The Old Folks Home

[Highcotton]

Well I don't recall hearing it and a story about animals and food...well--what's not to love?

If you can tear yourself away from all the busy stuff we do this time of year, I would certainly enjoy a good story!

I am still chuckling about Wisher rescuing a golf ball swallowing hisser! I would like to see more snakes in my neck of the woods. Slitherers are hard on the rodent population and heaven knows the sweat off my brow supports enough of them here...agh!

Tara

My dad hated rats and mice. Therefore no body messed with any snakes except for the occasional Eastern Diamondback. We had pet snakes in the barn that kept the vermin down. Cats that were good mousers were also considered highly valuable.

 

[Highcotton]

So I get on today to tell yall great news and I get great news!! One of my Ducklings hatched under my Buff Orpington, I graduated college and I won the contest for the closest guess to the time and day for the 260,000 member, So now I have a 12 month gold subscription I think

You need to buy a Powerball ticket immediately the way your luck is running.

 

[ozexpat]

My dad hated rats and mice. Therefore no body messed with any snakes except for the occasional Eastern Diamondback. We had pet snakes in the barn that kept the vermin down. Cats that were good mousers were also considered highly valuable.

Not a fan of cats, and snakes in oz all kill you.

guineas will do the job at CocoBeach

 

[Highcotton]

Not a fan of cats, and snakes in oz all kill you.

guineas will do the job at CocoBeach

Yes guineas will do a good job on snakes.

 

[Dragonfly216]

So I get on today to tell yall great news and I get great news!! One of my Ducklings hatched under my Buff Orpington, I graduated college and I won the contest for the closest guess to the time and day for the 260,000 member, So now I have a 12 month gold subscription I think

Oh wow! Great news all around! Congrats!

 

[Dragonfly216]

So what do you guys feed your mixed flock? I'm trying to go organic, especially by the point of lay, and I've found a local feed store with an organic layer feed, but no broiler, or flock feed. I've read a couple of places about layer feed being bad for the roosters, too much calcium and it affected the kidneys, I think it said, but I also hear a lot of people feed their mixed flock layer feed. What do you guys think?

 

[ronott1]

So what do you guys feed your mixed flock? I'm trying to go organic, especially by the point of lay, and I've found a local feed store with an organic layer feed, but no broiler, or flock feed. I've read a couple of places about layer feed being bad for the roosters, too much calcium and it affected the kidneys, I think it said, but I also hear a lot of people feed their mixed flock layer feed. What do you guys think?

around here there is scratch and peck and a couple of other Organic feeds that have a Grower\flock raiser option.

It is harder to find non-soy and non-corn versions. They are quite pricey though.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

... I've read a couple of places about layer feed being bad for the roosters, too much calcium and it affected the kidneys, I think it said, but I also hear a lot of people feed their mixed flock layer feed. What do you guys think?

Harmful to any bird not actively laying.
People say they feed all their birds layer because when a bird dies, they don't do a necropsy to find out the real cause. They say, "I don't know why he died".

The following study show that roosters die at nearly 4 times the rate of hens due to kidney damage.
http://www.pjbs.org/ijps/fin1947.pdf

It also affects sperm motility.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20434855

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10780656

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12530920


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10780656

Last paragraph
http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/chicken_gout.html
Last paragraph
http://www.agbiosecurity.ca/healthy...m and Vitamin D3 problems in laying birds.pdf

http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/12/2300.abstract

Graphic photos of urolithiasis.
http://nhjy.hzau.edu.cn/kech/synkx/dong/2bao/UrolithiasisChina.pdf

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/02/calcium-mixed-flocks-vs-mixed-feeds.html

 

[insanity]

How do you feed a roo a different diet than the hens if they are housed together? My roo gets layer feed because I can't think of a way to feed him separately.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The only 2 ways I can think of are to house the rooster separately and give him conjugal visits for 3 days every 2 weeks.

Otherwise, feed a grower, finisher or flock raiser and make sure the hens always have oyster shell available.