Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

The other day I organized my growing chicken "pharmacy" in a small fridge we have, since most drugs need to be kept cool to last longer. Here is a pic - plenty of room to continue growing....bwahahaha


Here is a pic of the Ivomec I used:

 

[HEChicken]

Hechicken, had you thought about getting a meat maker type feed to help him put his weight back on. It is used to grow meat chickens. The kids use it to feed their broiler ckicks for fair. I think it runs like 22% protein, or more. I keep some on hand just to feed someone who needs a little extra boost, or if not feeling well, to keep the weight on. I will go look at the tag on the bag, and let you know what it says.

He actually has the 28% protein gamebird feed from Nutrena, and I also put some mealworms in on top of that, but surprisingly he's not showing much interest in the mealworms. I like that 28% feed because I think the extra protein is good for them. I do also have some of the 22% meatbird feed, also made by Nutrena but right now I am only feeding that to the little chicks.

I think he is just ravenous because for several days there when he wasn't well, he didn't eat at all (at least not that I saw). He's still growing so for a growing boy, I think he is trying to make up for the lost couple of days of eating and will slow down once he's caught up.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Maidenwolf, I would keep them in the next couple of nights and then it is supposed to get warmer - at least in my area - you would want to check the weather forecast for your area. Here it is supposed to get down to 27 tonight but by next week the night-time lows will be in the 40's. By day I usually just play it by ear. If it seems warm - or if there is an area I can get them so they are in the sun and I can adequately block any cold winds, I will let them have some outside time from the time they are quite young. I just keep a close eye on them - they are pretty good at letting me know if they are too cold, as they get very loud, so if they indicate they are too cold, I bring them back in.

Oh Danz, I have another question for you. Its quite a few pages back now but I think you said you worm your turkeys monthly? Why is that? Are turkeys more susceptible to worms than other types of poultry? Or do you just worm everyone monthly?

I had to laugh at Ned this morning. Madge was outside the coop calling. He was inside the coop eating. I mean, non-stop stuffing his face. Her calls of "Where are you? Where are you?" got so insistent that I guess he felt compelled to answer but wasn't willing to stop eating to do it so he kept eating, and his calls of "In here, in here" were muffled because his face was in the feeder and his mouth was full. Ever hear a turkey talking with its mouth full? You'd laugh too!

Thank you. They are not even needing their light at night anymore and they are feathering nicely. I dont know if I will let them go out today becuase it is so cold. It is supposed to get warmer next week for me. When they are fully feathered and ready to stay out full time it will be cold so need to start getting them used to varying temps in the next few weeks. But on days I can let them get fresh air and play I just want to make sure it isnt too bad out. They o get loud when cold, well my australorps are the loud mouths lol, so I have always been able to get them. I will play it by ear and watch them.
I have heard the turkey muffled food in mouth call lol it is hillarious, my daughter tells them "dont talk with your mouth full" silly turkeys

 

[maidenwolfx80]

And that was a question I had. I was thinking of switching to gamebird feed for winter to add the protein. should do that or mix a bag of layer witha bag of gamebird?

 

[chickmama1662]

Thanks for the information on the ivermectin injectible for mites. Have a great weekend everyone.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Kansas Prairie,
I have two incubators. I have a big GQF that I use in the spring when eggs are a plenty, and now I also have a "Mini Advance" made by Brinsea. I found in on the kansas poultry swap page. I have Cream legbars in it right now. It only holds, depending on which disc you have in the bottem either 7, or 12 eggs I believe.
The people that had it ended up getting a bigger bator, and sold this one to me. They had used it 1 time. I really like it. Once my rosecombs start laying in Jan. when I turn the lights on, I will be running non stop.

I love my GQF. Its big, holds up to 300 eggs, depending on what you have in there, but, I usually don't have that many eggs in there, unless I am hatching for the 4H kids. So a lot of energy goes to waste with it.

I have a Genesis Hova-Bator 1588, with turner and standard and quail size racks.

I had high hatch rate with my turkey eggs I purchased from an individual on eBay, 4 of the 6 hatched, I'm very please with that hatch rate for shipped eggs. But so far the chicken eggs have been low % hatch rate. I do think a big part of the problem is most of the eggs I've received have had to travel a long way, it was summer time and most of them took 4 days to get here. I've purchased from individuals and didn 't have much luck, so then I tried a hatchery and had one start smelling so I removed it, then a few days later another started oozing, I tried to get it out very carefully and it blew up on me. That was a NASTY experience. Out of those 12 eggs, two healthy chicks, I thought after the exploding egg it would ruin them all. I am very careful with keeping things clean, I've used water with bleach, I clean it thoroughly after every hatch. I have an additional Brinsea Incubator spot check thermometer and it shows the the incubator's thermometer to be accurate. I try to candle a couple of times with each batch, but I'm not always sure what I'm seeing. I keep the incubator in my basement, no one bothers them and the temperature is consistent. I ordered oxine and got it this week plan to clean it with oxine.


Any advice appreciated.

 

[HEChicken]

And that was a question I had. I was thinking of switching to gamebird feed for winter to add the protein. should do that or mix a bag of layer witha bag of gamebird?

I'm just feeling my way here too because it is my first year with poultry other than chickens. For just chickens, I wouldn't because I figure each feed is formulated for that species, so if they make layer feed 16%, that's probably all chickens need. Turkeys though, really need the higher protein. Right now, since I also have chicks under laying age, I am splitting the difference and providing an 18% All Flock feed for everyone. Then, I have the 28% gamebird in a separate feeder in a separate pen. I try to make sure the turkeys get locked in that pen every day for a time, so they have access to the higher protein feed. The rest of the time they eat the lower protein feed along with the chickens. It probably doesn't hurt the chickens to have a higher protein feed, but those feeds are more expensive and I don't want to pay the additional cost to feed a flock of 50 a high protein feed just to accommodate the two that actually need it so....I am working around it this way.

The problem I've found with trying to mix feeds is that they prefer one over the other so will bill out what they don't like, looking for the morsels they prefer. Rather than mixing, you might have better luck alternating. Or, have one in the feeder all the time, but use the other to make them a warm mash a couple of times a day. In winter, I like to make them warm mashes by just heating some water and adding some of their feed to it - they seem to love it too, and I'm sure it feels good on a cold day, to fill their crop with warm food. So maybe if you have layer feed in their feeder but morning and night make them up a mash with the gamebird feed?

 

[HEChicken]

I had high hatch rate with my turkey eggs I purchased from an individual on eBay, 4 of the 6 hatched, I'm very please with that hatch rate for shipped eggs. But so far the chicken eggs have been low % hatch rate. I do think a big part of the problem is most of the eggs I've received have had to travel a long way, it was summer time and most of them took 4 days to get here. I've purchased from individuals and didn 't have much luck, so then I tried a hatchery and had one start smelling so I removed it, then a few days later another started oozing, I tried to get it out very carefully and it blew up on me. That was a NASTY experience. Out of those 12 eggs, two healthy chicks, I thought after the exploding egg it would ruin them all. I am very careful with keeping things clean, I've used water with bleach, I clean it thoroughly after every hatch. I have an additional Brinsea Incubator spot check thermometer and it shows the the incubator's thermometer to be accurate. I try to candle a couple of times with each batch, but I'm not always sure what I'm seeing. I keep the incubator in my basement, no one bothers them and the temperature is consistent. I ordered oxine and got it this week plan to clean it with oxine.

Any advice appreciated.

I would do a test hatch with local eggs - do you have fertile eggs of your own? That way you can determine if there is a problem with your incubating conditions/method, or if it is the eggs that are being shipped in.

Shipped eggs are notoriously disappointing to hatch - even experienced hatchers like Danz have been disappointed by eggs that were shipped in.

Have you calibrated your hygrometer using the salt test? Thermometers are a little harder to calibrate, and I know you said you checked it against the Brinsea spot check but as Hawkeye found out the hard way earlier this year, even an expensive, well-rated thermometer can be "off". Once she replaced hers with another that was reading accurately, her hatch rate turned right around.

So the advice I would offer is to do a small test hatch with your own eggs (or some acquired locally if yours aren't fertile), and go from there. If they fail to develop, you know there is something wrong, probably with the temperature. If they develop and hatch great, you know it is the shipping that is letting you down.

 

[chicken danz]

I'm not even going to try to multi. I am way behind. On the feed discussion, here is what I have learned. You actually don't need to increase protein for winter. You need to increase fat. You can do this by adding some corn or even BOSS to their diet. As far as turkeys and game birds go, they do need a higher protein but they also need more niacin than a chicken. The reason the game birds need the higher protein actually isn't the protein content they need; but to get the nutrients they need. It takes higher protein food to get the correct nutrients. You can give supplemental vitamins like nutridrench to give them those extra vitamins and minerals. But it is just like humans. You don't get as much out of supplemental vitamins as you would if they were in the actual food. That is why they are called supplements. You still need to provide for the dietary needs. Does that make sense? I choose to give my birds as much extra stuff as I can like fresh veggies and stuff and hopefully some of those will also attract some insect to further enhance their diets. Also those that can free range are filling their own dietary needs to a great extent.
HeChicken turkeys do seem more vulnerable to worms especially if they are kept penned. I've read several references that recommend the frequent worming. They are also a lot more susceptible to becoming diseased from stuff in the ground than a chicken. They just don't have the immunity that most birds do. I think I am going to try the ivermectin injectable on my turkeys this time. I have it to use as a heart worm preventative for the dogs. So I don't have to go buy anything.
Well I got a call from the post office and my olandsk chick arrived. However it arrived dead. I think it must have gotten chilled cause everything looked good in the packaging and the box was intact. Dang it! Upsets me! I did also get my eggs from Hinkjc so they will go in the bator first thing tomorrow. I'm hoping for a good hatch because these are a gift for my daughter.
I need to get another bin set up in here for the new Swedish Flower chicks that hatched. They are all light colored. That is strange. All my Swedish before have been a mix of dark and light. Sure hope they sent the right eggs!

 

[HEChicken]

Well I got a call from the post office and my olandsk chick arrived. However it arrived dead. I think it must have gotten chilled cause everything looked good in the packaging and the box was intact. Dang it! Upsets me! I did also get my eggs from Hinkjc so they will go in the bator first thing tomorrow. I'm hoping for a good hatch because these are a gift for my daughter.

That makes sense on the turkeys/feed etc.

So sorry about your Olandsk. I must admit, when you said she had been shipped - alone - I did worry a lot about her, since it was right as the cold snap was starting, after days of hot weather. Have you been in touch with the shipper? Where do you go from here? I wonder why he chose to ship right as the weather was getting cold instead of doing it earlier this week or waiting until next week.