Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
My dog Rosie... rip... was very smart girl. She rode shotgun with me in my truck perched on the center console like a figure head of a ship. Or rested on her elbows half on the console and half on her bed in the back. Part Ausssie and part greyhound.... excellent combo by the way.

I had just arranged to board my horse at a very large boarding facility of over ninety horses. Nice people Excellent care and grounds. Rules about dogs... on leash at all times.... It was a very hot day and I had my AC running on the truck when we went to leave. It was only 95 outside but inside without air can kill a dog in a very very very short time.

So When I spotted the owner and had a question I parked the truck and left the door open to go speak to her and a couple of other people. I had my back to the truck. Half way through my question all eyes turned to something behind me. I looked around and here was Rosie making a bee line to me. I turned to her in a conversational tone.... "Did I tell you you could get out of the truck?...." She didnt hesatate turned around and with the same haste covered the distance and disappeared in the cab.

To a ONE the people i was speaking to said.... "I dont have Children that mind that well.... " With lots of laughter.

She was with me all of seventeen years after I adopted her from a kill shelter. They estimated she was two years old when I got her..... So the closest estimate of her age was between 18 and 19 I miss her terribly.

deb

 

[Triple Willow]

uuhh aahhh, well aahh, dogs don't sweat  well not like us anyhow... I hate winter!! harder to get to and from, too many clothes on. Anything south of 70 I start getting a chill. 'course i'm just a stick figure. Didn't used to be that way.

Walt my man, you need you a BIG woman! She will keep you warm all winter! LOL Just kidding, don't tell Lori I said that! LOL I know dogs don't sweat like we do at all but that is STILL the saying. When it's really bad you "sweat like a pig" and really really bad, you "sweat like a HOG!" ...and they don't sweat either. hahaha I agree, I'm not crazy about winter at all.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:

To a ONE the people i was speaking to said.... "I dont have Children that mind that well.... " With lots of laughter.

Deb, you sound so much like me it isn't funny!!

I talk to my dogs like children too and with the same tone..I've even said those exact same words! And other folks say the same thing you get about how their kids don't mind like my dogs. If I tell Jake to stay, come or sit and he forgets and breaks training I just do an exaggerated throat clearing, "AHEM?" and he immediately returns to his place. It's funny to watch folks' faces when you get a good response, isn't it? I've had people say they want me to come to their houses and train their dogs...and their kids.

I've even got my rooster, Toby, trained for a few things...I just say his name and point my finger and he gets to steppin'. He's a sweety too.

Pound puppies are the best dogs in the world...two of my best came from there and my current dog was just an old farm cur pup that was headed to the pound when I took him on. They are healthy, obedient, smart and just great family dogs. Good companions.

 

[OHhappychicks]

I've been feeding ff to my 6 chicks since sunday. I feed them in the morning and then in the evening when I get home from work. Today when I got home, the feeder was empty and they had knocked it over. It's just one of the small round chick feeders with a pint jar on top. Anyhoo, when I fed them, just like everyone else has said, They acted like they haven't had a meal in a week!!! They sure do love it!

I have another question off topic. How do you all get rid of fleas? My Mini-schnauzer gets under the little coop after mice. We don't have lots of them, but we do have some. If she gets a hold of one, its dead! I think she is getting them there as we have NEVER had fleas in the 39 years we have lived here. I find about 2-3 on her about every day now, just this past week. We put "tomcat" mice bait out (where chickens and other animals can't get to) hoping that will take care of that problem. I guess that is where she is getting them, but not 100% sure. I gave her a bath in dawn dish soap last nite and it does take care of them, but I hate washing her in detergent every evening. I saw a couple on her this evening and she is outside right now, so there will probably be more. also, do chickens get fleas? I'm going to try to check some of them tonight, but DH is still not home from work and I need him to help hold the hens while I look. Any suggestions

 

[Beekissed]

I've never heard of chickens having fleas...never heard of any birds having fleas. I'm thinking if they are coming from anywhere it could be the mice?

Fleas have become a scourge for everyone these past two years of wet weather and the easy winter we had last year didn't help. My dog got fleas last year for the first time too and we've been fighting them ever since. Some stray dog came through that was just literally crawling with them...and Jake had a play date with him.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I've been doing soaked feed for awhile, but happened to find a couple bottles of organic ACV today, so decided to start making FF again. Needless to say the feathered dinosaurs still love the stuff. ; )

Also, started soaking a bucket full of wheat berries to grow into sprouts for the chickens, peafowl, and Call ducks (who will not eat fodder), and then grow the rest of it into fodder for the big ducks and geese.

Blessings -

~Aspen

 

[OHhappychicks]

I've never heard of chickens having fleas...never heard of any birds having fleas. I'm thinking if they are coming from anywhere it could be the mice?

Fleas have become a scourge for everyone these past two years of wet weather and the easy winter we had last year didn't help. My dog got fleas last year for the first time too and we've been fighting them ever since. Some stray dog came through that was just literally crawling with them...and Jake had a play date with him.

That's kinda what happened here. From a dog that had a ton of fleas. I don't want to put the chemical stuff on her, but I don't want them in my house!! My daughter went through that with a home she rented out. We tried everything! DE, flea bombs. It took 4 visits of the exterminater to get rid of them! The people that moved out were absolutely shocked there were fleas. I don't know how you live in a home with that many fleas and not know it!!! So we are a little paranoid! Glad to know the chickens won't have them! That would be fun to try to rid them of fleas!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Posting a few pics of the Souparoos and their hillbilly rigged up temporary pen. Keep in mind they look WAY better than they did when they arrived, but still pretty scraggly. I've decided to keep the two smallest ones and free range them with the flock until they get much bigger...after I kill the bigger birds and Mr. Silkie Pants.

Now, don't laugh at my jacked up rooster pen!

I had all these materials on hand, so I fashioned them into a pen by throwing them at the hillside and however they stuck, that's where they stayed. The blue tarp was a last minute thought to block the wind from their roosting site...nights are down in the 40s here so I just wanted to block the breeze that rolls down that hill. Under the tarp is a few sheets of tin roofing, the stakes are push in steaks, welded wire fencing topped with green plastic mesh. The roost is an old tomato stake...not an optimal roost but it was the correct size to stick through that welded wire fencing. All of this is held together with zip ties. The tin is strapped on with rope so a stiff wind won't send it flying. The tarp is zip tied as well.

Now..that's how we roll out here in the boonies....

Built them a feeder today out of Dad's old miter box and, thanks to NH Red I dug out the nipple water bucket and, lo and behold~ the stupid birds started using it right away! Put that in yer nest and smoke it, Gnarly Bunch!

That was a great feeling...no more poopy water and I could dose them with some UP/ACV, just for kicks and giggles. The bigger red rooster is the most healthy of the bunch..heavy, well feathered, nice scales, etc. He'll make good eatin'. The big boy is a heavy bird as well, as is the sickly looking hen.



This is a pic of the poor hen that got here by mistake...she is very pale and listless acting. I'm hoping the dusting, the castor oil and the FF, not to mention clean soils, fresh air and sunlight, will help her regain some good health. Even for a hen in molt, she looks like she was placed in a wood chipper.



Annnnndddd....Mr. Silkie Pants.

Who spends his life on the other end of the pen from the rest of the chickens or up on the roost. He is not living a very good life right now but he will soon be placed out of his misery.











This is the roost and they all fit on it perfectly. This is also the biggest, oldest rooster..she said he was 2 yrs. He and Toby have been fighting through the fence, so his comb and wattles are a little beat up. They look and act so much more comfortable, they no longer stink like something dead for 3 days, and their feet and bodies are cleaner looking. They went wild over the leaves I put in the pen today and started acting like normal chickens...scratching and pecking.

 

[armorfirelady]

Nice setup tho I never thought I would see you with a silkie.......even temporarily lol

 

[foreverlearning]

I've been feeding ff to my 6 chicks since sunday. I feed them in the morning and then in the evening when I get home from work. Today when I got home, the feeder was empty and they had knocked it over. It's just one of the small round chick feeders with a pint jar on top. Anyhoo, when I fed them, just like everyone else has said, They acted like they haven't had a meal in a week!!! They sure do love it!

I have another question off topic. How do you all get rid of fleas? My Mini-schnauzer gets under the little coop after mice. We don't have lots of them, but we do have some. If she gets a hold of one, its dead! I think she is getting them there as we have NEVER had fleas in the 39 years we have lived here. I find about 2-3 on her about every day now, just this past week. We put "tomcat" mice bait out (where chickens and other animals can't get to) hoping that will take care of that problem. I guess that is where she is getting them, but not 100% sure. I gave her a bath in dawn dish soap last nite and it does take care of them, but I hate washing her in detergent every evening. I saw a couple on her this evening and she is outside right now, so there will probably be more. also, do chickens get fleas? I'm going to try to check some of them tonight, but DH is still not home from work and I need him to help hold the hens while I look. Any suggestions

Bath the dog in dawn, salt the entire house. Bath the dog again in morning and vacuum up salt in 24 hours. Salt dries up the flea. This may not knock all of them out but it sure will put a giant dent in them.