Recent content by Nupe

Rooster Booster from southern states. It's basically a 20% protein flock feed pellet. I feed my chickens because I don't want to feed my roosters layer feed and I don't want to bother changing their food when they molt or break for winter. I'll put calcium out for them in spring. It's only been...

Here's a couple of pics. They seem to like their new place. The bronze tom is the only one strutting with his tail feathers up and he has started gobbling for us. The chickens don't seem to mind their new neighbors. I know it's a hazard to have them where my chickens used to graze because of...

The first paragraph was the conditions I found them in. I know scratch isn't a complete food. I mentioned it because I'm pretty sure their diet is what caused all their babies to have splayed legs. Right now I'm feeding them the same "rooster booster" that I feed my chickens which is about 20%...

The hubby and I rescued 9 turkeys from our neighbors. They're an older couple and the old man has had several surgeries over the last year. The lady hasn't been able to care for them as well as needed and no one would buy them because of the abysmal conditions they were in. I didn't see it but...

You might also want to consider a 3-4 inch lip in front of your boxes to keep the hay in.

That is a closely guarded secret. From what I've heard, they keep 4 grandparent flocks so today's broilers are hybrids of hybrids. I doubt they still would call them any specific breed we would recognize but I believe the Cornish Rock is where they started.

Again, not broody behavior. Something else must be going on. You'll need to make some observations: Is she behaving like she's injured or sick? Lethargic movements, puffed up, tail down, limping or hanging wings like they're heavy. Is she being bullied by flock mates? How confined is your...

I use a fillet knife for most of my processing. Sharp is key and honing often is a necessity. Pinch the skin just above the vent and pull it away from the body. Make a shallow horizontal cut between your fingers and the vent barely large enough to poke your finger in the cavity. Stick your...

I invested in a CConly SP1 a few years ago. It's been awesome. Shipping was expensive though. I've recently been hearing good things about the TSC Yardbird. http://www.cconly.com/processing/feather_plucker https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/yardbird-chicken-plucker

You only need to scald them like you scald the rest of the bird in order to remove the feathers. You can scald the feet while processing and peel them later. You just may get a few that didn't get quite get enough and won't peel completely. I toss those to the dogs.

That's not broody behavior. She's getting close to laying and is figuring things out. If she were broody she would stay all day except for a few minutes to eat, poop and take a quick dust bath. She would also puff up and squawk at you if you get close. I wouldn't worry too much about pullets...

2 weeks ago you changed their coop. Disruptions can take up to a month to settle out. You probably didn't think it affected them so bad because it takes some time for the "pipeline" to clear before seeing the real pause in laying.

I feed Rooster Booster from my local feed store. It's a 20% protein pellet and oyster shell is always available. I didn't go with layer because I have 2 boys and often there are non-laying pullets in the flock. They get to forage the yard most days and get a handful of scratch in the evening.

I would think as long as they have good grit in their gizzards that pooping whole seeds wouldn't happen.

Your chickens need to be butchered at or before 16 weeks of age to be tender enough to fry or grill. Are they bagged in the fridge or in open air? Open air can dry the skin and that alone can hold the joints in place and toughen the meat. If they're bagged up and moist, give it another day. 4...