North Carolina

[Banriona]

BOSS is great to feed to chickens and to horses even. We feed the horses whole oats and BOSS and the chickens eat the undigested seeds from the manure- effectively spreading it for us without us ever having to hook the drag up to the tractor. Plus, come the summer, the manure pile looks like a sunflower garden. I get mine at Lowes and it germinates really well.

Yeah - I'm feeding a handful of BOSS seeds to my patient every day or so too (whenever she runs out). Hopefully that will help her out with the healing/feather regrowth. At this point she's healing amazingly well - thinking of renaming her Captain Jackie Harkness. (Yes, I'm a nerd). More worried about her bum getting cold since she's got no feathers on it when I put her out with the other survivors than them picking at it. Think I'll put her in with the new chickies instead when the time comes. That way she'll have an extra few weeks to regrow feathers over the area to help insulate her. Doubt she'd let the wee ones pick at her since she's got a good two months on them age wise.

 

[Tikkijane]

Wood ash helps with mites, too, fwiw. I assume it's food-grade DE. As was mentioned earlier, neither of those require egg withdrawal.

 

[ChicknsRock]

Hey! Who got snow last night? I only got about 30 min. of it. And it sleeted.

 

[ramirezframing]

got rain drops, snow flakes, and little ice pellets

 

[chicknnugget]

I don't really winterize my coop, its never gotten cold enough. If it gets really cold, I slather some bag balm on combs and wattles. I have bahama shutters on my coops and I close those down on cold or wet and nasty days.


I don't know when turkeys start to lay as a rule. I can tell you that my girl was hatched in December, so its been almost a year.

I grow fodder. I go to my local feed/seed store at the end of the year and ask them if they have any leftover seed. This usually consists of giant Wyatt and Quarles bags of cowpeas and lima beans and snow peas, turnips etc. I have many, small, 4X4 raised beds with removable fencing around each one and as the plants in the garden beds are going to seed or doing their winter thing, I pour those bags of seed into the beds wholesale and then I just wait for it to come up. When the bean or whatever plants are big enough, I take the fences up and let the chickens have at it. When they've thinned out a bed enough, I pop the fences back in and let the stuff grow a little more. Having several beds, I can rotate which ones I have open. Plus I live next to a soybean field.

does all that stuff grow in the winter months? Or do you only thrown down the seeds and beans down when it is warm. Thanks so much

 

[chicknnugget]

Fodder set up for those interested...

Wow that loos great. Is it complicated? Can you tell us more about your set up? I'm not sure what I'm doing when it comes to sprouting stuff. Thanks for the pic!

 

[soupysmomma]

well I am in no way an expert! I found the shelving unit at Lowes. I think it was 34. Then I had the some left over wire shelving from some closets... so I added some bricks and now I have two shelves for every one.

I am using barley seed so I just flood the top and then let it leak down thru all the trays and the bottom tub catches all (most) of the water. This is out in our 3 season porch so I am ok if it is a little messy.

HOpe this helps.

 

[Banriona]

Wow that loos great. Is it complicated? Can you tell us more about your set up? I'm not sure what I'm doing when it comes to sprouting stuff. Thanks for the pic!

Growing fodder is super easy to do. It's not quite the same as growing sprouts/plants though. There's a good (but lengthy) forum on here about it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/713334/growing-fodder-for-chickens

There's also good information here:

http://half-pinthomestead.com/Foddertips.html

and here:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/sprouted-fodder.aspx#axzz2kaF37H3s

I'm following the instructions on the motherearthnews link for mine since it's my first time trying it. The BOSS is already starting to show little bitty sprouts and it's only been about 48hrs or so since I first started soaking it. Started the BOSS/Barley mix today. I'll post pics tomorrow if you want.

 

[Fireantz iceman]

OK...winter is over, bring on Spring



Thinking positive thoughts...


Keep saying it with me!

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Good morning folks

it's too dang cold already........and that makes
for one of those days that I just hurt!!!!!! enough said

I will say the kids are quick to get on the bus and are not
playing around outside so much......at least for a few days
......once they get use to it we'll be back to the same old thing

hope everyone has a good day