Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Triple Willow]

I feel the need to tell a story wether you like it or not.... I have goats (see sig line), I did everything possible wrong, the grand daughter was here and wifey sez " we want goats"... pygmy goats would be cool so off to craigslist. 4 males $25 each, such a deal. Well I did no research of value (they do eat all the crud n brush weeds etc). Wrong stuff: still got horns, still got cahuh, ... privates lol, no shots, had worms... long story shorter, bought them, grand daughter ran em down, put all 4 in a box in the back seat of the hyundai, A LA Beverly hillbillys. I bought the stuff to "band" them got shots and worm med at TSC watched a video to become expert at wethering withering whethering however you say it, still haven't had time to do it (need 2 people). Can you picture my old skinny butt chasing down 4 mini goats that can jump like a rabbit, run like the wind and turn on a dime? Where is the kid when I need her... Back in Vt. with dad at school and probably laughing. On a smelly note my meatys are growing and eating and poopin. It's every day (sometimes) cleaning out their pen, man it smells. Noah, Cedar, Chai, and Faun, will never see a fry pan (the goats), but it will give me some measure of well not pleasure to wether them ( boys this ( I hope) will hurt you more than me)! the meatys will feed us well this winter. Am I bad?

Walt

Hyundai is now called the caruck hauling feed, hay, n critters ya gotta see it to believe........
Gonna chane my screen name to "Hayseed"

Aha another goat lover... LOL You have to admit they are cute and entertaining. Have you ever tried goat meat? If you haven't you might not ought to because you might look at Noah, Cedar, Chai and Faun in a different way. lol It is delicious, probably my favorite meat. Maybe you should learn to throw a rope (lasso). lol No, I think tricking them with feed is the best way to catch them. And hey, they have handles already on them! -horns! lol

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I have been pondering between goats and hair sheep. I think the goats giving milk will be a better investment....

TW; I am not planning my winter garden right now, but I am planning the planting of my front lawn for spring! I am turning my whole front lawn into a bee garden! Hopefully with lots of useful plants that are northern hardy... Anyone got any suggestions on plants for this?

My list so far is;

Bearded Iris
Cocus Savitus (Saffron)
Rosemary
Oregano
Sunflowers
Bee Balm
Thyme
Smooth Aster
Shasta Daisy

I'll plant up the whole lawn with garden beds like this and I will throw down as many types of clover as I can as a cover crop.

I swear I will never mow again.

 

[TexasLisa]

Good morning Lisa. In true redneck style I have some big flower pots and one big flowerbed that I plan to plant in greens. Somewhere in there I plan on throwing some carrots and radishes. I need to find some onions. No shame in my game! lol You have the things you mentioned planted for winter?

Yes Ma'am! They are in the ground and sprouting (as least some of them were until the 4 Musketeers found out they could hop the fence!!) I live in SW Texas (around Houston), so we have 2 growing seasons. I am still getting use to that!

I have been pondering between goats and hair sheep. I think the goats giving milk will be a better investment....

TW; I am not planning my winter garden right now, but I am planning the planting of my front lawn for spring! I am turning my whole front lawn into a bee garden! Hopefully with lots of useful plants that are northern hardy... Anyone got any suggestions on plants for this?

My list so far is;

Bearded Iris
Cocus Savitus (Saffron)
Rosemary
Oregano
Sunflowers
Bee Balm
Thyme
Smooth Aster
Shasta Daisy

I'll plant up the whole lawn with garden beds like this and I will throw down as many types of clover as I can as a cover crop.

I swear I will never mow again.

Wow, that sounds really nice!

Lisa

 

[wlhtx]

Here's a few pics of Aoxa's that shows the fat storage of female vs. male CX chickens~all the same age and fed the same feeds~ and it will give you an idea how hormones play a part in how the different sexes~even us~use their nutrition: Male gut piles: Female gut piles: Cockerel carcasses...note how very lean: Pullet carcasses...neatly trimmed in fat:

Bee, these are actually my pics - not Aoxa's. I wasn't on here much yesterday, but I saw where the conversation touched on Marans - so I thought I would repost these pics and let those who are interested know that these pics are actually DP birds. The 3 roosters in these pics were young Wheaten Marans. 2 were 16 weeks, 1 was 23 weeks. I do not have a scale, so I'm not 100% sure what their dressed weight ended up at - but they were the same size as the girls. The girls were 2 2-yr-old Jersey Giants, and 1 6-yr-old Barred Rock. One of those girls was just cooked up last night in a pot of dumplings.

 

[wlhtx]

Oh - but they were all fed FF! The Marans from their beginning, the girls since May. And they all free ranged.

I was totally shocked by the way at the differences in the fat, both inside and out of the bodies. Vastly different.

 

[Triple Willow]

I have been pondering between goats and hair sheep. I think the goats giving milk will be a better investment....

TW; I am not planning my winter garden right now, but I am planning the planting of my front lawn for spring! I am turning my whole front lawn into a bee garden! Hopefully with lots of useful plants that are northern hardy... Anyone got any suggestions on plants for this?

My list so far is;

Bearded Iris

Cocus Savitus (Saffron)

Rosemary

Oregano

Sunflowers

Bee Balm

Thyme

Smooth Aster

Shasta Daisy

I'll plant up the whole lawn with garden beds like this and I will throw down as many types of clover as I can as a cover crop.

I swear I will never mow again.

I'm lazy so I would want flowers that would come back every year. lol I like Marigolds a lot and Petunias. Mimosa trees are pretty but they can become a problem with sprouts coming up EVERYWHERE even long after the tree is gone. I cut a big Mimosa limb the other day and put it in the bird's run. They stripped every little leaf off of it, hundreds and hundreds of them ...so Mimosa won't kill chickens. lol Goats love Mimosa!

I was thinking the other day, if your going to have trees and bushes in the yard why not make a lot of them fruit trees and fruit bushes/vines. Not only would they be there for years and years to come, they would be a source of food and maybe even a source of income. I have also seen fruit trees be one of the selling points of a property.

Elderberry (VERY good for your health)
Granny Smith Apples (I love!)
Pear
Peach
Cherry
Paw Paw Tree
Blackberries
Blueberries
(Many more to choose from...)

 

[Triple Willow]

Yes Ma'am!  They are in the ground and sprouting (as least some of them were until the 4 Musketeers found out they could hop the fence!!)  I live in SW Texas (around Houston), so we have 2 growing seasons.  I am still getting use to that!

Wow, that sounds really nice!

Lisa

That's nice Lisa! Tomatoes year around, nice!

 

[Triple Willow]

Bee, these are actually my pics - not Aoxa's.

I wasn't on here much yesterday, but I saw where the conversation touched on Marans - so I thought I would repost these pics and let those who are interested know that these pics are actually DP birds. The 3 roosters in these pics were young Wheaten Marans. 2 were 16 weeks, 1 was 23 weeks. I do not have a scale, so I'm not 100% sure what their dressed weight ended up at - but they were the same size as the girls. The girls were 2 2-yr-old Jersey Giants, and 1 6-yr-old Barred Rock. One of those girls was just cooked up last night in a pot of dumplings.

The Marans look nice! They look quite a bit like my 20 week old Australorps did. Mine were really long legged. I bet that hen was delicious, bet they all will be. Thanks for the Maran info.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

TW; Most of the plants on my list will come back every year. The problem I have is I actually need more TOXIC plants in the mix. The reason being, there's a posse of four or five buck deer and their three does in the area and they strip everything to the ground. Not to mention the dozens of rabbits and the billions of chipmunks and birds... I need things that aren't very palatable to most animals, that won't encourage them to come a-raiding when there's daylilies and fresh grass and strawberries and trees just across the street.... I want the native animals to start nibbling on the wrong thing and think better of ever coming back to my lawn if I can help it! And then sneak in the sweet things between all the ones they don't want.

 

[perchie.girl]

I feel the need to tell a story wether you like it or not.... I have goats (see sig line), I did everything possible wrong, the grand daughter was here and wifey sez " we want goats"... pygmy goats would be cool so off to craigslist. 4 males $25 each, such a deal. Well I did no research of value (they do eat all the crud n brush weeds etc). Wrong stuff: still got horns, still got cahuh, ... privates lol, no shots, had worms... long story shorter, bought them, grand daughter ran em down, put all 4 in a box in the back seat of the hyundai, A LA Beverly hillbillys. I bought the stuff to "band" them got shots and worm med at TSC watched a video to become expert at wethering withering whethering however you say it, still haven't had time to do it (need 2 people). Can you picture my old skinny butt chasing down 4 mini goats that can jump like a rabbit, run like the wind and turn on a dime? Where is the kid when I need her... Back in Vt. with dad at school and probably laughing. On a smelly note my meatys are growing and eating and poopin. It's every day (sometimes) cleaning out their pen, man it smells. Noah, Cedar, Chai, and Faun, will never see a fry pan (the goats), but it will give me some measure of well not pleasure to wether them ( boys this ( I hope) will hurt you more than me)! the meatys will feed us well this winter. Am I bad?

Walt

Hyundai is now called the caruck hauling feed, hay, n critters ya gotta see it to believe........
Gonna chane my screen name to "Hayseed"

He Walt are you my brother?..... LOL.... I take it they are young..... have they been de horned? If not you have to be careful they cant get their head through a fence or small space or they will get caught. Oh and Hot wire is your friend.... For Goat Containment....

deb