Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Beekissed]

We just had a warning on the thread about aflatoxins...might be worth looking at your stored or boughten feeds for any mold growth.

 

[NanaKat]

Free ranging is in sunlight and I feed Universal egg layer pellets and broiler feed.

Rickets doesn't come on suddenly. Since it came on suddenly, I really think it's either toxins, infection, or, as Bee said, neurological.

I wonder if the drought caused something, a new type of plant disease or mildew that they ate, or bugs that normally aren't around that showed up this year.

I wonder too if the high heat and drought could have caused something. There have been serious cracks in the ground and we have seen more scorpions this year both outside and in the house.
I've been reading about GMO grains and the long tern effect on fertility. I wonder if soybean and corn from GMO crops are used in the feeds in my area....

 

[Gargoyle]

scorpion stings?

I found this: http://chickenscratchranch.com/tag/scorpion-sting-chicken/
Quote:

 

[Mountain Momma]

Sunlight. I believe it's also in commercial feeds.

Sunlight in commercial feed? No wonder they are so expensive!

 

[Beekissed]

If only...

 

[Gargoyle]

Sunlight in commercial feed?  No wonder they are so expensive!

(no smilies available on my android phone browser, i wsnted to use one of the rollicking laugh ones.

 

[Mountain Momma]

WOW! That's all I can really say about those birds!!!! WOW!!!

If anyone wanted to know the real difference in breeder stock and hatchery stock, right there is the difference. Take a look at one of my Barred Rocks from a hatchery and then compare it to these fine feathered fatties in this post. Such a difference in the depth of the body, both chest and rear, the smoothness and fullness of the feathering...mine are just like a very bad copy of the real thing. Kudos to Fred on the exceptional breeding of these heritage birds!

Hatchery horse and Heritage horse....mmm....

 

[Beekissed]

 

[pigeonguy]

I just answered another post about keeping water thawed in the winter with this and just thought you all might be interested. I know it is totally off the wall. Glad that guy made me think. Hope I put a good enough mental image to it. And if a guy had the resources could do it for free.

don't know but this is what I have in my head untested.
Build a green house that is 2x2 or 2x3 or 3x3 whatever suits your needs I would think smaller is better less time to heat and longer it will hold heat. Make it on top of straw bails. Only build it 2 feet high not including bails.
4 bales of straw make a box out of the bales fill box with cow or horse manure ( I would use horse manure) lay a piece of wood, Plexiglas, glass, tin big enough square to cover manure overlapping bails a little. build a green House on top of that a few 2 x 2s 1 sheet of green house material ( you know corrugated looks like card board but plastic and clear get it at Menard's) OK that piece is pricey you could also use Plexiglas but green house material is better generates more heat.
Cut 8 foot sheet of green house material into 8 / 2 x 2 foot pieces 4 walls 2 for peaked roof 2 for front and back of roof. Greenhouse makes heat decomposing manure creates heat water pan sett in the middle no freeze. open door on one end facing south. Say a 10 inch wide by 12 inches tall door. Hey set something in front of door to block the wind you know about 18 inch's to 2 feet away. Wow thanks for making me think I'm going to put 1 attached to my coop but still outside.
Never thought about a non electric heater before.
Hope it helped.

 

[City farm]

Ah!  True old-timers never get tired of mulling over the same old stories.  I, too, was saddened when I thought you were going to close down this thread, Bee.  It's good to know that you are going to keep it going.  It must be a lot of work to keep up with and post all those replies, cause it's a real effort to keep up-to-date with all the new posts each day just reading.  My Grandmother, who died at 94 lived with us, (she died in 1971) as I was growing up some of my first memories were of my Grandmother,  I heard the same stories over and over about how her brothers always teased her, and how she was the youngest of 9 children, her mother could curl her hair on her fingers in ringlets.  Of course, many more and we heard them over and over again, same old, same old...I never tired of listening to her tell those stories.  I don't frankly think she had dementia either.  She was a spunky old woman made bread 2 or 3 times a week (I never tasted store bought bread till I was a teenager, and thought somehow I was missing out on something.)  She made dinner everyday (dinner was always served at noon).  She dusted the house daily.  She also helped with the dishes and with any food processing we were doing, right up till bout 6 months before she died.  What I'm trying to say here is, true old timers keep mulling over the same old things and the listeners don't ever seem to tire of it!

Very nicely said!!