Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Windy Bay Farm]

Onset of lay can cause more runny butts at first as the vents are more "open" and the poop doesn't have that nice, quick delivery that it once had with the nice, tight vent.  The only bird I have laying right now has a black streak down the middle of her white bum for the same reason.  Granny always said the birds with the messiest butts were her best layers and I believe her...those with the largest eggs and most frequent laying seem to have messy butts more often than the birds that lay less steady and lay smaller eggs. 

Go out tonight and take that bird off the roost and give that butt a whiff...if it's a strong, almost like a dead animal odor, it may be gleet.  If not, and it just smells like plain ol' chicken poop, I wouldn't give it a second's thought.  If it's gleet, I'd just cull her...if she develops something like that on the good probiotics you are feeding, there is no helping her at that point unless you medicate and be prepared to medicate her again when it comes around again. 

Look at her vent..is it nice and loose, open a bit?  Could be the cause and due to laying steady. 

Back off on the amounts of FF you are feeding and see what happens..they may just be getting more than enough nutrients and need less total feed right now.  Feed amounts fluctuate through the seasons, so be ready to adjust those according to flock needs. 

Please let us know how this goes along?  It should be interesting to see what happens...

Hi Bee... Short update on this; I went out to the coop after dark last night and got ahold
of the BS and one of my BR's ... Gave both their butts a whiff and it didn't seem abnormal to me as far odour. As I stated, they have some messy butts and the BR's is a yellowish/whitish streak down her backside. Both birds that I grabbed seemed lively, energetic and I even got another peck from the BS. I guess I'll continue to wait it out and see what happens. I'm hoping it's just the egg laying that has caused their vents to be loose or maybe an adjustment to the fact that a new rooster has been introduced to the flock. I did notice the rooster pays a fair amount of "attention" to the BS... Could this be reason for her to distance herself a bit from the flock so that he doesn't bother her as much ?

 

[armorfirelady]

My mom, best friend & I have been picking up whole pumpkins as we find them. People spend big $$ for something they throw away.

I think the girls will have enough pumpkins for winter Esp since not everyone has put them out yet.

Also got 3 bales of hay free. Hoping for a couple more for one more end of coop.

 

[beverly evans]

Quote:
Bee, Just read the long version of your answer to the anti capoization guy. What did you do before your settled down to be a full time "subsistence farmer" ? (Not sure I'm using that term right.) Were you a college professor, high school teacher, something like that?

 

[beverly evans]

Quote:
Okay all you punny-funny people out there, I just read that the USDA is considering letting China import their raised and slaughtered chickens to our grocery stores. If that happens I'll start butchering roosters and hens too! Theirs would probably be full of asbestos, like it has been found in other things it shouldn't be in.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Hey Bee,

Looks like we were on the same tract......pun intended.

It's fun to pun....

Are you two trying to be punny??? LOL

Now that was really really bad!!

Lisa

I knooow, it was so corny I made myself laugh. hehe

A punny for your thoughts???

........ANYBODY?????

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, Just read the long version of your answer to the anti capoization guy. What did you do before your settled down to be a full time "subsistence farmer" ? (Not sure I'm using that term right.) Were you a college professor, high school teacher, something like that?

Nah...before I settled down to self sufficient living, I was 10 yrs old. Still a student. I'm just a book worm with a head full of useless stuff that drips out now and again. I've been a nurse, a massage therapist, medical transcriptionist and a myriad of other ist over the years. I've had over 40 jobs in my life, most of them in nursing but before that I worked for the gov't. for some years and then summer jobs. You could say I've packed in my head a lot of stuff in my 47 yrs.... in a small town hillbilly sort of way.

My mom, best friend & I have been picking up whole pumpkins as we find them. People spend big $$ for something they throw away.

I think the girls will have enough pumpkins for winter

Esp since not everyone has put them out yet.

Also got 3 bales of hay free. Hoping for a couple more for one more end of coop.

What a score!!!!

I've yet to scavenge for pumpkins and it's almost too late around here. My flock is so small now that it's not going to matter much, though, as they would have a hard time working their way through a lot of pumpkins before spring.

Hi Bee... Short update on this; I went out to the coop after dark last night and got ahold
of the BS and one of my BR's ... Gave both their butts a whiff and it didn't seem abnormal to me as far odour. As I stated, they have some messy butts and the BR's is a yellowish/whitish streak down her backside. Both birds that I grabbed seemed lively, energetic and I even got another peck from the BS. I guess I'll continue to wait it out and see what happens. I'm hoping it's just the egg laying that has caused their vents to be loose or maybe an adjustment to the fact that a new rooster has been introduced to the flock. I did notice the rooster pays a fair amount of "attention" to the BS... Could this be reason for her to distance herself a bit from the flock so that he doesn't bother her as much ?

Maybe she just has that "not so fresh feeling" they talk about in the commercials and wants some privacy....

Or she's hormonal and cranky...if she is laying steady and the others are not much, she will be getting bred more often, so I can see where she would want some peace and quiet if she is a pullet and not used to a rooster's favors.

A punny for your thoughts???

........ANYBODY?????

You win...again!!!

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Maybe she just has that "not so fresh feeling" they talk about in the commercials and wants some privacy....

Or she's hormonal and cranky...if she is laying steady and the others are not much, she will be getting bred more often, so I can see where she would want some peace and quiet if she is a pullet and not used to a rooster's favors.

Not so fresh feeling LOL.... Let's hope that's what it is ! Either way, I hope this is all going to be resovled soon.. I'll keep you posted. Thanks, Bee !

 

[TexasLisa]

Hi Bee... Short update on this; I went out to the coop after dark last night and got ahold
of the BS and one of my BR's ... Gave both their butts a whiff and it didn't seem abnormal to me as far odour. As I stated, they have some messy butts and the BR's is a yellowish/whitish streak down her backside. Both birds that I grabbed seemed lively, energetic and I even got another peck from the BS. I guess I'll continue to wait it out and see what happens. I'm hoping it's just the egg laying that has caused their vents to be loose or maybe an adjustment to the fact that a new rooster has been introduced to the flock. I did notice the rooster pays a fair amount of "attention" to the BS... Could this be reason for her to distance herself a bit from the flock so that he doesn't bother her as much ?

10 years ago if someone had told you that you were going to be smelling your chickens' butts, would you have believed them???? You realize our friends would think we are nuts!!

A punny for your thoughts???

........ANYBODY?????

Lisa

 

[JesNflock]

OMG! You guys are TOOO funny!! I am laughing so much here reading!!!

 

[armorfirelady]

I dont know if my girls will make it thru all those pumpkins this winter either but if its like last spring I will have TONS of new pumpkin plants for free and get hopefully some to grow again like I did last year