Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[wlhtx]

Is it possible you might have an egg theif? Maybe a snake, dog, etc?

I almost WISH that was the case. I could deal with that. But their combs have barely come in on some and the ones that do have combs, they haven't really reddened up yet. The 2 girls that laid and then stopped have lost the red coloring that they had at one time.

It was SO hot here for awhile and their coop has been in a state of flux for the past couple months. Between temps and changes, I guess they are just staging a protest.

 

[Triple Willow]

Hi TW ! Definitely have a few with red combs ! When you say squatting do you mean they are just randomly squatting ? When I approach some of them they tend to squat if that's what you mean.

Yep that is what I mean. The first time one of mine squatted I thought something was wrong with her. LOL Sounds like you will have eggs very soon!

 

[wlhtx]

But their feathers sure are beautiful! I've never had such shiny birds. My BSLs in particular look spectacular!

 

[Triple Willow]

I almost WISH that was the case. I could deal with that. But their combs have barely come in on some and the ones that do have combs, they haven't really reddened up yet. The 2 girls that laid and then stopped have lost the red coloring that they had at one time.

It was SO hot here for awhile and their coop has been in a state of flux for the past couple months. Between temps and changes, I guess they are just staging a protest.

Hmm that's odd. I wonder what caused the loss of color in the ones that were laying. Have they always been on ff? What about acv in their water? Sounds like they need a boost of some kind. It was a HOT and HUMID summer here too! My poor chickens did a lot of panting like dogs ...and me too! lol Some say that cayenne pepper helps with the laying...?

 

[Triple Willow]

But their feathers sure are beautiful! I've never had such shiny birds. My BSLs in particular look spectacular!

Mine look really pretty too but I think they are a little too fat. I'm hoping the cold weather to come takes a little bit of that fat off. My youngsters have finally quit molting. It looked plumb crazy in their pen for a while! Looked like a huge pillow fight happened! LOL

 

[wlhtx]

Yep - they've always been on FF. Because of the FF, I don't normally do ACV in the water...

I've heard of the cayenne pepper trick. I haven't tried it yet though. I did feed them some extra jalapeños, hoping that would do the trick - but nada.

 

[Triple Willow]

TW; There is NO stopping Nukka the Killer. There was a time when I was harvesting rabbits and gave her a whole rabbit skull, fresh and tasty. She dropped it for twenty minutes to go run after a chipmunk that escaped under the fence. Calling her, waving the rabbit head, did nothing. She just wanted the living thing.

Now, she does respect my paltry deer netting fence. As does Persy, the Big Dog... They even generally respect the door when it's open... I trained them to NEVER go into the chicken pen EVER. (With Tender, it was Tender that walked out of the pen, not the dogs going in. But the moment that barrier isn't there Nukka becomes a vicious destroyer of all things small and not canine. She has NO recall when there's an animal on the loose. So there's not many options. She can be leashed for life or we could get a shock collar. :| I think she'd prefer being allowed to run still. She just needs a lesson.

I feel like she's a very smart dog and I am confident she will pick it up. At least in regards to MY animals.

I know what you mean, USUALLY my dog is okay even with the birds free ranging as long as I am right there. But two times he has gone after a bird and wouldn't be stopped. I have tried everything I know to do with him except tie one around his neck and the shock collar. I hope he doesn't get to another one and kill it so hopefully I won't get the opportunity to tie one around his neck! So some electricity will probably be his last chance. Otherwise he will have to sit in a pen when the chickens are out whether I am there or not. I did hear about another method with electricity. You take the bird they have killed and hang it on an electric fence. When they come up nosing around or try to get it they get a good zap. That might work better than a collar.

 

[Triple Willow]

Yep - they've always been on FF. Because of the FF, I don't normally do ACV in the water...

I've heard of the cayenne pepper trick. I haven't tried it yet though. I did feed them some extra jalapeños, hoping that would do the trick - but nada.

Well I guess they are just going to be slow huh? Maybe they will make up for it with all the eggs you get later.

 

[Beekissed]

I almost WISH that was the case. I could deal with that. But their combs have barely come in on some and the ones that do have combs, they haven't really reddened up yet. The 2 girls that laid and then stopped have lost the red coloring that they had at one time.

It was SO hot here for awhile and their coop has been in a state of flux for the past couple months. Between temps and changes, I guess they are just staging a protest.

You'll see more red combs when hormones are high and they are laying or about to lay. When laying slows down in certain parts of the year, it is due to the hormones decreasel...this is the time of year that it's typical to see more pink combs than red due to the hormone fluctuation. It's a perfect system when you think about it...hormones for production decrease so the body can divert energy to feather growth and laying on fat for the winter.

They don't need a boost or anything like that..they just need some time to go through a natural hormone fluctuation and then everything will go back to normal...red combs and all.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I did hear about another method with electricity. You take the bird they have killed and hang it on an electric fence. When they come up nosing around or try to get it they get a good zap. That might work better than a collar.

I don't think you have a clear understanding of why your dog is killing them. Your dog is hunting them and gets a lot of pleasure (reward) while doing it. The dog will not associate a dead chicken with the living chicken they are hunting or just hunted. You are dealing with two completely different motivations with the chicken on the fence scenario--one is prey drive (hunting) and the other (sniffing the dead chicken) is curiosity or just plain hunger--very different motivations.

If aversives are going to work, the punishment has to be applied as soon as the dog goes into hunting mode. The timing is critical. You need to make it so bad they never want to do it again. The most effective use of punishments is when they are really bad and used just once. Think about a child learning not to touch a hot stove. Certain temperaments and breeds of dogs won't care how much you punish/abuse them--they will ALWAYS follow their instincts.