bad or half-baked chicken advice you've received?

[chics n more]

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I found this out after I offered to have DH make her one. She declined twice! I thought I was bull-headed.

 

[wyododge]

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Safe to say you don't have curtains over your nest boxes so your chickens will lay then...

Woo Hoo!!!! Another logic based chicken owner!!!!

Ohh but wait... This is a half baked chicken advise thread... DANG IT!!!

 

[Blue]

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Safe to say you don't have curtains over your nest boxes so your chickens will lay then...

Woo Hoo!!!! Another logic based chicken owner!!!!

Ohh but wait... This is a half baked chicken advise thread... DANG IT!!!

Do people actually do that?
I love my chickens, but I have a feeling that if mine had curtains over their nest boxes, they wouldn't be able to find the boxes, so all my eggs would end up in the floor, and the beautiful curtains would be serving no purpose.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Well, back in the day, that "curtain" was just a flap of burlap. Not burlap bought off a roll at JoAnn Fabrics either.

 

[Blue]

Fred's Hens :

Well, back in the day, that "curtain" was just a flap of burlap. Not burlap bought off a roll at JoAnn Fabrics either.

lol! chicken privacy flap​

 

[featherz]

I have an old pillowcase stapled over one of my nestboxes. It actually worked - they prefer to use that box over any other. I did it because the box was too brightly lit otherwise and it's not moveable. So it's a curtain of sorts, but not in a frilly way.

 

[gale65]

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Just the fact that hens will lay in boxes if they're available makes it pretty obvious that they are a good thing.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

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I'm not understanding the statement about "too high in salt". When I feed compost to my chickens it is fruit and vegetable scraps that are removed before any cooking or flavoring has been done (e.g. lettuce leaves, raw carrot peelings, apple cores, bad tomatoes straight from the garden, etc.). I'm not giving them any meat or dairy or processed foods (e.g. bread).

Also, I can agree that a purely homemade diet might be imbalanced but my chickens are given all the commercial feed they want as well as access to the above compost items as well as the opportunity to free range. I am not asking the chickens to live on only compost and free range, and I'm certainly not grinding my own grains.

I'm very willing to learn why the idea of allowing chickens access to all the compost they want is a bad idea since I run across it frequently...but I haven't yet found an explanation that fits how I feed my chickens.

The problem with compost and rotten vegetables is bacterial; it can be a source of salmonella and even botulism. Since yours are getting a balancing ration, the diet should be acceptable although productivity would be higher on a straight commercial diet. If you aren't trying to maximize egg production then it should work.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Fred's Hens :

Well, back in the day, that "curtain" was just a flap of burlap. Not burlap bought off a roll at JoAnn Fabrics either.

Oregonian, eh? Marion or Polk County?​

 

[The Yakima Kid]

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And in this lies much of the problems with confusion about how to raise chickens. Most of the books on livestock nutrition have not been written by anyone who actually raised those livestock for the better part of their life, experimented with all aspects of nutrition and the results in their own livestock and then decided to recommend that to others. Those books are primarily touting the USDA accepted feed regimen for that particular livestock.

I would never rely on the USDA for any good information that pertains to small flocks of chickens raised in a backyard or on a farm.

The calcium from greens is not particularly well absorbed by poultry or people

This couldn't be MORE wrong. It was wrong the moment the USDA made the food pyramid that stated dairy products were the best source of calcium for humans way back in the day and it's still wrong today. The calcium received from eating green, leafy vegetables is not only more soluble and nutritional for humans, it is proven to be better for their health than is dairy or red meats.

When given a choice, chickens consume a large number of green, leafy vegetation and I can't imagine that they are doing that for any other reason that it is good food for their bodies. It is no mystery why the largest boned, strongest-boned animals on earth are vegetarians.​

No, calcium from green leafy vegetables is not as easily absorbed. I should know; I'm the one with the degree in Foods and Nutrition.

The problem you are demonstrating is the one that lies behind most bad advice - a fundamental distrust of science, and the lack of a background in science. Most of the people who write those academic books have been involved with vast numbers of the animals they write about. They have also done research, which means that they have applied rigor to the design of the experiment, and to the analysis of the results.

It is no mystery at all why the most intelligent animals on earth are omnivores and carnivores. Compare a pig with a cow or goat. Or a coyote with a sheep, goat, or other herbivore. This is a demonstration of the hypothesis of the Red Queen.