Australorps breed Thread

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hellbender said:
Well...It's complicated. 'Show Bloom' is common term around dog shows, of which I'm quite familiar.

Some think I feed a bizarre diet to my layers and indeed to all my birds past their very young stage. I feed it warm in the winter and cold in the summer.

I live in rural West Virginia...(thought that was clear) and many farmers butcher their own beef. Many of them save 5 gallon buckets of blood for me and I prepare it for my birds...I fill large tubs about one third with water, some salt, Old Bay seasoning and lots of garlic...start them boiling and slowly pour the blood into the tubs 'til it KLOTZ, much like big chums of liver.....this is frozen in 5 gallon buckets until needed.

Several years ago, my dad bought two commercial pressure cookers...I cook road-kill deer in these until their bones turn to smunch. Freeze like above.

I also have a commercial grinder..I dispatch unwanted grown cockerels and spent hens... grind them too...ALL of them...beak to feet. Cook under pressure.

With the above components, I mix various grains, Calf Manna, alfalfa pellets, BOSS and DE and a portion of good commercial food (Layena)....This combined with all the pasture they can get (sometimes tough in winter) and it works for my birds....Keeps them in what I call show bloom...excellent condition, feathers and flesh.

Not to say they don't have their natural molts like all chickens but they don't seem too severe and many of the birds continue to lay.

Sorry you asked?
wee.gif
Click to expand...
thats one heck of a high protein diet
 
Gramma Chick said:
Show Bloom - is that like keeping them in show quality condition ?
Interesting Diet you feed them ..
I dont feed chickens - chicken ..so far ...I think it is like cannibalizing ..

A lot of people have their location under their avatar ...some in their bottom statement
Click to expand...

OK...Let's look at it this way...Have you ever fed your chickens any cooked/boiled eggs????????????
jumpy.gif


Would feeding eggs be classified as 'cannibalism'? Just something to think about...lol
 
ozexpat said:
thats one heck of a high protein diet
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. There are many grains that some chickens aren't crazy about but might be starved to eat...I don't do that. Whole oats, barley and the like aren't especially high in protein and if they are 'conditioned' and combined with other feed-stuffs, a pretty good diet can be provided, using the less appealing grains and the birds will gobble it up.

It all boils down to ratio, which changes with the season. When my birds can get out to range, I change the ratio of ingredients in their feed.

It works well for me and with as many as 85 to 100 birds being culled every year, I wonder what others would do with them. Give them away? Try to stew them? Both viable options but plowing it back into the birds makes far more sense to me.
 
Hi everyone, been watching this thread for a while lately so I thought I would post some pics of this seasons blue and black pullets. They are 14 weeks old btw.

Blue Australorp Pullet 1


Blue Australorp Pullet 2


Black Australorp Pullet 1


Black Australorp Pullet 2
 

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