Colorado

[elbertchick]

Moved my 2 week old meaties out of the house today! I kept their box really clean but the smell and dander was killing us. Never had issues with the egg layers, is it because of the higher protein in their feed? I also was going to try and separate my Marans from them and get them on to the egg layer starter so...... I fixed up a nice area for them separate from their giant friends and it took them two seconds to figure out they could slip right through the bars of my dog crate and join the others, so I will have to line the crate with hardware cloth. Will the flock starter I have them all on hurt my layers? They are now all residing in my greenhouse. Put down a tarp and a ton of shavings. I figure that will save my soil and as soon as I get their coop done , weather pending, I can take the tarp to the run and rototill it in to the ground. I am concerned about the feed though, my 5 little Marans came in with the others and I had kept them together. I know they need different nutrients for the layers, will the flock raiser affect my Marans?

Flock raiser should be fine for both.  Meaties have higher protein needs, and are well known to be smellier - I have never raised them, but reading the Fermented Feed for Meat Birds tells this story over and over.  They are a large part of the reason Fermented Feed became so popular here on BYC - evidently FF reduces the smell of their waste significantly.  It certainly has reduced the smell of my layer flock to zero.  Fermentation increases bio-availability of the proteins in the grains.  It is not difficult, in fact it is about as difficult as you choose to make it.  When I started mine I used a colander and bowl, now just the bowl.  To start, you can do it as simply as mixing the dry crumble with water and let it sit, stirring daily, until it starts to bubble (add more water if all is absorbed).  I hurried mine along with ACV, some use kefir, whey, or any number of other starters, but the airborne yeasts will suffice.  Warmer is faster, so near a wood stove or heat register helps.

Once mine got going I kept it simple - I scoop out 4-5 cups a day for my layer flock of 6, add a couple scoops of dry (I do one each grains and crumble) and add water to cover, stir, and store until the next day.  Doubtless some I feed is just soaked and not fermented, but it's still better for them than dry.  My coop doesn't smell, my girls are laying well, seem happy and healthy, so aside from the daily 5 minute investment of time, it is no problem and well worth it to me.

Which grain do you add? Corn, wheat, or something like scratch? Thank you so much for easing my mind. I was very worried about the feed. Moving them out I worried about if its warm enough at night but the little cuckoos snuggle in with the meatys so didn't really want to have to separate them. I do have a light for them but its a greenhouse not a coop so a little worried. During the day I have to open the windows gets to warm. I also appreciate your explanation of the FF. I have a couple days off so will give it a try. Will need to get the acv, tomorrow everything will be closed. I have fed my chicks mash which I just added the water to, I should have just let it sit this time I didn't. I like the way your doing it, some of the other explanations I have read on FF made it sound like more then I could do with little space and crazy schedule. You said you just scoop it out instead of draining all the liquid out into something else. Wonder if you could just scoop it out with a strainer into their dish? Then add more. I would need a five gallon bucket. I have 16 ladies, plus my chicks. The big girls free range with my border collies, when we are home, but the others are to little. Thank you for all you info!

 

[Chesterchook]

I'm a fan of the bucket method, here's a link with a good explanation:
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/fermented-feed.html

 

[jgurshtein]

I've been closely watching my girls' combs too. I was at first concerned that two of them were either feathering in pretty past or showing some red in their combs, but the other birds have either caught up or I've decided that the 'red' I was seeing isn't really red.

I've also been trying to wean the flock off of the heat lamp. They are 2-3 weeks old and the room they stay in is just warmer than the rest of the house so I unplugged the lamp and it was about 73 degrees in there for a few hours... they seemed to not be happy with it! They stopped moving around and making happy cheepy noises. I turned the lamp back on and it's up to 77 degrees and they are much more mobile and noisy. Is this normal? Or maybe they were ok without the lamp on and I'm mothering them too much?

 

[elbertchick]

That is a great link! Thank you so much Chesterchook! my chicks will be so happy so will the ladies! This article is not intimidating and answers so many questions. Love it.

 

[krcchickens]

H

Welcome!
Pozees, how many layers do you keep in your 4x8?

It somewhat depends on what you are after both in terms of breeds and purpose.  I have never bought from efowl or Murdochs, but I know others here have bought from Murdochs.  A local hatcher is an option if someone local is hatching what you want, and it's always nice to support local breeders.  Hatchery chicks are generally good layers, locally bred and hatched chicks may be less productive in the first year, but may also lay longer and be better suited to the climate.  If you are hoping to find show quality chicks it really depends on the breeds you are interested in.

As a rule chicks aren't that expensive to buy (although today I heard about some $18 chicks), feed can add up with the rising cost of grain, and cheap coops are great as long as they meet the basic requirements - space, secure from predators, ventilation, no drafts.  Having tried a variety over the years, my preference is for a walk-in but my layers are in a 4x8 coop that is elevated 2 feet and it has worked out fine.  There are many great ideas here on BYC for building inexpensive coops, from pallet coops to hoop coops.  It can be time consuming to wade through all the ideas, but along the way you pick up tips and ideas that may come in handy down the road.

If you live in an area where males are not allowed, or you just don't want them, don't buy straight run, and that might be the deciding factor - it is hard to buy pullets only from a local hatcher, although Wendell (wsmith) may have some Dominique chicks soon, and they can be sexed at hatch.

Good luck, have fun, ask questions, and share pictures if possible!

 

[krcchickens]

The other ones I have are a buff brahma and a partridge rock (who is tiny and has the slowest growing feathers).  The maran is the biggest.  I got three chicks instead of two just incase something happened to one (in Denver we are only "allowed" 8 and now I have 9), but I really want a dark egg layer.  The partridge rock was the add on.

I personally think the partridge rocks just grow slower. Of my 12 I have 9 breeds and my PR is the smallest ( healthy and happy though).

 

[krcchickens]

I'm a fan of the bucket method, here's a link with a good explanation:
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/fermented-feed.html

X2

 

[Pozees]

H

I have 6 hens in my 4x8 coop, it is large enough for 8 if I stick to the 4 square feet per hen guideline. I stick my head in every now and again when they are all roosting for the night and they have plenty of room in there, in fact in the winter I wished I had at least another two in there for warmth, but they have done fine.

 

[Pozees]

Which grain do you add? Corn, wheat, or something like scratch? Thank you so much for easing my mind. I was very worried about the feed. Moving them out I worried about if its warm enough at night but the little cuckoos snuggle in with the meatys so didn't really want to have to separate them. I do have a light for them but its a greenhouse not a coop so a little worried. During the day I have to open the windows gets to warm. I also appreciate your explanation of the FF. I have a couple days off so will give it a try. Will need to get the acv, tomorrow everything will be closed. I have fed my chicks mash which I just added the water to, I should have just let it sit this time I didn't. I like the way your doing it, some of the other explanations I have read on FF made it sound like more then I could do with little space and crazy schedule. You said you just scoop it out instead of draining all the liquid out into something else. Wonder if you could just scoop it out with a strainer into their dish? Then add more. I would need a five gallon bucket. I have 16 ladies, plus my chicks. The big girls free range with my border collies, when we are home, but the others are to little. Thank you for all you info!

For grains I am currently using a mix of whole wheat and oats, cracked corn, and wild bird seed. I just mixed the last of all I had of the wheat, oats and corn, and next time I am thinking of trying barley and/or rolled oats instead of whole - they are leaving them almost every day now, which means it is wasted money. I just try to pay attention to what they will eat that's healthy. I started with a commercial scratch mix, saw they were leaving the milo, and decided to try mixing my own. I bought 50 lb bags of each ingredient last fall (September or October I think) and they lasted about 6 months - not too bad. Now Sweeny's will custom mix whatever I want in the scratch, so when trying a new mix I might let them do that so I only have to buy 50lbs combined until I know whether they'll eat it. This is the store on the corner of 4th and Chester in Pueblo, I don't know if the Pueblo West or Mesa store will do it, although if you call ahead and tell them what you want I bet they would make the mix and send it over to whichever store you are close to.

 

[dennarahl]

Ok I have a Cuckoo Maran question. Is is normal for this breed to have a larger comb at a young age? Here are some pics of my 2-3 week old chick I got from Elizabeth Feed. Her feathers are coming in the fastest of all three I got and her comb is growing the fastest too. Oh please tell me this is a pullet and I have nothing to worry about!

i guess that its a girl. it might be a larger come but im not seeing any hint of red which there should be if it's a boy. give it a couple more weeks to be sure.