***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[artsyrobin]

i just toss the scratch and crumble in the bucket, and they prefer it totally- stand at the door waiting!

I really don't know what to do for poor ebony- she's so tiny i don't know if a larger serama would be too much for her- feel so sorry for her

 

[CruchyJeepMama]

i make fermented feed from the chick starter for the little ones, then depending on the age of the flock, fermented feed- for the most part the don't waste as much that way. i tried not giving medicated starter last year, only 1 survivor- so not gonna risk that again So sorry! He was a handsome fella. Lost my sweet half a crow Serama boy today.... out of the blue- dark red comb, assuming heart condition- he was a sweet boy and a good Papa his little lady has been calling for him, feel sorry for her

So sorry

 

[Poco Pollo]

Lost my sweet half a crow Serama boy today.... out of the blue- dark red comb, assuming heart condition- he was a sweet boy and a good Papa

his little lady has been calling for him, feel sorry for her

What a sweet face. I'm sorry you lost your little guy.

 

[NanaKat]

Robyn so sorry to hear about Jet.

 

[shelbydog]

Oh, forgot to add-Dusti, you said you don't feed layer pellets and just fermented grain instead? I ferment scratch and feed it on top of layer pellets but would sure like to only feed the fermented stuff. What grains do you ferment? Those layer pellets just look so dang unappealing, the birds scarf up the fermented stuff and just pick at the layer feed. I feed them eggshells and they have oyster shell also. Do I really need to even waste the money on layer pellets??

I ferment whole oats, whole wheat, and chopped corn. I recently stopped using barley due to cost.

I would probably keep feeding a manufactured feed if I was fermenting scratch. You could ferment flock raiser crumble with the scratch like Robin does. But you can cut out layer pellets if they have a calcium source.

 

[shelbydog]

i make fermented feed from the chick starter for the little ones, then depending on the age of the flock, fermented feed- for the most part the don't waste as much that way.  i tried not giving medicated starter last year, only 1 survivor- so not gonna risk that again

I was planning on fermenting the chick crumble to cut down on waste. Does fermenting the medicated chick affect the stability of the amprollium?

 

[i-love-my-honey]

i make fermented feed from the chick starter for the little ones, then depending on the age of the flock, fermented feed- for the most part the don't waste as much that way. i tried not giving medicated starter last year, only 1 survivor- so not gonna risk that again Lost my sweet half a crow Serama boy today.... out of the blue- dark red comb, assuming heart condition- he was a sweet boy and a good Papa his little lady has been calling for him, feel sorry for her

So sorry for your loss!

 

[Kassaundra]

Kass, OMG the rooster and grub story was hilarious lol! I miss the Yeti stories, too Still think about her and smile.

Oh, forgot to add-Dusti, you said you don't feed layer pellets and just fermented grain instead? I ferment scratch and feed it on top of layer pellets but would sure like to only feed the fermented stuff. What grains do you ferment? Those layer pellets just look so dang unappealing, the birds scarf up the fermented stuff and just pick at the layer feed. I feed them eggshells and they have oyster shell also. Do I really need to even waste the money on layer pellets??

Me too, I have one girl that always comes running to me when I come in the chicken yard / garden b/c she loves to dig w/ me, and several more who dig w/ me, but none w/ the big personality she had.

 

[NanaKat]

Some birds just have more personality than others. Tiny Dancer and Dottie are two that are just so sweet and inquisitive...always running up to greet you and to see what you are doing. They follow me around and talk. One of the older cockerels is the same way, greets, follows and talks. They make me smile.

The free ranging flock is spending more hours out and about than in weeks past. They have been working the flower beds for me...good birds!

Two more babies hatched under the broody Wyandotte in her cage. Going to remove the rest of the eggs and give her some more hatched babies. The banty girls had two more hatch. I think they are done so will move their chicks out to them today. They sure are cute.
Disappointed that the one Buckeye zipped and died. Not having good luck so far with the Buckeyes hatching But I have more in the incubator ready to go under another broody hen this week. Looks like two are broody so I can split the eggs between them.

I have eggs in the incubators that are coming off every week so any broody hen will get a clutch to finish for me... But the egg turners are filling up...going to have to either get another incubator or call on my Wyandotte mentor to help with hatching....got 20 eggs yesterday.

Finally got my taxes done and Roger bought onion plants at the feed store in Chandler when he took the chain saws in for service. He also bought 50 pounds of seed potatoes for here and his mothers garden....guess it is time to really focus on getting the raised beds ready for Spring planting. Need to get seedlings up too. I still have Jerusalem artichokes in the ground from last fall that need to be dug. May have to can some like potatoes.

Our calving season will begin in a few weeks...the girls are swelling and beginning to bag up.... expecting about 50 calves this spring with the balance due late summer and early fall. should really get busy next month.

My jonquils and daffodils are already popping out of the ground and the iris are greening up...hope that is signs of a warmer turn in the weather. We can hope!

 

[Kyzmette]

Quote:
Robin, I'm so sorry you lost your baby.