Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

I've been looking online for the cayenne too HEChicken & I'm just wondering how much you should give them on a regular basis. I know it doesn't affect them at all like it does us, so I don't think you could harm them even with a larger dose, but I just don't have a clue about how much to add if I get some to my FF. As for you adding it to dry feed, I don't know how that would work, could you make a paste of it & kind of mix it in? It will be easy for me with feeding the FF, but that's a whole different problem with dry. I have read previously that it will sometimes help with getting the hens to lay sooner after a molt or a break from laying. Some people have reported an increase in laying while giving it, that could be a bonus side effect I guess if it really does that.

I just put 25 eggs in the hatcher that are due to hatch Friday, so we'll see how it goes. I'm really hoping for a good hatch on all of them.

 

[ashncarson]

Quote: I know Bob's Red Mill has a bag of Oat Bran...my store has a large selection. I would have to look there. good this you don't need it if you don't have it!

 

[Trish44]

Tweety, TSC doesn't have wheat bran either - in fact, it is almost impossible to get around here, which is ridiculous considering its a by-product of the process of making white flour and since the majority of baked goods sold in grocery stores contain white flour not wheat, that means there's an awful lot of wheat bran out there somewhere. Back home it is cheap, cheap, cheap and is in the baking aisle right alongside the flour. You can buy a 1kg bag for around 50c. And at the feed stores, we used to buy the 50lb bags to use as animal feed and I don't remember prices but they were really cheap too. Here, the only time I've seen wheat bran in the store it was a tiny package in the natural food section and it was about $6 for only a few ounces. Since I wanted it to raise my mealworms, there was no way I was paying that. I used oatmeal a few times but then I had family coming over to visit so I asked them to bring me some and I got two 1kg packages that lasted me a little while at least.

I asked the store employees at both Atwoods and TSC if they could order it in and they both looked at me like I'd asked them to order in some plutonium.

That's good to know Atwoods carries rice bran - they didn't have that when I was looking for wheat bran or I would have been thrilled to use it as an alternative.

I've been looking at cayenne pepper on both ebay and Amazon. Danz, I think I found the 5lb bag at Amazon that you got - it is $35. I also found a 6lb bottle of it (looks like a plastic bottle) on ebay for $27 plus about $7 shipping so it would still be cheaper than the Amazon one plus it would be an extra pound. I'm just hesitating because that really does sound like a lifetime supply. But if I get in the habit of doing it on a regular basis, I guess I will go through it. I'm also hesitating because I'm not exactly sure how to administer it. I feed dry pellets and don't know if it will stick to them and if it doesn't, will they actually peck it out of the feeder or will it just be wasted? So I haven't ordered yet but we'll see. It does also come in capsules (for those who want the benefits but not the heat). I wonder if some of those might be good to have on hand to dose an individual bird too.

I looked online & Sam's has the 1 pound containers for $5.36 & you wouldn't have to pay shipping. I don't know how much it is at Spice Merchant, they don't have their prices online. I finally did find the one you mentioned on eBay & that is a good price for that. After looking at all the prices elsewhere that is the cheapest yet.

 

[chicken danz]

When I add the cayenne I just pour a bunch in my wheelbarrow with the feed, kind of mix it around as I feed it. Sometimes one pen will get a lot more than others because I'm not picky about how I mix it. I have noticed though that the turkeys really like it. They will clean it up if it is sprinkled on top of their feed. HEChicken,with pellets I'm not sure what you would do short of just top dressing it with it and hoping some sticks.
A little cayenne goes a long ways. I just put all my extra in bags in the freezer and then use out of what bag I have out. It's funny because I've given the birds dried hot peppers and they eat around them but seem to really enjoy the ground cayenne.
This was not a good day. It never got as warm as they predicted for one. DH and I spent almost all afternoon pressure washing and prying a chicken tractor out of the ice, snow, and dirt so I could move it and put my white cochins in it. When he tried to move it with the tractor to the new location the hydraulics on the tractor locked up and he smashed the top bar of the chicken tractor which promptly just ruined it for use. Rotten luck here! At that point I was wet and muddy from end to end and exhausted. I may try to salvage the coop part and just do something else for the rest of the pen. It never had enough room in it any way. It's just sad we wasted a whole afternoon trying to move it though. On to new projects I guess!!
The birds came out for a while but decided they didn't want to stay out once the sun kind of disappeared.
That big flock of geese were still in my field and on my pond today. I saw a bald eagle fly over and they all took off in a hurry to get away. I never thought of an eagle being a threat to something as large as a goose. Hope he doesn't stick around though cause we have enough predators around here.
My own geese started breeding today so maybe I should start checking for eggs soon.

 

[JosieChick]

Well HEChicken my problem is that peafowl are NOT easy to catch or hold. And since the birds are kept in separate pens in general it's just easier to treat all the birds that get exposed rather than injecting each one. My birds don't care for Vetrx either but if it is their only water source they will drink it. If I am treating with an antibiotic, I don't however use vetRX because they do tend to avoid it. My first treatment is usually vetRX then if they don't respond well I use antibiotics. Unless the birds are obviously in poor shape.... then I go to the antibiotics first hand. I just don't want to give more antibiotics than necessary. First,viruses don't respond to antibiotics so you can only treat the secondary infections. Secondly bacteria evolves and you eventually can end up with a new resistant strain that the antibiotic won't eliminate. I believe since I was a pretty sickly child that having way too many antibiotics as a young person caused me to develop allergies to them and the ones I am not allergic to don't normally do much good. There are only a few antibiotics I can take successfully. I use as many natural solutions as I can to fight infections and sickness.

Yeah for geese breeding! Hope that eagle is just moving through, the wild geese are very wary of the bald eagles!

That big flock of geese were still in my field and on my pond today. I saw a bald eagle fly over and they all took off in a hurry to get away. I never thought of an eagle being a threat to something as large as a goose. Hope he doesn't stick around though cause we have enough predators around here.
My own geese started breeding today so maybe I should start checking for eggs soon.

Hope everyone is well. I am sooo looking forward to nice weather this weekend! We need to cut some wood for the wood stove, we have a bunch of downed trees that were cut this spring they just need to be cut into woodstove sized pieces so that should be fun.

Trish- Congrats on that beautiful baby boy!!!! What a thrilled grandma you must be, he sure is a darling!!

 

[HEChicken]

Its a girl

 

[chicken danz]

Congrats HeChicken! How lucky can you be!!

 

[ashncarson]

Its a girl

Congrats Does that mean you will keep her?

 

[HEChicken]

Congrats Does that mean you will keep her?

Yep! Hmmm, I wonder if she needs a name?

 

[KsKingBee]

Yep! Hmmm, I wonder if she needs a name?

I've always been partial to 'Lambchop'