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  1. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    That's what BYC is for!
  2. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    Happy to help. Clicks > Chicks does seem to be a common motivation.
  3. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    Kalmbach is good feed. At that $, VERY hard to beat. Consider yourself fortunate.
  4. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    SO if I glance at this: and immediately think "that's stupid", understand that basis for my opinion is [partially] captured in the posts above. I believe it an educated and well considered opinion. Its a reasonably safe bet that whomever is sharing/reposting that on social media knows less...
  5. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    As others have wisely observed above. This recipe is advertised as "keeping your hens laying all winter long". Chicken's rate of lay is controlled largely by genetics, reduces with increase in age, and affected seasonally by average light levels, NOT nutrition. Setting aside that its not good...
  6. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    For our 33% increase in feed costs, plus the hassle of mixing it, and the hope that the chickens don't pick out favorites and leave other stuff behind {like red millet - disfavored by most birds, dirt cheap, and a significant component in both the mixed bird seed and many 5 grain "Scratch"...
  7. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    Math. As promised. I'm going to pick on Purina in this example (BOTH Purina's) because they are readily available throughout the U.S., where this idiocy probably started, and because [at least locally] they are cheaper than Nutrena, $/#. I'm going to pick on Pennington for the same reasons -...
  8. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    I will sit down at my computer tomorrow, link some samples and show the math. I see that recipe and immediately thinks stupid, but I understand it would be helpful to others if they saw why I thought that.
  9. U_Stormcrow

    Has anyone tried this?

    It's not cheaper. It's not superior nutrition. I can think of no rational reason for doing this. I can only assume your mother saw this on some social media site, has not recently priced rabbit food, bird seed, or cat food, and has spared no time to critically thinking this thru. Your gut is...
  10. U_Stormcrow

    Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

    And because I'm keeping so many red and white birds, it keeps slipping past me.
  11. U_Stormcrow

    Profitability

    No, you hit on a key issue a lot of people are unaware of. Top production breeds have sharp reductions in productivity. A bird that produces 300 eggs in its prime year might produce 220 its second, and only 150 its third - at which point you are feeding two birds for the production of one...
  12. U_Stormcrow

    Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

    It hurts to admit there are things I just can't seem to learn. Chicken genetics and Calc1 are among them. [Calc 2 was EASY! Calc 1 still makes no sense]. Mostly, I get by.
  13. U_Stormcrow

    Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

    It has been explained to me many times chicken genetics is a hole where information goes in. And just pours right out for me. Ultimately, I am just removing things I don't want from my flock until the only things left are colors and patterns that I do want.
  14. U_Stormcrow

    Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

    No, I let my birds breed freely - that's why its a "culling" project, not a "breeding" project.
  15. U_Stormcrow

    Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

    I'm not either, but I don't think so??? My understanding is that its only dominant over one color, not both the other options. Chicken genetics give me headaches.
  16. U_Stormcrow

    Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

    Better options in the grow out pen. Yes, that's their water, changed yesterday. Have to dump that every day. Today is "Freedom Friday", the door is open, they get to join the free range flock.
  17. U_Stormcrow

    Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

    Genetic throwbacks for freezer camp. Hate dominant white. My last all white birds were more than a year ago, then I get two in one hatch. :( (Also a (nearly) all black - still popping at least one of those each hatching).
  18. U_Stormcrow

    Profitability

    Oh, and re: roosters. 1 rooster : 10 hens +/- is the ratio given to maximize FERTILITY. Has nothing to do with behavior. Space is a social lubricant. My birds have roughly 5 acres to roam, and routinely ignore the electric fence to wander elsewhere on my 30a. I have had R:H ratios as high...
  19. U_Stormcrow

    Profitability

    as to numbers? I've had close to 100 poultry on my property at once, as few as 12. Its essentially the same amount of labor either way. That's why profitable have farms scaled up. They are able to amortize nearly fixed labor costs over a larger number of birds/egg sales. They have also...
  20. U_Stormcrow

    Profitability

    From a profitability perspective, I do a lot of things right - high nutritional quality, low cost feed from a local mill, hatching my own so as to not pay replacement costs, feed supplementation via low maintenance varied pasturage to further bend the feed curve. Deep litter method to produce...
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