Consolidated Kansas

[ChooksChick]

ok i switched to layer with my birds... it seems they are suddenly eating ALOT more. 50 lbs lasted 10 days. 20 birds??? is this right. Can I cut layer with crimm corn/milo mix to cut cost? right now the run is 16x16 so it will not support them food wise. planning on extending this summer. Thoughts?

I'm not sure how old they are, but they POUND the food until they are filled out, and once they are fully grown, they don't eat as much. I go through at least 50# a day, though, so a week would be nice! You have them on significantly less space in the run than what is recommended, however, and they will decimate it very soon if you don't expand it. The recommendations are generally 4-10 square feet per bird in order to retain grazing space. You can also give them a secondary run so that you can rotate between the two and allow recovery or plant ground cover in the fallow run.

One way to preserve it and give them a more nutritious supplemental feed is sprouting wheat and oats for them. You can do a set every day and then feed one several days old, so you always have one for them ready to go. Sprouted grain has better nutrition and they really enjoy it. You can also sprout chia and mung beans, etc. Good stuff!!

 

[sharol]

Which of these things is not like the other? Which of these things is not the same?

Hint: He is between the black chicken and the rooster back by the gate.




I walked out the door, and they thought I had treats. Spoiled rotten chickens.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Found 26 guinea eggs today in a nest! I pulled them all and put 3 of my fake eggs in the nest... went back out later and there was another egg in the nest - woohoo. I finished a hatch of chicks 2 days ago - guess I will be putting these guinea eggs in tonight I was also given 3 dozen banty eggs today to incubate - looks like they'll be food for the dogs instead - I'd rather hatch guinea eggs. One of my BF's employees has banties and collects tons of eggs daily and didn't want them. He said he'll give me more if I want to incubate later.

I feel like I hit the jackpot on free eggs today

Also have 2 itty bitty kitties that are about 4 weeks old.. someone from town gave away a litter of 5 little kitties in their garage - the mother was a stray and then went missing. I gave my friend 3 of the kitties (her daughter's are amazing with farm animals!) and I kept 2. They're doing pretty well and I'm feeding them 4 times a day... they're in the chicken tractor with the broilers

Picked up another 20 broilers the other day - I have people ordering them and can't keep up! I moved them from the house to the barn wagon today... (Will possibly be doing another large batch in the fall if I get more orders). I also have a new egg customer in Derby who took 5 dozen eggs! She will want 5 dozen every 3 or 4 weeks.. amazing how quickly things began once they got started.

I'm so happy for nice weather.... I think spring is finally here!

 

[HEChicken]

I'm sorry Sharol, I'm not seeing it! I even enlarged the picture and still wasn't seeing what I'm supposed to

Jhammet, I think your birds are still too young for layer food. Aren't they only 10-12 weeks old? Here are my thoughts on nutrition and the cost of feed. A century ago there was no such thing as commercial chicken feed. People didn't feed their chickens, other than to throw out whatever kitchen scraps they had at the time. Instead, the chickens foraged and picked through cow and horse manure, looking for undigested seeds, or hung out under the feeder for the larger animals, snagging grain that is dropped while they are eating. Clearly they survived or chickens would have become extinct. But - it was surely at the cost of eggs and meat - which most of us value. They can't produce an egg a day unless they have nutrition to spare to do it, so those chickens a century ago probably laid far fewer eggs than we expect today. Additionally, they wouldn't have stacked on a lot of meat, so Sunday dinner was probably a pretty lean, rangy bird.

So the short answer to your question is that yes, you can cut in other things to reduce your feed bill, but it will be at the expense of the overall health of the birds, which will result in fewer eggs, and smaller eating birds. And, there are certain nutritional deficiencies that cause actual health issues.

When I first got started, I was determined that the chickens would pay for themselves, and bought the cheapest feed I could find. Somewhere along the way it hit me that, since my goal is to feed my family eggs and meat that is superior to what I can buy in the store, I can't do that by buying them the cheapest feed I can find. So I do now buy higher quality feed for them, and it pays off in having a very healthy flock, who inundate me with eggs.

At the age yours are, they are probably going through a growth spurt, and the feed consumption will slow down as they get older. However at this age they also need a higher protein content in order to achieve that growth as healthfully as possible, so I would really urge you to consider switching from the layer feed to a grower formula, until they are 16-18 weeks of age. Have you considered giving some of them up? You might be able to sell half of them on Craigslist as started birds, and that would lower your feed bill considerably, until you are more ready to accommodate a larger number of birds.

 

[chicken danz]

Is that a black cat Sharol. I wish I could make the picture larger. I see something that looks like it might have pointed ears.
Busy day for me today. I got some things done but don't have time to post right now.
I do hope DH is in a better mood tomorrow. He got angry working on the mower and is in a really fowl mood. No pun intended.

 

[sharol]

It is my dachshund, Lucky. He is the black blur behind the black chicken. I thought he was clearer in the picture when I took it.

Sharol

I'm sorry Sharol, I'm not seeing it! I even enlarged the picture and still wasn't seeing what I'm supposed to

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Came inside from chores to this! You can see how tiny the kittens are when compared to 3-day old chicks...So adorable and sweeeet!! This was about 30 minutes after they ate pretty decently for the first time... I hated to disturb them to take them out of the house brooder and back to the chicken tractor...

 

[cherwill]

I'm sorry Sharol, I'm not seeing it! I even enlarged the picture and still wasn't seeing what I'm supposed to

I wasn't seeing it clearly, either. I thought it might be a cat.

So the short answer to your question is that yes, you can cut in other things to reduce your feed bill, but it will be at the expense of the overall health of the birds, which will result in fewer eggs, and smaller eating birds. And, there are certain nutritional deficiencies that cause actual health issues.

That's how I approach it, as well. DH and I have disagreed several times on the quality of dog food I insist on and the fact that I use the RO water in their water bowls. It's still cheaper than what it costs to feed us, and he's finally come around on that for the dogs. Our dogs are part of the family; I want to do everything I can to ensure they live a long and healthy life. I have to admit I'm not as fanatical about that with the chickens. They get hose water. There's no vet here that treats poultry. I haven't researched food brands and ingredients like I did with the dogs. Still, I want them to be as healthy and happy as possible. Because we only have a few chickens, there's no way they can pay for themselves. I have to remind him occasionally that we got into it because we wanted better tasting, healthier eggs, and because chickens are fun to have. There are other things I pay more than the minimum for, and our eggs are just going to be one of those things.

A couple of months ago, he was talking to an acquaintance of ours who also has chickens. It was during a time when our egg production was down and he asked about hers. She said hers had dropped off a lot, but then she got to talking with a man at the feed store. He feeds his chickens dog food. He's some old farmer who has raised chickens all his life and that's what he did before they made commercial chicken food and he just kept on doing it because it's cheaper (so he's obviously not buying the dog food I buy). It's higher in protein. She bought some and thought her egg production went up. I said no, I'm not feeding them dog food, but DH had already bought a big bag of it.

I told him it was not nutritionally balanced for CHICKENS so it could not be their main food source. He throws a few handfuls out in the morning for them, along with their scratch. They eat it. I can't say either one of us thinks it made any difference in egg production. Has anyone else had any experience with this, or even heard of feeding dog kibble to chickens?

Came inside from chores to this! You can see how tiny the kittens are when compared to 3-day old chicks...So adorable and sweeeet!! This was about 30 minutes after they ate pretty decently for the first time... I hated to disturb them to take them out of the house brooder and back to the chicken tractor...




That is the cutest thing I've seen in days. I even made DH come in and look at it.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

I have to agree! I really don't think I've seen anything so sweet and cute!! They are living in the chicken tractor outside - after I fed them, I needed to put them somewhere safe so I could move the chicken tractor (I worry about squishing them when moving it!)... so, I put them in the house brooder for a bit This morning, about 3:30 am, it started lightening and thundering - I jumped up and ran outside - climbed in the chicken tractor to get them so they wouldn't get wet and they are now in the main chicken coop nice and dry! While I am enjoying the little girls, I can't wait until they're not so helpless

 

[HEChicken]

That's how I approach it, as well. DH and I have disagreed several times on the quality of dog food I insist on and the fact that I use the RO water in their water bowls. It's still cheaper than what it costs to feed us, and he's finally come around on that for the dogs. Our dogs are part of the family; I want to do everything I can to ensure they live a long and healthy life. I have to admit I'm not as fanatical about that with the chickens. They get hose water. There's no vet here that treats poultry. I haven't researched food brands and ingredients like I did with the dogs. Still, I want them to be as healthy and happy as possible. Because we only have a few chickens, there's no way they can pay for themselves. I have to remind him occasionally that we got into it because we wanted better tasting, healthier eggs, and because chickens are fun to have. There are other things I pay more than the minimum for, and our eggs are just going to be one of those things.

A couple of months ago, he was talking to an acquaintance of ours who also has chickens. It was during a time when our egg production was down and he asked about hers. She said hers had dropped off a lot, but then she got to talking with a man at the feed store. He feeds his chickens dog food. He's some old farmer who has raised chickens all his life and that's what he did before they made commercial chicken food and he just kept on doing it because it's cheaper (so he's obviously not buying the dog food I buy). It's higher in protein. She bought some and thought her egg production went up. I said no, I'm not feeding them dog food, but DH had already bought a big bag of it.

I told him it was not nutritionally balanced for CHICKENS so it could not be their main food source. He throws a few handfuls out in the morning for them, along with their scratch. They eat it. I can't say either one of us thinks it made any difference in egg production. Has anyone else had any experience with this, or even heard of feeding dog kibble to chickens?

We sound so alike! I also feed my dogs and cat a higher quality feed. I figure by doing that on a regular basis, I am possibly avoiding expensive vet visits down the road, if it keeps them healthy and prevents some of the illnesses they can get from poor nutrition. Like you, I spent quite a bit of time researching ingredients and brands, and what I've found is that you really have to look at the ingredients, because just spending the most you can on a bag of feed doesn't necessarily mean you are getting the best. Since I am not very good at retaining ALL of the dietary requirements in my head over a long period of time, I came up with a few simple rules for choosing a dog or cat food, so that even if I'm at a different store that doesn't sell their "regular" brand, I can still find something I'm happy with. Meat has to be the first ingredient, and I prefer that it be the first few. Some of the really cheap feeds, like Alpo, the first ingredient listed is usually corn, followed by several other grains and by the time you get to the middle of the list, there might be some reference to something resembling meat, though it will probably be a "by-product" - whatever that is. So as long as meat is the first and preferably the first 3 ingredients, its a good start. I also prefer that corn not be an ingredient at all, mainly because corn has very little nutritional value, except for the fiber. I have found several brands that won't break the bank but meet these simple requirements.

I have turkeys hatching and didn't set any tutors for them so started to get a little concerned about keeping them alive after hatch. Last night I was passing Atwoods, and decided to see if by chance they still had chicks and they did, through the end of May, they told me. So I picked up a couple of tutors and don't even know what breed they are. They were in a bin of assorted "heavies", though since it included BO's and Cochins, I think by that they just meant LF. I told the woman I like a good mystery so came away with two chicks neither of us could identify. It will be fun to see what they grow up to be. So far they have two tutees in with them, and a third just hatched an hour ago so is resting in the incubator. Other eggs are rocking. This is turning into a very slow, drawn-out hatch. They were due Sunday, the first hatched Monday afternoon, the second Tuesday morning and now the third this morning. The rest haven't even pipped yet. One of the turkeys developed spraddle leg and I asked DD to put a band-aid splint on, and she did a great job. By this morning it is standing and walking normally.