Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[TexasLisa]

That's a good idea. I want some of those square ones to put around my henhouse to keep critters from digging in.

Good Morning!

I hope you planned on burying them. I have seen the rats coming out of a hole about 3 feet away from the coop. They must be pretty good diggers!

For those of you that have outdoor cats: How does that work with the chickens and the chicks? Our rat population is exploding and we need to do something. We are laying poison around but that is so sloooowwwwww.

Lisa

 

[Triple Willow]

I sell eggs to private parties, ie. the publc but I only allow them to come on Saturdays from noon to 8PM.  Also to two health food stores, some restaurants, from Elkins, north to Clarksburg and Fairmont  WV and south to Snowshoe Ski resort enterprises. 

Make money?  I guess I make some but if I didn't have my military retirement/social security, I'd have to reduce my flock drastically. This is an overblown hobby that I inherited from my parents but I always loved helping them and my grandparents work with the birds. 

Price depends upon who's buying and how many dozen they buy....from $2.00 to $3.50 per.

Protection...4 dogs.  Two Aussies that live and follow the flock where ever they go and two Patterdale Terriers that have access to a doggie door after the birds come to roost.  The ACD's can not be allowed to be around the Pats. because they would kill each other.  The ACD.s were raised with the birds from the time they were 8 weeks old and have a kennel inside one of the houses.

I think that covers the questions...thanks for your interest.

RON

Thanks a lot for the information. It sounds like your family has had a good business going on for a long time. They must have been doing something right and you must be too.

I like your Saturday hours. I know I wouldn't like people dropping in at just any day/any time. And anymore where I live you wouldn't know just why they were coming, too many theives! Some around here have "help yourself/self-serve" eggs and even tomatoes at their house. They are more trusting than I am.

Love your dogs. ACD's are one breed that I have never had but wanted. I keep hearing that they make good guardian dogs. One concern I have, will they guard against stray dogs? That seems to be my biggest worry - neighbor dogs. My dogs are like your Patterdales, they guard outside the pen but would kill every chicken on the place if given the opportunity. But they weren't raised with the birds, big difference. Did you just put the ACD's with the birds when they were 8 weeks old or was there some kind of training setup?

Anything you can tell us about your setup would be great and pictures are wonderful. Thanks again!

 

[Triple Willow]

Good Morning!

I hope you planned on burying them.  I have seen the rats coming out of a hole about 3 feet away from the coop.  They must be pretty good diggers!

For those of you that have outdoor cats:  How does that work with the chickens and the chicks?  Our rat population is exploding and we need to do something.  We are laying poison around but that is so sloooowwwwww.

Lisa

So far no rat problem (I don't think). I'm going to keep poison out just in case. I bought a fairly weatherproof bait station a little while back. I believe it is the Tomcat brand.

And good morning sista!

 

[Triple Willow]

Duck eggs are great but ducks aren't.  They muck up the chicken's feed  and the water and cause a lot of waste.  On their own they seem doable or if you have a very large area where they eat in one place, swim way away from the food and roosts, etc,. As a hobby don't think you will even ever break even.  It ain't gonna happen!   In Ron's case he can sell enough eggs and dressed out chickens to maybe make a profit.  When I began this adventure I saved all my receipts to see how much it was costing me.  It became appaulling how much it was all costing even with recycled stuff for the coops. I eventually didn't want to know.  It was embarrassing.  I've sold about 5 doz. eggs to the university boys who live next door for $3 each....a drop in the proverbial bucket.  I hope to sell some of my "mutts" when they hatch, if anyone is silly enough to want them this time of the year.  lol   : )

The ducks can mess all they want to IF they will do it where I tell them to. LOL I had some geese years ago that would roost on the back steps and every morning it was a poop slick!

I plan to start selling eggs in the spring. Right now I am just giving a few away. I believe there are ways to make money but we will have to get more like Bee, hard core - which is a good thing.

 

[JesNflock]

I hadn't thought about putting our dog out in the yard with my flock at night (she would "play" with them given the chance when they are out during the day and that wouldn't be a good outcome) I think she would be great to ward off would be predators at night, although we haven't had the pleasure yet(thank goodness). I think we will try that and see how it goes.

 

[Triple Willow]

I hadn't thought about putting our dog out in the yard with my flock at night (she would "play" with them given the chance when they are out during the day and that wouldn't be a good outcome) I think she would be great to ward off would be predators at night, although we haven't had the pleasure yet(thank goodness). I think we will try that and see how it goes.

My dogs are on duty at night, well daytime too. I just can't let them have access to the chickens. One of my dogs even killed a snake at night. They must see a lot better than I thought they did.

 

[hellbender]

Thanks a lot for the information. It sounds like your family has had a good business going on for a long time. They must have been doing something right and you must be too.

I like your Saturday hours. I know I wouldn't like people dropping in at just any day/any time. And anymore where I live you wouldn't know just why they were coming, too many theives! Some around here have "help yourself/self-serve" eggs and even tomatoes at their house. They are more trusting than I am.

Love your dogs. ACD's are one breed that I have never had but wanted. I keep hearing that they make good guardian dogs. One concern I have, will they guard against stray dogs? That seems to be my biggest worry - neighbor dogs. My dogs are like your Patterdales, they guard outside the pen but would kill every chicken on the place if given the opportunity. But they weren't raised with the birds, big difference. Did you just put the ACD's with the birds when they were 8 weeks old or was there some kind of training setup?

Anything you can tell us about your setup would be great and pictures are wonderful.

Thanks again!

If anything could be said to tarnish the rep. of the ACD's it's the fact that they are very dog aggressive. The bloodiest fights I've ever seen were with them and usually other breeds at dog shows. Some handlers don't give a darn about where their dogs go when they are 'chatting' with friends at ringside and I once saw a handler push a dog 'up the butt' of an ACD in the group ring...causing the dog to spin and eat up the dog and both handlers before they were separated...so yes...they will protect against stray dogs...to the EXTREME!

 

[colburg]

Quote: We have two great mousing cats and regularly find dead rats and mouse heads around the property. When we have chicks, they're kept in a pretty secure pen. We have let the cats in on occasion while we supervised just to see what would happen, but would never let the cats have unsupervised access. The chicks start free-ranging at about 4 weeks old and the cats don't seem to bother them at that age.

As far as grown chickens are concerned, the chickens are bullies and the cats are big ole wieners. When we have the chickens in the pasture instead of the orchard, they'll actually bully the cats away from the cat food and eat it all.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Good Morning!

I hope you planned on burying them. I have seen the rats coming out of a hole about 3 feet away from the coop. They must be pretty good diggers!

For those of you that have outdoor cats: How does that work with the chickens and the chicks? Our rat population is exploding and we need to do something. We are laying poison around but that is so sloooowwwwww.

Lisa

I haven't seen any rats, but a few days ago, I was standing outside the chickens' pen inside the barn, and about 5 feet from the outside wall of the barn, I saw the floor move. Since the floor is deep litter in there, and kinda packed, it looked like a beating heart.......thump thump.......thump thump. I grabbed my sharp pointed shovel, went into the pen, and hit the ground with the point of my shovel. It was a huge mole. I bet I know how he got that big.

I picked it up with the shovel and carried it out into the barn hall, and my Aussie promptly took it and carried it outside....I am quite sure she ate it......I am so glad it wasn't a rat!!

 

[Triple Willow]

If anything could be said to tarnish the rep. of the ACD's it's the fact that they are very dog aggressive.  The bloodiest fights I've ever seen were with them and usually other breeds at dog shows.  Some handlers don't give a darn about where their dogs go when they are 'chatting' with friends at ringside and I once saw a handler push a dog 'up the butt'  of an ACD in the group ring...causing the dog to spin and eat up the dog and both handlers before they were separated...so yes...they will protect against stray dogs...to the EXTREME!

Good! The only dogs that I ever had keep strays away were Dobermans. To them, everything belongs to them. I've seen fights over an empty feed bowl. lol I love that breed too, sweet dogs - well a good bred one, the others, NOT.