Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

I'm sorry, but that's just about the saddest thing I've seen since looking at the scale mite thread....

Not my idea of healthy birds.

 

[Triple Willow]

I'm sorry, but that's just about the saddest thing I've seen since looking at the scale mite thread....   Not my idea of healthy birds. 

Surely not healthy looking! Looks like something from a nuclear accident movie.

 

[Beekissed]

That's what I was thinking...I've seen some bad molts and one of my birds seems to molt harder than the others and always looks pretty raggedy, but that poor naked chicken just looks defenseless and like it should be roasting in a pan instead of running around naked and burnt looking.

 

[RoseMarie1]

oh my gosh that poor chicken! That is horrible! Bless it's heart I am having chills here. It looks so pitiful!

 

[Triple Willow]

But I do like how it defends its chick even if it is naked!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Just wondering... did any of you hear a scream a little while ago? Well maybe more of a YELL! LOL I'm sitting here and I hear one of my dogs howling and the other barking so I figured the coyotes are out back yelping. I went to the back door to see if I could hear them. I opened the door and there was a tree frog inside on the glass of the storm door. I'm like "ahh gross" and I get a stick to poke him and make him GET OUT. What does the crazy frog do? It jumps on me!!! Now they are kind of neat and yes totally harmless BUT they stick on you like glue! They are fine UNTIL THEY GET ON ME! It jumped toward me (I thought ON me) - I yell and shuck my shirt and throw it in the floor! Then I pick my shirt up and throw it outside! Sorry but if the Pope had been standing there he would have seen boobies flying! LOL The whole time I'm having a gross out (and laughing) meltdown then I go to the bathroom and make sure it is not in my hair (YIKES!!!) or on my pajama pants! I go back to make sure it's not in the house and it meets me in the middle of the kitchen floor! I got a hand towel to toss over it then picked it up and threw the towel out the door. He hopped off so I rescued my shirt and towel! Long sigh... even country girls have their weaknesses.

Btw, I don't know what the dogs were barking at. No doubt I scared it off and scared the dogs because they are quiet now.

YUP same thing happens here to and hubby and the daughter just howls in laughter at me! They ALWAYS jump on me and I take off the other way when I even see one now because I KNOW it sees a sign on me that says jump on her!

And let me tell you, cock roaches do the VERY SAME thing! I give them PLENTY of space to! I was out in the chicken pen the other night to shut their back gate when I looked up ON THE ROOF just about where I was standing and there was a cock roach! I gave him/her some space and it got out of my way so I could turn the light back off before I left out the door. chills......

There are THREE of the things out there now IN their food bowl! Nothing in it but the things are eating what's on the walls of the bowl. I HATE those things and do wish I knew of SOMETHING I could get rid of them with!

You guys had me laughing so hard. I was trying to be quiet but my kiddos heard me and had to come see. They read your posts and are still chuckling!

I have trouble with some kind of roach outside here too. About anything I pick up off the ground has at least one under it. Yuck! In the spring they try their best to get in the house. Now and then I use to find one in the kitchen which is close to the back door. It would freak me out because I sure don't want them in here! Well... I bought some of those plug-in electronic doodads that emit a high pitched sound that is supposed to run off mice, roaches, etc. By golly they work! I put two in the kitchen and the roaches don't even come in anymore! It was about $20 for four of them I think, and well worth it! I found them in the garden center at Walmart.

I've seen ads for those and wondered if they would bother the chickens. I sure could use them as I have a pretty bad mouse situation here (even though I keep the food picked up). I didn't know who to ask about them. So, those things didn't bother your dogs? If you were to plug in an extension cord and run one out to your coop and plug it in... then we'd know if they bother chickens. What d'ya say?

 

[Triple Willow]

     

   

You guys had me laughing so hard.  I was trying to be quiet but my kiddos heard me and had to come see.  They read your posts and are still chuckling!

I've seen ads for those and wondered if they would bother the chickens.  I sure could use them as I have a pretty bad mouse situation here (even though I keep the food picked up).  I didn't know who to ask about them.  So, those things didn't bother your dogs?  If you were to plug in an extension cord and run one out to your coop and plug it in... then we'd know if they bother chickens.  What d'ya say?

Well I would be glad to but I don't have that much extension cord. lol
I don't know if they checked with chickens, doubt it. The package says, "This unit is safe for non-rodent pets such as dogs and cats. Do ot use this product around any rodent pets such as hamsters, gerbils, mice or tarantulas."

Oh I was laughing during my froggy meltdown too! LOL If it had got in my hair we both might have died!!! Ahhhh the thought of it! LOL

 

[RoseMarie1]

LOL @ Lacy blues! Yep do a little dance every time I see one of those things!

 

[armorfirelady]

 
OH MY GOODNESS!  Look at that COMB!  That is a marvel!  Is that your intent or is he different from the rest?  Very cute!

I like his comb, but that is not my intent, I actually prefer the small pea type combs personally, just speaking esthetically.

I live where it is HOT in the summer, and my intent w/ my birds is a dual purpose.  A good laying hen (good as in steady and long and healthy) that can thrive in our insane heat.  And a good meaty meat bird w/ as few feathers as possible.  Jaxom in addition to being a NN that carries both Na genes also carries the Sc gene.  I have one of his daughters that also carries this gene.  It will mean fewer feathers on their offspring.  In my way of thinking fewer feathers grown is less wasted energy on something I am just going to toss, and fewer I have to find a way and take time to remove.  There is the genetic possibility that I can also produce a naked chicken line.  This has two benefits to me one is no plucking at all and two I have a friend who has had to almost eliminate her chickens b/c of her husband's allergies, so no feathers, no dander, no allergies.  She can then continue to grow her own meat birds for her family.

If I do get a naked line I will have to protect them a little more from the winter, but very doable, especially for the pay off of no plucking and I would only have to over winter the breeding stock.  This is not a good plan for northern cold climates, or not everyone's cup of tea since most people cringe at the NN let alone a fully naked one, but it is going to be my little chicken niche.

Jaxon looks like he had a bad moult and some feathers forgot to grow in

If you get the naked chickens would you have to put sun tan lotion on them? I've seen farmers do it to piglets because their skin will burn easily. I can't imagine trying to put it on chickens lol

 

[galanie]

Roaches are great treats to my birds. One would never survive a visit to the feed bowl unless it was night time and the girls were roosting. When I move something that I think roaches might be under, I call my Big Girl and Dixie Mayzell over.. they'll take care of that problem FAST. The others are even starting to catch on to what "Come here, Big Girl!" means.