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  1. ewesfullchicks

    Upcoming projects anyone? Heritage or Dual Purpose?

    What I've found from my heritage breeds that although my roosters may be huge, the breast is small in comparison with what people expect They have great bone, and HUGE /legs and thighs from all that running around after the poor hens. The meat is redder, and will require longer, slower...
  2. ewesfullchicks

    Has anyone made a box for a dirt/dust bath

    I think that they'll appreciate anything you give them. I notice that mine like really light stuff, but when things are frozen yours are lucky to get anything you give them. Rachel, TX
  3. ewesfullchicks

    How much are you charging/where do you live?

    Remember that this is a forum who keep chickens as pets, and just want to offset part of the cost of their hobby. Therefore, the vast majority of them are selling eggs for a significant loss. When you try to figure out what you should charge, you need to figure in... Cost of the birds to...
  4. ewesfullchicks

    buff orpington and egg laying in winter questions

    The artificial light route will bring them back into lay, but you need to do it incrementally. R. Plamonden has tons of advice, as does Gail Demerow. Both of these can be googled, and they've both written numerous books. If I've misspelled their names, email me privately if you're...
  5. ewesfullchicks

    Reccomendations for good guard dog type that won't kill chickens...

    Get a dog who is from proven livestock guardian lines - such as a Great Pyr, Anatolian, etc. Remember that dogs are predators, so don't have unrealistic expectations of them. They have hard-wiring to chase and kill anything that runs. Many breeds were developed for hunting and killing prey...
  6. ewesfullchicks

    Is anyone interested in meat records?

    Personally, I wouldn't use a meat record software... I keep track of how much feed I use, how much bedding, any other costs, etc. plus how much I got for the whole harvest. Not much calculation, and I definitely wouldn't use software to track it. Rachel Tx
  7. ewesfullchicks

    OK to drink from muddy puddles?

    Have to disagree.... We've had nothing but rain, and therefore mud here for months. Therefore, my chickens (although they have free access to clean water), just go ahead and drink the nasty contaminated water that is simply a reservoir of infection and parasites. It's NOT OK - but totally...
  8. ewesfullchicks

    When and What to feed my chickens! Help!

    The original poster was probably told not to feed layer feed while they were chicks! That feed does have too much calcium for the little ones. However, scratch is basically "junk food". The birds LOVE it, and it's OK in small amounts, but NOT OK as a complete feed - read the bag - it states...
  9. ewesfullchicks

    how to make feed last longer.

    The standard feeding ratio for heritage breeds is 0.33/lb per feed per bird per day, or 53 lbs of feed per week, so you need to be feeding a little more than 1 bag of feed per week. The recommendations for breeds like the black sex-link is only 0.25/lb per bird per day, for only 40 lbs of...
  10. ewesfullchicks

    Getting my hens more protein without feeding their eggs back to them..

    I feed my hens a 20% protein ration year round - it's only a little more expensive than the 16%, but it's what my feed store carries routinely. The hens don't need the extra protein in the winter (when they're not laying well), but I figure it helps build up their reserves for bumper crops in...
  11. ewesfullchicks

    Home made food for chickens?

    Although I'm a qualified nutritionist, I"M not confident that I can make a homemade ration to satisfy my chicken's needs, so I leave it to the experts. I used to have a feed mill make a custom-made ration, which although better, was more expensive. Now I use a non-national brand, that is...
  12. ewesfullchicks

    laying age

    I've raised a variety of chickens, and I estimate 22-24 weeks on average. The stuff you read about the red and black-sex link laying at approx. 16 weeks - just not true! Rachel, Tx
  13. ewesfullchicks

    How long does shipping from Ideal take to North Texas?

    I order regularly from Ideal and am located very rurally south of Houston. I get mine in two days, with no problems. The Post Office calls me at 7 a.m. to pick them up. Rachel
  14. ewesfullchicks

    Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrggggggg!!!!

    Best thing is prevention --- electric netting around your poultry area, and/or a livestock guardian dog. Last time Animal Control wouldn't do anything about a neighbor's attack-trained dogs being on my property as clients arrived (after all - they hadn't actually maimed anyone yet), I called...
  15. ewesfullchicks

    Worming Help Please

    DO NOT use ivermectin - too easy to give a fatal dose to chickens. The poster who said use Wazine is correct - it's easy to get from most feedstores, and I've never had a problem with getting the chickens to drink water treated with it However, you didn't say what the poop looked like -...
  16. ewesfullchicks

    de-worming questions

    I raise sheep in the Gulf Coast. It's not an area suitable to raising sheep, because the heat and humidity are GREAT for breeding worms. I've done extensive research, and apple cider vinegar/garlic, any other "natural" remedy including DE is NOT effective for sheep or chickens or any other...
  17. ewesfullchicks

    cost of a meat bird

    It's really not fair to undercut your neighbor, and not fair on yourself either. He has a larger outlay, and you could easily sabotage his business by undercutting him, BEFORE you realize that it's just too much work to do this regularly. Therefore, you've really hurt an American small...
  18. ewesfullchicks

    when to process a dual purpose bird?

    It's important to process them before sexual maturity - you can tell by the spurs on their legs. They just get tough and rangy and dark meated the older they are. I'd say, process them by 16 weeks. If older - just turn them into stew meat or coq au vin - they'd be great like that...
  19. ewesfullchicks

    How much DE for 50 lbs feed?

    Can anyone point me to REAL research into DE actually being effective? I've tried, and tried to find it, but so far, am empty handed. Rachel
  20. ewesfullchicks

    how do I stop my Hen from eating the eggs????

    Hens often eat eggs when their nest boxes are too large, and 2 or 3 hens get in at the same time, leading to egg breakage OR if the nest boxes are too light. Try making sure that your nest boxes are approx. 12' wide by 14' tall, and have some kind of flap in front - I use old cut up tee-shirts...
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