BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Beer can]

I plan on staking my tractors down, we have very rocky soil but I have a huge sledgehammer that will get the rebar inbetween the rocks.

 

[Arielle]

On another note-- feeding. . . . I have lots of cherry pits and thought they might be good for the chickens to recycle them. Anyone have experience with chickens eating the pits??

 

[ronott1]

On another note-- feeding. . . . I have lots of cherry pits and thought they might be good for the chickens to recycle them. Anyone have experience with chickens eating the pits??

No, not good idea. They have compounds that turn to cyanide and are toxic in large quantities. The leaves and bark are toxic too.

The Cherry fruit is good for them and they will not eat that many pits if whole. Just the pits I would not do though.

 

[hellbender]

On another note-- feeding. . . . I have lots of cherry pits and thought they might be good for the chickens to recycle them. Anyone have experience with chickens eating the pits??

I would fear the cyanide in the inner part of the pit. Never had any experience but I would proceed with the utmost caution!

 

[Ifish]

On another note-- feeding. . . . I have lots of cherry pits and thought they might be good for the chickens to recycle them. Anyone have experience with chickens eating the pits??

The pits contain cyanide, but I am not sure if it is toxic to poultry. Wild birds eat cherries before we can get to them, but straight pits may be an issue. It's a good question.

 

[hellbender]

Ron...you typrd just a bit faster than I!!!!

 

[Ifish]

I enjoyed reading the update. I enjoy discussions that involve the doing.

If you can, track your bird's laying over a laying cycle. It is helpful to know, and helpful to hear. I am unable to process the per week numbers because our birds can be variable over a year. I (we) just write it down on a calendar per pen. This gives me an average. As the season moves on, I try to separate myself from those that hurt the average, but they are averaged in. As a result, when discussing it, I tend to give a range for an average.
My Catalana pullets average 220-240 in their pullet year. With the lowest producers removed the average is closer to the 240 range. Some individuals hit higher marks, but they are the exception. My hens are in the range of 200. All of this without lights.

I have a little postal scale for the young birds. I like to know what their typical is, and monitor it from there. Whenever I go through them, I pull out the scale. I do not trust feeling my way. I am pretty good at it, I guess, but there are always marginal birds that I am not certain about. Occasionally one surprises me.
Whoever is heaviest at 8wks will likely be at 12 wks.

Yes. There are a number of genes that effect the rate of feather growth. That is why I mentioned in out conversation that I would like to know (if it was me) if it was a sex linked recessive etc.

I would be interested in hearing whether or not some believe rate of feather growth has an effect on lacing. I know little of these varieties, and would be interested in hearing more.

Slow feathering and type? No. Absolutely not. Only a possible correlation between body type and rate of growth in general.

Pictures and numbers would be nice.

I will try to get a few pictures. I am bad about taking them. I get a few taken every year. I like to look at last years pictures.

How are you tracking the laying numbers? Trap nests or just knowing your flock (and chickens in general) very well?

 

[Ifish]

Ron...you typrd just a bit faster than I!!!!

Threes a crowd...

 

[Beer can]

I have a huge log style black cherry tree by my house. When it drops its little 'cherries' the wild turkeys gobble them up. I imagine the pits pass through?

 

[ronott1]

I have a huge log style black cherry tree by my house. When it drops its little 'cherries' the wild turkeys gobble them up. I imagine the pits pass through?

Probably and it takes a lot of them to become toxic.

Turkeys are bigger so it would take a lot more to hurt them.