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Your black snakes, the rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta) are nest robbers. The eat birds, eggs, young squirrels, baby rabbits, etc. As juveniles, mouse pinkies and lizards are their primary food items. As adults, they do not eat reptiles, and they do not eat snakes. Unless you are speaking of king...

I thought you lived in West Virginia?

Approximately 60% of their ration should be a low fiber high energy feed source. 20-25% can be low fiber tender and digestible greens. Animal protein is complete, so there is not a concern with the amino acid profile. Balance the main ration accordingly. Every soil type has a deficiency. Be...

It comes from both Leslie. Do you really think that a young growing bird needs the same thing as a mature adult bird? Do you think dietary requirements are the same for a broiler and a layer? A performance athlete and a couch potato? We are not even discussing apples and oranges. The science...

For the casual observer, we have a few different conversations going at the same time. Managing layers is just management. The goal and the end result is different. If we are convinced of a method that is getting results, then good. If our "customers" require a particular feed, then so be...

When I feed sunflower seeds as a supplement, I feed them hulled sunflower seeds. A little goes a long ways. I do not measure it. I just throw them a few handfuls, and watch to make sure all get a little bit.

Become familiar with poultry nutrition. The more you know, the more equipped you are to make informed decisions. When someone asks you why, you should be able to give them an informed answer. Remember, chickens are low fiber, high energy animals. Build on that. Most just do it because...

Layer rations have too much calcium for everything but layers.

I replied to Ant Farm's post with you in mind. I simply feed my birds a breeder ration. Recently, I have had access to a game bird breeder. For as long as I have access to this feed, this is what I will feed. I believe in breeders being fed a feed formulated for breeders. A layer ration for...

You have good reasons for shopping at TSC. Many overlook how old their feed might be. The feed needs to be fresh. The quality begins to decline quickly after a period of time. In hot summers, feed sitting in an unconditioned space, declines even faster. It is good to watch that the feed is...

Good post. There is no good reason to feed what we would not breed. I do give eggs away. I sell a few, but many of them get brought to shut ins etc.

Flock Raiser is ok. Their is not much difference between it and the Dumor chick starter, other than some misc. ingredients. The chick starter costs less. If you are really concerned with chick size, hatchability, fertility of the parents etc . . . . but only want to shop from Tractor Supply...

Culling is from the beginning and until the end. Literally. The start is not setting undersized and off shaped eggs in the incubator. Then runts and unthrifty chicks etc. No breeder grows all of their birds, all of the way, all of the time. That would make no sense at all. If there is reason...

I do not like selling birds, but I do sell pullets locally. I did not have to advertise any last year. People get to know you as a source of birds. These are not necessarily POL pullets. The only criteria is do I have any available to part with, and are they culls? So many come that you have to...

There are a variety of ways that breeders manage multiple hatches. I do this by limiting hatches to larger hatches. I may only have two main hatches, but have a 80-100 eggs in each of those hatches. For misc. reasons, I will have some smaller hatches. For a variety of reasons, I do not...

I have plucked enough chicken in the last twenty years. Now I skin them like we would any other animal. Where I do make an exception is when we do the big cull, and there is family help. Then there is teamwork, and an assembly line. We can do a lot of birds fast, working as a team. On my own...

Having a group of killing cones side by side helps. Also sticking them with a knife while they are in it, instead of cutting their heads off with a hatchet. I will chop the head off of a bird when I am killing a random cull. Not when I have any qty. to do. Skinning them is the way to go...

Where you are, consider the r value of your sheathing etc. Some makes of roofing panels make solid colors and clear. An example is Ondura panels. On solid plywood (or OSB) you can get an r value of 4 from the sheathing. These Ondura panels have clear panels with the same profile. This makes...

A reasonable goal and expectation is to have birds weighing in the range of 5 1/2 lbs 12 and 14wks. A good dual purpose bird that has an emphasis on the production of fowl meat should realize similar gains. Not many strains achieve this. Consider what you are feeding them, and their length...

The best approach would be not to share from a flock that has had sick birds. That would be the common sense approach. In this case, there should be no birds being discussed. There is no way that I would share any bird that I thought there was even a chance of spreading something to another...