Dixie Chicks

[perchie.girl]

from everyones experience with chickens what would you say is the most surprising aspect about having chickens for you?

most surprising to me was when I finally had roosters..... OH MY GAWD are they funny.... Also how really smart all chickens are.... I had always heard that chickens were dumb... but they are not.

when I was down with asthma laying on a matress on the floor. I didnt own a bed frame when i moved in to the house... I waslaying there dozing and counting the time for my next dose of medicine.... No TV no books couldnt read... could barely get up to feed the horse and chikens in the morning.

So when I was laying there dozing... back door was open so I could watch chicken TV on occasion..... I heard this Awwwk awwwk awk.... Looked at the door and there was a red hen... Rubbernecking the room.... and just be hind her was another saying.... "Gladys is it ok ???"

I threw a sock at em and they scurried out of the bedroom then I had to stifle laughter then the subsequent coughing fit....

I hat three roos managing my flock at the time.... Boss man was Waylin, second in charge was Willie, and third rearmost was Bubba. again I was laying there the hens were doing their henny things and the Quail were filching scratch and acting like chickens scratching in the dirt like they were on Crak.... Then the roos disappeared around the corner..... All the sudden I hear a blood curtilng scream and here Comes Willie running and flapping.... And Waylin Flapping and running behind him with a beak full of Willie feathers.... Then here comes Bubba walking along.... "When's dinner.... "

Got me through about four days of heck....

deb

 

[chickwhispers]

@Amberjem

Congratulations!!!!!

 

[hennible]

X2!!!

 

[Alaskan]

It is 1:40am and I'm up drinking coffee and cleaning! Taking down Christmas trees and such.... Why am I up?!?!?

I would love to grab you, and pop you into my house.

I have lots of trash for you to clean.

Alaskan, I know it was easy to change avatars on our laptop, we get it back Tues from repairing the kids spilling coffee on it, no cost but shipping, woohoo! I tried to change back my avatar on my phone and couldn't figure out how, even on our tablet in desktop mode. It would let me look at them but I couldn't figure out how to select it. Had to redownload it and pick it from my pics off my phone???

I followed deb's direction.... worked great!

I know that many of us have many different styles of how we feed our chickens, what we feed them and why we feed them what we feed them, I was hoping perhaps everyone would share their method on how they feed their chicken and a bit of why they do it.......Noone has the end all be all method but we ALL have a method that works for us........would love to hear from everyone on the matter? Also maybe some methods you have tried and why they didnt work out for you?

I do free choice feed for all of my poultry (bantams, standards, and muscovy)

Muscovy get duck pellets,

chickens get pullet grower and layer. I switch back and forth, because I don't want the getting too much calcium, because I don't want my roosters dying young.

They get a little BOSS, and cracked scratch, maybe once a day.

They get lots of scraps every Sunday, and also throughout the week.

They get all of the scraps from two different families, as well as all scraps from coffee hour every Sunday. Then one other family gives me their scraps whenever during the week, and they also get all of my scraps. Most of the scraps go to the chickens, the ducks aren't as good at cleaning up the scraps....except for meat, the ducks love meat and bait fish etc.

I used to get the state popcorn from the movie theater for free... both ducks and chickens love it... but for whatever reason, I haven't been able to get any lately.

In the winter we are more apt to pour grease (bacon fat, or whatever used oil) all over a bunch of pellets, and feed that.

Also, I have started putting some nutritional yeast out for them, specifically because I am starting to collect eggs for hatching.

They have free choice oyster shell, but not grit.... but everyone has access to dirt and sand.

Oh, the quail only rarely get scraps and treats, but they get some... they are fed free choice broiler feed, and oyster shell.

ok I am feel totally ignorant in asking this however............when I go to my local feed store they say there is no intermediate feed between chick starter and layer.........I thought there was a grower pellet?

The stores here have chick starter, then pullet grower and broiler grower, the layer

The layer comes in two protein choices, as well as pellet or crumble.

They used to sell chick starter in both medicated as well as non-medicated, but they have dropped the medicated one.

We are a very hippy/crunchy town.

I'm leery of Maggitt buckets because there's a link of course between make it some botulism... But then again there are links between mealworms and Marecks disease...
I spelled that wrong...

How is that possible? that doesn't make sense to me.

Those are so very cute!

I am not strong..... I have decided to incubate.... chicks that I have no pre-orders for.

I am already collecting eggs.

@Amberjem

Congratulations!!!!!

super cool!

 

[hennible]

You'd have to look up the meal worms and maercks disease thing I didn't commit it to memory... There's some info on here about it...

 

[1kluckychik]

holy smokes really? wowowowowowoowowowoowowow

you go girl!!

 

[1kluckychik]

The most surprising thing for me was how "all absorbing" chickens can be. I spend time just sitting and watching them when the weather allows

and spend time on the computer talking about them and learning ways to care for them when the weather is crappy. They are just so much more entertaining than I ever imagined!

X2

 

[NotAFarm]

Here are two different things I've found with a search here on BYC:


Quote:
CHH is Chicken Health Handbook in the quote above and the listing for Marek's.

Quote: I highlighted the part in green because I think this is the most important part.....scientists used the mealworm to transmit Marek's. That means they gave it to the mealworm and the mealworm transmitted it. Your mealworms would have to be carriers of Marek's to give it to your flock. Mine are raised inside and I don't think they can catch Marek's in my laundry room. They would have to be exposed to it. The freeze dried ones in the store wouldn't seem to be a risk. The pathogen would have to survive without a host.

I highlighted the part in blue because there is obviously no proof for this part because the quote says "in the opinion of some scientists." which means there are others that disagree.

 

[BriardChickens]

Hi, just checking in. Still alive!

 

[hennible]

Awesome info NAF.

I really like discussing stuff in our little Dixie chicks room here... I think it's great we can all be open and honest about our opinions and not fight and just continue to inform and enlightening each other! Much better than trying not to step on toes in another thread....
From time to time there will be people who I completely agree with... But they deliver their information in a really harsh way so I just don't like it... Idk...