Anyone have luck catching a feral chicken?? UPDATE: Rooster caught, no hen

[apryl29]

Morning all!!! Bust morning at work so I'm getting on here late. Woke up to our first official frost here. Even the waterers were frozen.

I never thought about inactive ingredients. Maybe in a few weeks we can go to the allergist and have him tested for Penicillin and Cephalosprins.
Back later.

Good idea. The dr originally kept trying to say my daughter was allergic to amoxicilin b/c she had a problem w/ the augmentin and I made them change it. She's taken amoxicillin before that w/ no problems, and she had taken liquid augmentin before with no problems, but those specific pills caused her to break out in hives right after she took them. So now when she needs antibiotics I just explain it to them and they get her the right stuff.

 

[rjohns39]

I really don't like my pellets and can't wait to get back to my normal cracked grain feed, but it will be at least another month...

 

[Parront]

I always bought pellets for my hens. The guys just had to eat layer pellets, sorry guys! There was a feed mill in Riverside CA at the time, I went there in my small car and backed up the the loading dock with the big guys! It was pretty funny! I was up to 50 layers at one point, and they were hungry.

 

[Parront]

I really don't like my pellets and can't wait to get back to my normal cracked grain feed, but it will be at least another month...

You do not like them, or the birds don't like them? Are they not as great nutritionally as your mix?

 

[Redhead Rae]

I buy cracked grain and we soak it for 24 hrs. Very little gets wasted, and the feed goes farther than when I feed it to them dry.

 

[Parront]

Same. After you have kids it's harder b/c they don't knock. I remember once when my daughter was little and I was still married she woke up and came running in. Where's my clothes?! I get that some people are ok w/ all that, but I don't think any kid needs to see their parents that way. Once my nephew's mom changed her shirt in front of him, no bra, he was little and still says he's scarred for life.


My younger child said mama twice when she was only 2 months old.. No one believed me. I believe you.


IMO there's less waste b/c the crumble turns to powder faster than the pellets. I actually mix pellet and crumble b/c it seemed like they were going through the crumble super fast. I put my feed in a plastic trash can and just scoop. I was feeding them in dog food bowls until last night and they would scratch everything onto the floor. When I cleaned the coop there was soooo much powdered feed on the floor. I'm hoping the new feeder will help w/ that waste, but I'm still going to mix feed. But can I point out how annoying it is that they don't have the higher protein feeds in pellets? Maybe it's just my store, but the only thing the have that isn't layer is the feather fixer which is $18 for a 40lb bag. Odin is separated & I don't like giving him the layer feed b/c it's supposed to be bad for the boys, but I'm not about to pay $9 for a 7 lb bag of feather fixer.


The weather people are filthy liars. Last Sunday they said the high for Monday was to be 70, then late Sunday night they changed their minds to a high of 50. I still have broccoli growing, uncovered, it's snowing here. I'm going to let it go until it dies and give it to the chickens. I had expected it to broccoli before now.


Been there. At least you noticed it! I didn't and assumed it was her usual hives. She was actually allergic to an inactive ingredient in the pill form of augmentin. Go figure.


Ditto! But if you use a heat lamp, don't attach it to the tote b/c it can melt (according to other people). I clamped mine on to a 2x4 next to the brooder & covered it w garden fencing wire we had lying around so there wouldn't be an escapees or murders from our cats. Super easy. Then when my babies turned into velociraptors I lined a 4x4 xpen with cardboard. It worked really well until our coop was finished, but holy hell did it smell after absorbing all the spilled water.

A regular old school 100 watt light bulb puts out enough heat, for just a plastic tub. Not too hot, at one end. I have a UV plant light in a clamp on brooder fixture for Dylan. It is clamped to a wood window sill. Birds need UV for vitamin D. I will never brood chicks again without one.

 

[Parront]

Good to hear so many free up to be functional members of society. Last year mine had an epic melt down about her dance costume. It was for hip hop & was neon, plus the jacket had sequins that itched her arms. I ended buying her a long sleeve leotard to deal w it, then she was too hot. One day.. Just has to get through one day w the costume.. Sigh.

Functional enough to graduate college, and is a CPA now. Those anal traits serve her well now.

 

[Parront]

I think Sesame knows her name. I spotted a hawk today and the last time I saw Sesame she was free ranging. I was running around looking for her, shouting her name and she answered me, TWICE. Maybe coincidence, but I won’t change my story.

Of course birds can learn their names! They just need an owner who will give them a name, and call them by name. Especially at dinner time!

 

[Parront]

OH, and DH and I gotta slap together a brooder.... because 2 weekends got pissed away by SOMEBODY clucking around.... not naming names (DH DH DH DH DH), we're at the last leg of incubation on the eggs... they go into lockdown on MONDAY.... and the brooder I planned to build... well, that's lost until next year I suppose... back to a BIG cardboard box then.... which might be good *in the long run* anyway... since this will be the last hatch on Smuvers Farm this year.... no need to have a brooder after this.....

Never built a brooder. I built a "Cardboard Corral" in the attached 2 car garage. Get boxes, open them up and make the size circle you need, duct tape. As they grow, add more cardboard panels to enlarge coral. Hang brooder lamps from above garage rafter with a swag lamp chain from the 70's, done! Fill brooder with newspaper with shavings, or litter of choice. I confess, I just used plain old newspaper. I never noticed a problem from it like I see folks on here talking about.

 

[rjohns39]

You do not like them, or the birds don't like them? Are they not as great nutritionally as your mix?

I don't like the nutritional content of what I have and I like to give the kids the opportunity to cherry pick a bit. When I first gave them pellets, they must have circled the feeder a dozen times before one was willing to try it... Then they got over it pretty quickly. I love watching them eat the cracked grains... Some will go for the candy "corn & oats", others are after the fishmeal and vitamins, while others go after the soy. Once I get back to what I'm accustomed to, there will also be cracked alfalfa pellets in there. They love cracked alfalfa pellets and hate alfalfa meal. Same for soy meal. The only powdery stuff they like is the fishmeal and vitamins. When we have a stressor, weather, predator, what ever... I've been known to put out a bowl of nutri-balancer with some fishmeal free choice. So go crazy over it while others ignore it. I suspect there's truth in the theory that they know what they need.