Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[AletaG]

As far as the sitting down to eat, my young Buckeyes do that pretty often. Maybe your hen has just got a sore hip or leg that will heal up soon. Maybe some Vitamin D would be good in case the bones in her legs are weak and if it's nerves maybe some Vitamin B6. I don't know but I hope you don't come reporting her yield to us.

I was thinking B, which was why the double yolk breakfast this morning, but I forgot about D. Will add that to her FF dish tonight. That's the extent of the babying though. Discovering that the 28 chicken threshold is definitely my "to H*** with it!" point... I want to eat some of my chickens, but she wasn't a planned supper. The prod NH, 7 prod RIR, and the 2 Marans cockerels, though, are definitely on the menu as time goes on...

 

[Beekissed]

I do the same..when you have more than a handful of birds, flock management becomes much more simple...if the bird isn't up on her feet and moving well in 3 days, she is a cull. It's not really normal for a bird to keep lying down when before she did not, so you have to look at it as a bird problem and not a flock problem. Now, if you had several chickens that couldn't stay on their feet then you could consider it a management problem possibly involving nutritional deficiencies. One bird? That's a bird problem and it's a simple solution.

 

[Triple Willow]

I think your dog and mine are long lost brothers.  Jake is 7 this year and bounces around like a pup every time I approach..thinks he's going somewhere.  And he always wants to be right on me too...will spin his body against my leg until I have to tell him to go sit down.  Then he does it with a poor attitude and the last word, that sounds very much like a teenager muttering under their breath when they are mouthing you.  Lots of grunts, sighs and groans when he has to do something he doesn't want to do...like being detached from my hip.    Jake has his own language and talks more than any dog I've known except that pretty husky on YouTube.   He's very expressive and it's almost like he's getting the language we humans speak but hasn't quite gotten down just yet. 

He and the Ol' Bat argue when they take their daily walks because she stops to pick up sticks out of the road and yard and he tries to get her to get a move on with grunts and groans.  She finally tells him to go on home if he doesn't like it..and he does.  They are quite a pair to listen to when they really get to arguing. 

I bet those two fussing is funny. LOL My dog is real quiet. He only yelps if something really gets to him -frustrates him. It's funny, sounds like a young pup. But if he is barking at something serious like somebody pulling up in the driveway or deer trespassing on his land, he uses his big boy voice. LOL But he is 100% what is referred to as a "velcro dog" -stuck to me like glue. If I make him get off of me he will lay down and look at me with the most pitiful hurt eyes. If I really get after him he will walk off and go lay somewhere else- broken hearted I'm sure. He loves going with me to feed the chickens. He will run half way there then wait on me to catch up. Then he trots along beside the lawn mower.

 

[Triple Willow]

I was thinking B, which was why the double yolk breakfast this morning, but I forgot about D. Will add that to her FF dish tonight. That's the extent of the babying though. Discovering that the 28 chicken threshold is definitely my "to H*** with it!" point... I want to eat some of my chickens, but she wasn't a planned supper. The prod NH, 7 prod RIR, and the 2 Marans cockerels, though, are definitely on the menu as time goes on...

I agree with you, too many is not good. I gave a friend of mine a few not long ago and keep looking at them thinking about who else can go. I'd much rather be a little under capacity than over.

 

[Beekissed]

I bet those two fussing is funny. LOL My dog is real quiet. He only yelps if something really gets to him -frustrates him. It's funny, sounds like a young pup. But if he is barking at something serious like somebody pulling up in the driveway or deer trespassing on his land, he uses his big boy voice. LOL But he is 100% what is referred to as a "velcro dog" -stuck to me like glue. If I make him get off of me he will lay down and look at me with the most pitiful hurt eyes. If I really get after him he will walk off and go lay somewhere else- broken hearted I'm sure. He loves going with me to feed the chickens. He will run half way there then wait on me to catch up. Then he trots along beside the lawn mower.

I just bet he wouldn't be as hard to train off of chickens as you think, if he thinks that much of you. That's the kind of responsiveness that is needed for a dog to "get" that the chickens are yours and are then off limits. Cesar Milan does an episode where he trains a dog off a pet rabbit and also a dog off chickens and it is similar to what I did..but I hadn't ever known about a Cesar Milan when I did it. Watching those episodes let me know that my instinct was the right one and I was on the right track with Jake.

Here's a link to one of those episodes..can't remember which one right now:

http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/gorillavid.php?id=7m9pmkl17wcx

 

[AletaG]

I do the same..when you have more than a handful of birds, flock management becomes much more simple...if the bird isn't up on her feet and moving well in 3 days, she is a cull. It's not really normal for a bird to keep lying down when before she did not, so you have to look at it as a bird problem and not a flock problem. Now, if you had several chickens that couldn't stay on their feet then you could consider it a management problem possibly involving nutritional deficiencies. One bird? That's a bird problem and it's a simple solution.

Except until a few days ago, she wasn't part of my flock, so am not sure... I'll give it a week or so. By then hopefully we'll have a kill cone ready and have figured out how to keep a big pot of water at 170 degrees. Or I might just skin her. Not sure yet. She seems happy, if hobbly, so not worried about her being miserable. I do know that the very large Orp liked to mate her, poor dear. I'm rethinking a few things for future management so I don't repeat the mistake my friend made (leaving almost mature bantam females in with horny LF males). So is she. Rethinking, I mean. He must weigh 7lbs and he's not done growing. She'll max out at 3 once full grown (unless she graces my stew pot sooner). So I could see where she might recover fine if kept from being "whomped" all day long. Sheesh!

 

[Triple Willow]

I just bet he wouldn't be as hard to train off of chickens as you think, if he thinks that much of you.  That's the kind of responsiveness that is needed for a dog to "get" that the chickens are yours and are then off limits.  Cesar Milan does an episode where he trains a dog off a pet rabbit and also a dog off chickens and it is similar to what I did..but I hadn't ever known about a Cesar Milan when I did it.  Watching those episodes let me know that my instinct was the right one and I was on the right track with Jake.

Here's a link to one of those episodes..can't remember which one right now:

http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/gorillavid.php?id=7m9pmkl17wcx

Yeah he is really a great dog and such a sweetheart. I really hope we can get through this so I don't end up so frustrated at him when things go wrong. Poor dog does think I hung the moon. lol

...will watch the videos for sure! Thanks!

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah he is really a great dog and such a sweetheart. I really hope we can get through this so I don't end up so frustrated at him when things go wrong. Poor dog does think I hung the moon. lol

...will watch the videos for sure! Thanks!

Doesn't that make ya feel good? At least one creature on Earth thinks you are the sun, moon and stars!

My good dogs have always been that way and I seem to be the sun they revolve around...funny, though..wish I could get that reaction when dealing with humans. Actually, all my animals seem to feel that way and mostly it's about food but other times I think it's because they feel safer being next to the one that seems to be the leader. Pack/flock/herd leader..that's me. I've had a milk cow get jealous of the dogs and try to horn them out of the way so she can lay next to me instead...I've always had strange animals, I'm afraid.

 

[Triple Willow]

Doesn't that make ya feel good?  At least one creature on Earth thinks you are the sun, moon and stars!    My good dogs have always been that way and I seem to be the sun they revolve around...funny, though..wish I could get that reaction when dealing with humans.  Actually, all my animals seem to feel that way and mostly it's about food but other times I think it's because they feel safer being next to the one that seems to be the leader.  Pack/flock/herd leader..that's me.  I've had a milk cow get jealous of the dogs and try to horn them out of the way so she can lay next to me instead...I've always had strange animals, I'm afraid. 

Yep I have had a few like that. I don't know why but it's pretty nice. That's wild about the cow! LOL I remember one dog I had that didn't want the other dog to touch me. He would act like I was a toy or something and he was guarding me. lol And if a strange dog (even a friendly dog) got too close to me, it would be set straight real quick.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep I have had a few like that. I don't know why but it's pretty nice.

That's wild about the cow! LOL I remember one dog I had that didn't want the other dog to touch me. He would act like I was a toy or something and he was guarding me. lol And if a strange dog (even a friendly dog) got too close to me, it would be set straight real quick.

According to Cesar, that dog was pack leader over you with that behavior. Seems like my old cow Blossom must have thought she was pack leader too....

I let her know real quick and in a hurry that dogs come before cows and everyone gets equal time with the leader. She settled her butt down pretty quick. She was good cow.