4th Annual BYC NYD Hatch-a-long

[delisha]

Quote: lol well you should. You would be great..

 

[Daloorashens]

THANKS Jim!!!1 Nice job!!!

 

[cluck-cluck]

*cough* *choke* *wheeze* *gasp*

I abandoned all of you. I'm so sorry!! I missed out on all of the fun!

My grandmother moved in with me with less than a week's notice, and it was impossible. She's blind, can't really walk, and I was led to believe that she was not showing the dementia that I feared I was hearing over the phone- hadn't seen her in over a year.

Well, she was a lot worse off than what I was told, and she arrived with a case of bronchitis which swiftly put her into the hospital. Fortunately we do have a resident BYC nurse in our local hospital, so I was able to talk poultry with Tweety's Voice while in the ER for 10 hours. Grandma was admitted but was combatant while she was there unless I was with her, so my hubby had to manage the house, the farm, etc. It was very tough. God bless that man!

After a week, she was dismissed, and during the 'incarceration' as she called it, I found a skilled nursing facility to move her to. It's just not possible to care for her here.

SO: I hatched 25 birds, but don't know what or when, because another BYCer came to the house and took them away to care for them at her home. God bless Jordana!!!

I'm now wishing I could stop all of the chicken madness and just rest for a month, but it's 9 degrees out and I have to haul hot water 11 miles out to the farm so everyone has something to drink, and I'm out of feed, so I have to go to the mill. I do have a broody on eggs in the mud room (Silkies, she could never keep them warm enough outside) and 2 coops full of chicks out back...but I still put more eggs in yesterday. I'm nuts. Certifiable. Completely crackers.

My Chocolate LF Ameraucana project are nearly ready to lay. I'm beside myself about that one. The Chocolate Marans project is right behind them. The d'Uccles are behind those, but I've known d'Uccles to lay young. I can't stop, right!?

Anyway, I'll back up and skim to see what everyone ended up with, and I'll play along better next time. I'll try not to get bronchitis, too. The gift that keeps on giving...

Oh wow, it seems this was lost in the shuffle but I wanted to send you my condolences! I'm so sorry your grandmother is not doing well, but very glad she has someone like you to take over and care for her! I hope the home you found her will be comfortable, and that she will feel safe and sound there. We must remember that we are all going to get old if we're lucky, and will most likely need the love and care of a family member. Not all family members are up to the challenge, and I'm glad you were!

 

[SilkieSensation]

Ron!

I FIGURED OUT my Fermenting Feed issue!!



DOLP!! DO NOT USE a plastic lid on your bucket!!

IT NEEDS AIR!!! so either drill holes in the top of the lid or just keep a towl over the bucket!!!

I just lay a feed sack across the top of mine. The issue I'm having is the temps in my basement. It's sitting next to the furnace, but that really doesn't do a lot to keep everything warm as I don't do more than keep my basement above about 40F to keep pipes from bursting.

 

[SilkieSensation]

Wondering what other grains I can get from feed mill besides the mash for my layers to add to the bucket??? do you have a list, I cant find one!

Pretty much anything your local mill carries will work. Mine get cracked corn & beef chop. The chop has oats, wheat, corn, millet, barley, molasses & probably some others I have forgotten to mention. At many mills you can buy individual bags of most grains, but you have to buy it 50 pounds at a time usually. I find it much closer to my budget to find a chop or scratch mix that has several grains in it & use that instead of buying individual bags.

Forgot to add they also get regular layer crumbles & mash as well (plus the leftover dog food I still have at the moment from the dog we sold last week).

 

[SilkieSensation]

Ok it says to stick to lower protien levels , I just bought a bag of gamebird feed with 21% protien becuase they didnt have the chick starter I use and I have chicks now as well as quail and will have more chicks later. WIll my adult chickens be ok with this amount of protien , I rarely feed them snacks besides a slice of multi grain bread or some un sugard cereal as they have proven them selves picky eaters and alot of the stuff people say chickens love mine turn there nose up at.

Whatever your birds normally eat will be fine. I would worry more about the babies getting the extra calcium in the layer than anything (unless that's gamebird starter, then the adults will be the ones needing calcium like added oystershell in a cup in their cage). The gamebird is perfect for the quail though. I have so few quail right now mine just get regular layer so I don't have to buy yet another bag of feed (I already buy 5 different kinds).

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: Awwww I missed it!! I hope she gets better soon!! awwww

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: cool thanks!

Quote: gotcha!!

 

[TMNfarm]

Whatever your birds normally eat will be fine. I would worry more about the babies getting the extra calcium in the layer than anything (unless that's gamebird starter, then the adults will be the ones needing calcium like added oystershell in a cup in their cage). The gamebird is perfect for the quail though. I have so few quail right now mine just get regular layer so I don't have to buy yet another bag of feed (I already buy 5 different kinds).

This reminded me of a question... I have Prim and her chicks in the barn. They are coming up on 8 weeks old now and I am planning on moving them to the coop soon. It is actually warmer in my coop than in the barn, so I am not too concerned with the temps. Will the 8 week olds be ok being fed layer feed? It will be impossible once I move them to feed them separately from the adults...

 

[kvmommy]

I'm on my phone and cant figure out how to multiquote. So...chookschick I'm sorry about your grandma that must be so much stress. But yes you are crazy! And I totally support your chicken addiction. ..as long as you share those project eggs!

I spoke too soon..my ff is very fermented now. Lol so how long can in stay fermented in there before its bad.

I'm glad my dogs not the only weirdo that likes chicken feed!