California - Northern

[EZFarms]

lmfao my. mom just made a big mistake she said "you can have ducklings if u dont catch any snakes this year" (i bring tgem inside and they grt loose lol)

 

[95030chick]

I have to admit, drunk chickens would be funny.
How much water do you add? Can you free-feed with fermented feed?

Re: saving costs on chicken feed

Some say to keep the feed well saturated, like a porridge or mash, but others keep an inch or so of standing water on top of the feed.
Some keep some fermenting feed in a trough, and others portion out servings (about 1/2 cup for an adult bird to start, and sometimes they eat less after they get used to the fermented feed).

You can spend days reading about this ( Fermented feeds: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/739084/fermented-feeds , and the original thread, Fermenting feed for meat birds: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds ).

But if you don't want to try fermented feed just yet, there are posts that recommend just adding a bit of water, milk, or yoghurt to minimize the amount of feed wasted by the birds tossing it out of the feeder. (My observation with wet or fermented feed is that sometimes they might pick out a grain and toss it out of the feeder, but then dig it out of the ground and eat it.)

Depending on the type of feed you use now, you can also increase the bulk and nutritional content by sprouting or growing forage. (Growing fodder for chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/713334/growing-fodder-for-chickens/1640 . You can start at the beginning, but I've found a good place to start is page 77.) Many people use basic grains (or wild birdseed mix from COSTCO or black oil sunflower seeds), but if you want to splurge, you can get this mix from Peaceful Valley in Grass Valley: http://www.groworganic.com/omega-3-chicken-forage-blend-irrigated.html )

Here's a testimonial from page 176 of the Growing Fodder for Chickens thread:
"Well the chickens are completely off of commercial pellet and the rabbits are down to 50/50. The chickens like sprouts better then fodder and the rabbits like fodder better than sprouts.

I've taken feed cost for chickens from .26 cents to .032 cents a pound and from .29 cents to .17cents a pound for the rabbits."

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Incubator/hatcher questions ... and a small rant.

Does anyone have a Dickey? How do you adjust the humidity?

Are there any hatchers, under $1000. that have automatic humidity adjustment?

I just had to set a large number of eggs. Too many for my RCom. The bad thing about the RCom 20 is that it's small. Not much room for pedigree baskets. So, I want a hatcher. The Dickey hatcher has multiple divided trays with covers. Perfect.

Back to my too many eggs for the RCom. I put eggs under two broodies. And I had to use my Genesis for the first time. Unlike BCollie, I HATE the Genesis. My first and only incubation experience was just with the RCom. For humidity, you fill the little hole that's right in front of the machine with water until the ball floats up to the top. Turn on the machine, everything is preset. Digital reading of temp & humidity, stays where it should be. Check the little floating ball every few days, easy to fill.

Setting up the Genesis for the first time ... fill up the channel in the tray, can't see very well how much water I put in. And then you put the screen & turner on top of it and can't even see it?! How am I supposed to know if the water's getting low and how do I fill it? I have to pour water in from the back - that's on a shelf against the wall. Grrrr. Who designed this ridiculous thing?!
I put a hygrometer in the Genesis and I've been checking the humidity on both machines every few hours. The RCom stays stable at 45%, sometimes goes to 46 for a moment then right back to 45. The Genesis is all over the place, ranging in the 50s & 60s. No little button to adjust it, like the RCom. I'm not pulling all the eggs out to mess with covering the water in the little channel that I can't see. All you hatchaholics think this is fun???

I HATE the Genesis. It is for sale as soon as I have something to hatch in!

So, back to my question about the Dickey. After dealing with this Genesis, I looked up how to adjust humidity in the Dickey. It looks like it may have the same type of thing, with a tray of water to regulate humidity. OH NO. I want something with a little button to adjust humidity. Is there such a thing?

My humidity has been fluctuating between 33%-40% in my Genesis, not sure if that's normal or not. But you know when you need to refill the water tray when the humidity starts to go down, I was told it's usually a couple days. I think you can buy a humidity regulator for some incubators but they're REALLY expensive, as in several hundred dollars. I may be wrong on that one but that's what I remember reading. I personally love my new Gensis, but hey, to each their own. I'll take it off your hands if ya can't find a buyer

Lol! Good luck finding something that works for you!

ETA:
http://www.amazon.com/Brinsea-Produ...1400799300&sr=8-2&keywords=humidity+incubator

i fill the side tray make sure you have the plastic liner in the right way so you can see the fill areas. I add water to the one in the left it goes to about 50 I wait till it drops to 25 or so and add more. I have a plastic cup for lockdown i Fill the center and the cup it goes to 63-65 for hatch.
I hatched most the shipped ameraucana in it which made me happy. it does better with my own eggs usually or local

 

[Happy Chooks]

On another note, when I went to check on the peepers for the last time, I saw something odd.
I have 4 cages stacked 2 high & 2 wide then set against the coop wall - these are my maternity wards. Langshan broody with UofA eggs is in a top one.
I look at the cage below her & I realize I see feathers between the wall & the cage. No - it's a whole wing - No - it's a whole bird.
Oh gawd, it must be dead. No - it's still alive!
Easily rescued, happier & a bit wobbly still, it's walking around fine after eating & drinking, just holding it's wing a little funny. I checked & no broken bones thankfully.
And, wouldn't you know? It was a jubilee orpington pullet - OF COURSE.
It's always your favorite or your most valuable that get into trouble.
I'm so glad I went for that last egg check & averted the crisis.
Silly chicken. I think I'll name her Murphy.

Great save!

hi everyone -- my life has been wildly busy the past few weeks, and i've not been on-line much at all, & have gotten insanely behind with this list -- no way to catch up, so i'll just jump back in.

and unfortunately not with cheerful news: it's apparently predator season here on Sonoma Mtn again -- a beautiful black marans pullet got snatched yesterday afternoon by something fast and agile (bobcat? fox?), when i'd only walked away from their area for literally 5 minutes -- and it seems to have injured that flock's blue isbar rooster, too -- I can't find anything specific wrong with him, but today he is mostly standing still with his head down, looking weak.

I need to cut back the tall grass & keep a much closer watch on them if they are outside their pens. I don't tend to get attached to individual chickens very closely, but of course the pullet & rooster were both favorites, AND i just feel like i've let them down somehow -- although my feral chicken, the campine of indeterminate gender, has been living outside the pens full-time for three months now, and is still hanging out. somehow s/he is much more wiley than the others!

I'm sorry for your loss. Hope the cockerel recovers.

Need some advice here; on of my bantam cochins eyes is ...weird.

This is the normal one, bad lighting but the yellow iris is bright and the pupil clear.



This one seems dark. It's not really cloudy, more like the "clear" part of the eye is tinted darker, like sunglasses. It's a little bigger than the other and he seems to keep it closed some of the time. It's not weepy, or pussy and doesn't seem to bother him. I also can't find any sign of damage or blood.



Would this be some kind of genetic thing, or something contagious? Any ideas on what it could be or how to help?

Like Ron said, I would start with some eye ointment. You can use the Vetericyn eye ointment, or get some ophthalmic ointment. (it's neosporin-like consistency) He could have scratched his eye on something. Does his pupil on that side react to light?

I decided to


because



And these are the eggs!



What an assortment of eggs!

Such pretty eggs!


My broodies are trying to set all of the eggs!

 

[CackleJoy]

Does anyone in or near Redding or Sacramento, or anywhere in between, have Swedish Flower Hen hatching eggs?? My friends rooster just died and I'd love to hatch out some chicks and give him a cockerel.
Actually, he's not just a friend he's a dog trainer that helps me with my foster dogs for no charge, so I'd love to do something nice for him & give him a SFH cockerel.

Jeff at Papa's Poultry is in Redding. He has almost everything - including SFH

 

[casportpony]

Need some advice here; on of my bantam cochins eyes is ...weird.

This is the normal one, bad lighting but the yellow iris is bright and the pupil clear.



This one seems dark. It's not really cloudy, more like the "clear" part of the eye is tinted darker, like sunglasses. It's a little bigger than the other and he seems to keep it closed some of the time. It's not weepy, or pussy and doesn't seem to bother him. I also can't find any sign of damage or blood.



Would this be some kind of genetic thing, or something contagious? Any ideas on what it could be or how to help?

There's an avian pathologist at UC Davis that has an interest in eyes, may I send him the picture? If so, he'll want to know age and if he's vaccinated for Marek's.

-Kathy

 

[PetRock]

Vetricyn makes a spray for eyes. @PetRock said it worked for her chickens.

I would start with regular eye drops. They do a good job by themselves but order or get the vetricyn from a feed or pet store. You can get a better price from Amazon though.

I use Vetericyn Ophthalmic Gel but I have used Neosporin without pain reliever. You can also use Terramycin eye ointment.

 

[Kaylish]

There's an avian pathologist at UC Davis that has an interest in eyes, may I send him the picture? If so, he'll want to know age and if he's vaccinated for Marek's.

-Kathy

Absolutely! I'd be interested in any response. He's 5 weeks (bantam cochin) and was not vaccinated.

I use Vetericyn Ophthalmic Gel but I have used Neosporin without pain reliever. You can also use Terramycin eye ointment.

Thank you very much!

 

[caychris]

Absolutely! I'd be interested in any response. He's 5 weeks (bantam cochin) and was not vaccinated.

Thank you very much!

Ill have to get pics of my bird too. I would think its a bit late for mine but you never know. I do see times when the eye is more open.

 

[casportpony]

He's also interested in ears...

-Kathy