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  1. Chris King

    Hand-raised cockerels (Australia)

    I have two young roosters I need to rehome. They are almost fully grown (currently 13 weeks old, b. 30Aug) and have been hand-raised from a day old, so they are well socialised to humans. They are commercial Australorp crosses (mostly black with a small amount of red/brown on throat and wings)...
  2. Chris King

    Calcium for pastured laying hens

    "Gizzard triturates the eggshell fragments so they do not damage GIT lining." Before reaching the gizzard, the eggshell fragments must first pass through the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus (including crop), and proventriculus. Those sites are my concern with crushed or otherwise coarsely ground egg...
  3. Chris King

    Calcium for pastured laying hens

    Thanks, but I won't be doing that.
  4. Chris King

    Calcium for pastured laying hens

    Besides, my hens get to pick through all the scraps from my garden, and for part of the year in the garden beds themselves, so by feeding the soil with eggshell calcium I'm feeding it to myself and my hens. In this way, I'm recycling all of the eggshell calcium on the farm. It's just not keeping...
  5. Chris King

    Calcium for pastured laying hens

    My concern is that the particles of egg shell may be too sharp and could damage the mucous membranes of the upper digestive tract. I don't have a way of pulverising the shells, and I think the particle size my blender or food processor produces is still too large to be entirely safe. Perhaps I'm...
  6. Chris King

    Calcium for pastured laying hens

    I'd rather keep my hens on pasture and figure out a cost-effective way of supplementing their varied diets with extra calcium. I think they're healthiest when they're on pasture all day, all year 'round; and the eggs they produce are glorious. I won't pen them up during the day just so that...
  7. Chris King

    Calcium for pastured laying hens

    As chicken egg shells are 95-97% calcium carbonate, egg shell quality (thickness and hardness) is restored within 24-48 hours of providing my hens with a highly bioavailable source of calcium (yoghurt or kefir), and their diets contain a great variety of both plant and animal material (fresh and...
  8. Chris King

    American Buff gander in NC

    Hmm… I don't know. He is a bit of a brute to my chickens when he thinks they're getting something he should have, so I'd wager he'd be the same with ducks.
  9. Chris King

    Calcium for pastured laying hens

    My hens are fed a premium organic layer pellet free-choice (and they eat a lot of it!), but they are also on pasture all day, every day, year-round. They've typically started laying at around 16 weeks of age and their eggs are fantastic, but I've noticed a decline in egg shell quality in my most...
  10. Chris King

    American Buff gander in NC

    My American Buff gander, approx. 15 months old (hatched April 2016), lost his mate a few months ago and has been wandering around like a lost soul ever since. I'd like to find him a home where he'll be used for breeding or as a companion for other geese. (Note: he's NOT for eating! Consider his...
  11. Chris King

    Looking for American Buff Geese

    Yes. Here he is:
  12. Chris King

    Comment by 'Chris King' in article 'Bee's key points to successful and safe free ranging.'

    Re: predators and free-ranging hens, I've also learned the hard way not to leave chicken feed out at night. Not only was I feeding more than my hens (and so spending more than I needed to on chicken feed), but I was training the raccoons to expect to find food in the barn and potentially in the...
  13. Chris King

    How do you make free ranging successful???

    My place is a mixture of pastures (some open, some wooded) and woods. The chickens avoid the woods, but they forage all day in both types of pastures. They particularly like foraging alongside the goats. As we have coyotes hereabouts, the entire property is fenced with wire mesh. I think that's...
  14. Chris King

    American Buff gander needs new home

    Hello, all. I'd like to find a good home for my lone American Buff gander, George. (Alas, Martha was murdered by a raccoon a couple of months ago). He's a 2016 model, so currently he's 15 months old. He is well grown, in excellent health, and is well socialised to humans. I'm in central North...
  15. Chris King

    Looking for American Buff Geese

    Do you still need an American Buff gander? Mine lost his mate a couple of months ago and I don't want to get any more geese, so I'd really like him to go live with other geese. George is about 15 months old, and gorgeous. He's well grown, in excellent health and condition, and well socialised to...
  16. Chris King

    Thin shelled eggs

    It's possible that this hen needs more calcium than the others, or that she's not as efficient at absorbing the available calcium as the others. Shell gland issue? An overblown possibility, I suspect, particularly if the hen doesn't consistently produce abnormal shells. Much more likely for...
  17. Chris King

    Thin shelled eggs

    Problem solved with a change of feed - switched to a different brand (and fed a little yoghurt). Day 2 of lovely, thick shells and normal seasonal egg production. Fingers crossed...
  18. Chris King

    Thin shelled eggs

    BTW, the layer ration I was feeding when the problem (thin shells, broken eggs) began has a calcium content of 4% and phosphorus 1%; crude protein 17% (min.). And yet...
  19. Chris King

    Thin shelled eggs

    Laugh all you want, but cold is cold, no matter where it is on the map. Feed consumption in my little flock more than doubles in the winter months, which tells me that the chickens are feeling the cold. And I often have to break the ice on the water bowl in the chicken coop on a winter's morning...
  20. Chris King

    Thin shelled eggs

    I'll say! Mine have been doing very well on the previous feed - until the past month or so, when I started a new bag of the same feed. When I contacted the feed manufacturer, I got blown off. Whether or not their feed was at fault (still might have been a seasonal or management issue - i.e. my...
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