Central Hatchery ???????????????

[Beekissed]

I'm doing all mine at 10 wks. The last batch of free range seemed to stop growing at 8 wks and sort of just stayed at the weight they had achieved then but I waited to process until 11 wks(meant to at 10 but things took precedence over my plans at the time). I'm going to process 2 at 8 wks just to try out my new plucker setup(drill attachment pvc type) before we do the rest.

I'm having a processing workshop here for a group of 10 and want to have it in June. With the free range and feeding once a day, they should grow slower so I want to give them the maximum chance to get to full weight.

There is a lady over on the SS forum who started out her meaties on clabber and starter and said their feces were corrected~from diarrhea and stinking to healthy, normal poops~in a week. I think it only stands to reason that, if you stop the diarrhea, you can have chicks that retain nutrients and don't get dehydrated easily like they currently do. Hers are still pooping normally and do not have the characteristic color and smell of the typical CX feces.

The last time I gave mine the UP/ACV in their water but I didn't put as much as I will this time. The lady who is doing clabber said her CX flew over a 40" barrier the other day(6 wks old)...she posted a video of them running around foraging and you would never know they were CX if you didn't see the standard breed chicks beside them looking so small. They were all equally active and fast on their feet.

 

[Swampfarmer]

You know, I had not given much thought about it, but now that you guys are talking about clabber, the smell is much better in my coop compared to the last batch. I'm feeding them Nutrena Meatbird feed which contains added prebiotics, probiotics and yeast culture that support digestion. I thought that sounded like a good idea but had not really considered if it was making a difference. I think it is and I know they are eating more and growing faster. I buy the feed for $13.75 per 50 pound bag. I bought 27 bags for this batch.

Ralph

 

[Beekissed]

That's good to know, Swamp. I'm hoping to achieve the same results. I've read studies done on feeding the fermented feed to both broilers and layers and they all result in the same thing~improved bowel health and function that then provides more nutrient uptake and more weight gain, even while feeding less protein-enriched feeds.

In the layers it resulted in heavier eggs, better laying production and less cholesterol in the egg but more Omega-3 and other fatty acids. Can't beat that from just soaking your feeds overnight and letting them start to ferment, can you?

 

[Swampfarmer]

Just like have a nice Merlot with dinner.

That's good to know, Swamp. I'm hoping to achieve the same results. I've read studies done on feeding the fermented feed to both broilers and layers and they all result in the same thing~improved bowel health and function that then provides more nutrient uptake and more weight gain, even while feeding less protein-enriched feeds.

In the layers it resulted in heavier eggs, better laying production and less cholesterol in the egg but more Omega-3 and other fatty acids. Can't beat that from just soaking your feeds overnight and letting them start to ferment, can you?

 

[Beekissed]

Yep!

The studies also indicate that the birds prefer the wet, fermented feed over the dry feed~so they must think so too!

 

[Beekissed]

My own little experiment confirmed the same findings as those studies:

The first day I tried soaking the chick starter in buttermilk and feeding it. They ate it as they would any feed. The second day I fed dry starter and they ate it as per usual. Later on the second day I placed wet, fermented feed right next to the dry feed and it was like a shark feeding frenzy! They looked like honey bees swarming on that feed...seriously!

I'll tell you another little gem...earlier today we fed them a few worms and they were like rugby players...it was a free for all rodeo with all chicks running and snatching worms from each other. They abandoned all feeding to join the chase and it went on forever...it was so funny to watch!

We did it again during their feeding frenzy on the fermented feed(love that alliteration!) and the chicks currently eating the FF didn't budge from their position at the feeder, even with the rest of the herd stampeding over and around them with a worm fight.

I won't taste it myself and it smells very sour but it must taste like Krispy Kremes to those chicks!

 

[xC0000005]

They looked like honey bees swarming on that feed...seriously!

I find it funny that having kept bees this is a happy image to me, while to someone else it might sound horrible. Swarms. So much fun when they aren't from your hives.

 

[Beekissed]

I think so too....I'm deathly scared of bees but I got some anyway and was so pleased to hear the "happy" hum from the hive and watch them working on the honey comb. It had the sound and look of a happy, productive community.

 

[xC0000005]

How long have you had them? I've gotten to the point where the sound of the colony tells me a lot. For instance,this morning the low pitched buzz says "rearing brood, and cold be darned," and this afternoon you could hear the foragers from the house. I'm going to miss them in a few weeks when they are gone, sort of.

I think so too....I'm deathly scared of bees but I got some anyway and was so pleased to hear the "happy" hum from the hive and watch them working on the honey comb. It had the sound and look of a happy, productive community.

 

[Beekissed]

Actually, I planned and studied up on having them for around 3-4 years, decided I wanted to build my own TBH and decided I was going to use all natural husbandry, much like Michael Bush, got the bees and they were doing lovely.....but we had the worst drought in our state's history that year and in one month I went from a happy hive with 3 full combs and half of another full of honey to an empty hive with bees that had been eating their own stores.

I had checked them and they were doing fine and three weeks later I get a call from a neighbor asking if I had lost my bees as their neighbor had reported a swarm the other day in their yard. By then they were gone from the yard where they had been seen and when I checked my hive it was sadly very quiet with only a few bees in residence. I should have fed, should have fed, should have fed...but who expects to feed in the middle of July? Inexperience and the darn drought lost me my first hive and I my life took a sudden turn after that and I haven't been in a situation in which I could settle down and do bees once again.

I always envisioned caring for at least 4 hives and one day eating my own honey, selling it, using the wax for candles and balms.....maybe one day I'll get to try again.