen door for the hen house. So instead of closing the big doors at night and during the day we pull the screen door together and that way they have 2 windows and a huge double door open for airflow. To make sure it's predators of we used chicken fencing for the screening. Our biggest concern here is the coyotes. They come real close at night. Their coop actually has a ceiling fan in it but that's on.y because this was a one car she'd before it became a chicken coop. But the fan doesn't want to work but I thought wow that's a great idea to have a ceiling fan. The coop has high ceilings . I think we are going to pick a new fan up at the used building supply store for 15 bucks. Also it doesn't cost a whole lot to run a ceiling fan.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

the story i was telling was well before my time. in the 50's i believe, i wont even considered till the early 70's. boot legging is still a very popular method of making money. in fact this past yr there was a "reality" show called moonshiners on cable. and it was taking place in the neighboring county to where i live, the officer in charge is seen regularly here in my area. he gets his hair cut at the salon my wife works in. and they showed him participating in a bust in a neighboring city bout an hr away. part of his method of tracking down a still in the mountains was following his nose. the smell drew them throught the woods.
as for your pet peeve. you must realize the smell is in the nose of the beholder. i dont mind the smell of hogs. i worked on a commercial farm for 4 yrs as a teenager and early 20's. and ive been around alot of pastured hogs. there is always a smell. just b/c you cant smell it dont mean others cant. hogs smell just like any other type of animal, but worse than many others. i too prefer hogs to other types of animal husbandry, but they are not allowed where i live. and alot of land is necessary to do it right IMO.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

one thing ive learned only in the past 6-7 yrs with fowl, even though ive had them for well over 30yrs. is never let pre-conceived notions stop you from trying something. i used to think like most here that if it wont in the"book" it was a bunch of hoop-lah. but one individual i knew kept saying things that sounded rediculous when it came to raising fowl. it went against most everything ever written or said by others. but the more i listened once i started listening. the more i saw where he was right. it took everything outa the status quo box. and it really made me think and start to try different things. alot i learned from him. alot ive tried myself and seen where most of the KNOWN TRUTHS about raising fowl is either false or truly antiquated practices that most still believe in.

now with that said, ive never tried soaking grains in urine. but do some reading up on urine itself and you will find some interesting facts about it. i would try this if i had access to a stud horse, or jack. but i dont, and i dont raise game fowl anymore. but if i ever got into showing fowl. id sure try it. that natural testosterone would raise some beautiful birds. problably win a ribbon or two at the local and state poultry shows.

to go along with the urine, fowl raised around horse manure, whether on a horse farm, or if you brought loads in to their pens, are generally a superior bird in appearance and condition. believe it or not horse crap is good for them. you wont find that in any books either. but its a known fact for 100's of yrs in the right circles. plus ive used that method for yrs myself. not only do they love it, but its good for their health.
pre-conceived notions make us think some methods are unhealthy. certain areas in asia, they build their outhouses so the hogs have access to the human manure. nothing is wasted. their fields are fertilized with human waste,,,,,,,,and those areas are thriving with people .......for 1000's of yrs before us 'civilized' folks here in the states were around.

a chicken left on his own is a nasty animal. but he will educate us on so much if we take time to just watch them. they'll learn us a thing or two. thats not in the books.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

i'm late getting back to say thank y'all for explaining more about fermented & mash feed. i'm definitely going to educate myself more on this so i can use it for my chickens. heat is a real concern for me & this will be my first summer w/chickens. something to help keep them hydrated makes perfect sense. probably won't have horse pee in it

(no horses).
i intend to have a fan in the coop - not directly blowing on them - because i think they may die in the night in the heat when it won't drop below 95 before 3 or 4 in the morning, if then. i'm finding that my coop, in order to make it predator proof, may have limited air flow.

one way to help with the heat is to cut the feathers off their "butts" take it back to the skin. cut it around their vents. getting rid of the feathers in this area all the way down to between their legs will allow alot of natural body heat to escape. this is a good method for breeders too. supposedly it will help the rooster hit where hes supposed to. even though i never had a brood rooster that had this problem.
dont feed whole corn, and very little corn for that matter in the summer. this will help eliminate some of the internal heat.

 

[ldutch123]

one way to help with the heat is to cut the feathers off their "butts" take it back to the skin. cut it around their vents. getting rid of the feathers in this area all the way down to between their legs will allow alot of natural body heat to escape. this is a good method for breeders too. supposedly it will help the rooster hit where hes supposed to. even though i never had a brood rooster that had this problem.
dont feed whole corn, and very little corn for that matter in the summer. this will help eliminate some of the internal heat.

This is a great idea! I'm definitely doing this for the really fluffy girls

 

[Beekissed]

Oh come on....I am affectionately known around here as "the Goatlady" I dont think that bucks smell that bad. Now my neighbor comes over and he cant stand it and he's an old dairy farmer! I think it is kind of like "asparagus pee" you either can smell it or you cant! I do know that they are slightly stronger (because of some of their "habits") in the fall, but they are just animals after all! Terri O AKA Goatlady

I wasn't referring to the smell so much as the...er...um...more icky habits they indulge in when they are randy. Makes me wanna hurl my cookies....

BJ, I will tell you something I noticed about these CX chicks that have been getting the fermented feeds. When they first arrived they were really hitting the waterer, as per usual for CX. And it is pretty normal for them to drink a lot all through their short lives...but I've noticed that they aren't swilling the water like they were when they arrived. Their fermented mash has a moisture content, so this helps, but I think the main reason is that they are not having diarrhea, thus are not dehydrated.

Combine that with the ability of ACV in their water to replace electrolyte loss and I think that this plan just might work!

Healthier poop, healthier bird. Less nutrients out the backside means less total feed consumed but with the feed consumed contributing to better efficacy for their growth and weight gains.