California - Northern

[BCollie]

Are you doing Fermented Feed? It will cut your feed bill quite a bit.


I'm not. How do you do it and what is it?

 

[BCollie]

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!

So sorry to hear about your hen & roo, I hope he pulls through!

 

[BCollie]

Still on the hunt for Swedish Flower Hen hatching eggs. ANYBODY know of someone with them? Redding to Sacramento. Someone's gotta have 'em...

 

[Kaylish]

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?

 

[Kaylish]

Still on the hunt for Swedish Flower Hen hatching eggs. ANYBODY know of someone with them? Redding to Sacramento. Someone's gotta have 'em...

I think I saw a CL ad in the Chico area today. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Kaylish]

@BCollie looks like Papa Brooder has them! It's an older ad but worth contacting him about since he's running $1/egg local specials right now!

 

[Audio51]

Quote: Are you doing Fermented Feed? It will cut your feed bill quite a bit.


I'm not. How do you do it and what is it?

Basically you are taking 1/2 of what you would normally feed (and of whatever you currently feed) and "ferment it" in a bucket with water for a couple of days the first time. It helps to make a lot of the nutrients more available and can cut feed cost by up to 50% becasue you feed a lot less.. It is not alcohol fermentation so you chickens won't be drunk...

 

[BCollie]

Quote: Are you doing Fermented Feed? It will cut your feed bill quite a bit.


I'm not. How do you do it and what is it?

Basically you are taking 1/2 of what you would normally feed (and of whatever you currently feed) and "ferment it" in a bucket with water for a couple of days the first time. It helps to make a lot of the nutrients more available and can cut feed cost by up to 50% becasue you feed a lot less.. It is not alcohol fermentation so you chickens won't be drunk...

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

 

[BCollie]

@BCollie looks like Papa Brooder has them! It's an older ad but worth contacting him about since he's running $1/egg local specials right now!

How did I not notice that he has SFHs?! Thank you!! I just sent him a message.

 

[ronott1]

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?

You should use some eye drops. There looks to be some swelling, so he likely hurt his eye. Mareks looks different usually.