Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[ChocolateMouse]

TW; Hellbender is right. There's no legal way to "mail" a rabbit. You can have a rabbit travel through all the same means as dogs, but not as chickens. And they do stress out way easy. :| I have had people drive to me from the middle of PA (3-4 hours) and Toledo (about the same time frame) to get rabbits before because it's the cheapest, lowest stress, way to get 'em from point A to point B.

 

[Beekissed]

Ok, now you've got my curiosity. An "operation" on cocks and hens related to the cold? I'm definitely have cold issues in my flock and I'm curious as to what you are referring. Culling? Not that cold where you live, where is that and what kind of temperatures have you been having?

That would be called "dubbing"...... love how she "gently" tugs on the wattle..and then snips it off with the scissors.

More info on this.....

http://ultimatefowl.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/dubbing/

 

[Kassaundra]

Ok, now you've got my curiosity. An "operation" on cocks and hens related to the cold? I'm definitely have cold issues in my flock and I'm curious as to what you are referring. Culling? Not that cold where you live, where is that and what kind of temperatures have you been having?

I believe hellbender is referring to dubbing, or removing the points of the comb.

 

[Bitterroot]

Bitterroot, I have just lost control of the rabbit project. It's now being controlled from roughly 7,000 miles away.

LOLOL

Jason has contacted a NZ breeder we know in Crosslanes, looking to acquire 3 young doelings from large litters that are likely to be of moderate size. Those, incorporated into a breeding program including the quintet that we're getting from you....should put us back into the rabbit breeding business.

This man has superb NZ stock. If you wish and are in no big hurry....I would be happy to send you 3 or 5 doelings from his facility near Charleston, and of course, we will defray all costs.

RON

Bless his little heart. I had hoped my offer would give him some dreams to get him through the rest of his deployment. Plus, us hillfolk gotta stick together. Your offer is incredibly kind and generous. I'll have to think on it and get back to you. It's always nice to see that there are still folks out there with some heart, who do nice things just for the joy of it. You've made me smile.

Are you going to be dubbing birds because of the frostbite? This year has been unreasonably colder than usual. Not sure about WV, but we've seen record lows in most of the state. The 2 birds I have with the largest combs, my RIR, both got frostbite on the tips of their combs despite vaseline. To be fair, it was -15 and they were out running around in it all day, so I know how it happened. I didn't have the heart to lock them in the coop if they wanted to be outside. From here on out I'll be breeding my own egg mutts for the colors I want plus pea combs, and any roosters will be dubbed ahead of time. I hate to do it, but it kills me to look at those combs. I'm hoping my vet will help with the procedure.

Rabbits can NOT be shipped through the mail like peeps. They must be sent by air, just like one would ship dogs or cats...

EDITED: to say, even if you could use usps or any other ground service, it would almost certainly spell doom for the rabbit as they do not handle stress nearly so well as chicks.

This. Or, if you're lucky you can bum a ride with rabbit folks who are traveling through the area you need bunbun to go to. You may or may not have to provide a carrier. There are lots of rabbit relay groups out there. Any time I take a trip of any length, I always put up ads that I'll haul rabbits along. It's typically only $20-30 each, but you get a few of them, and it really helps pay for gas. They tend to be decent passengers, too. Don't have to stop to pee every 30 minutes, and don't complain about my choice of music.

Is there a specific reason to order from Welp? I saw it a few times. Lol just curious as I've only mail ordered a few times, usually I get ones I can pick up. Just curious. I looked at their site awhile back but they weren't ready when I needed them (the chicks weren't - I am totally impatient not Welps fault!) I do hear the name come up often tho

This is my first order through them. I've just seen the name tossed around a lot when it comes to the cornish cross, so I figure I'll give it a go.

 

[hellbender]

Bitterroot....Jason (and I) are absolutely thrilled! I doubt you will need or want that many NZ's but if you do, there's a Vet. close and everything can be taken care of when we get ours. I actually only plan to get two or three does...but you know how young folks are! lol

Yes, I'm going to dub this years youngsters. WE really haven't had than bad of weather yer...coldest being -2 F and It was only down to 14 F last night but to be honest, I'm not sure when he got bitten. It was very swollen but not turning too dark yet.

Dubbing will take care of things in the future...I'm surely not going to dub everyone...just this years and those to follow. A bit of a nuisance but certainly a time and money saver in the future. I should have kept doing it...just like my dad said...Famous last words. lol

Oh..I will send you a phone pic of out rabbit shed...perhaps today but tomorrow for sure...we were pretty well set when we were doing it and have more room than I EVER hope or expect to use...lol

 

[hellbender]

Ok, now you've got my curiosity. An "operation" on cocks and hens related to the cold? I'm definitely have cold issues in my flock and I'm curious as to what you are referring. Culling? Not that cold where you live, where is that and what kind of temperatures have you been having?

Certainly not culling...but rather dubbing all future breeding stock.

 

[Beekissed]

I believe hellbender is referring to dubbing, or removing the points of the comb.

And you thought folks kicked up a fuss about caponizing...wait 'til they read about and watch dubbing.

That deserves a thread all on its own before we get more protesters here.

 

[hellbender]

And you thought folks kicked up a fuss about caponizing...wait 'til they read about and watch dubbing.

That deserves a thread all on its own before we get more protesters here.

Ok...I'll not mention it again...but it is not removing the points ...It's removing the whole comb...the earlobes and wattles.

I fail to see why it should stir up protest...It's done to protect the birds and in fact, it's REQUIRED for some breeds to be dubbed before they can be shown in AMERICAN POULTRY SHOWS...

It was merely touched upon while discussing the feeding of FF to my youngsters.

EDIT: Do you think dubbing is more controversial than slitting a chickens throat or batting a rooster's head off? lolol

 

[Beekissed]

Update on the cooler method of fermenting in the winter months in the outside environment: I no longer smell or see any evidence of fermentation in the feed and this could mean either the culture has died or it is very dormant. I'd say it's just very dormant...we've had steady temps in the teens and 20s here and it doesn't look like it's going to change any time too soon. Since I don't want a dormant culture in the feed and to just feed wet grains, I'll be switching the feed to a large heated bucket this weekend to reactivate those little goodies.

 

[Beekissed]

Ok...I'll not mention it again...but it is not removing the points ...It's removing the whole comb...the earlobes and wattles.

I fail to see why it should stir up protest...It's done to protect the birds and in fact, it's REQUIRED for some breeds to be dubbed before they can be shown in AMERICAN POULTRY SHOWS...

It was merely touched upon while discussing the feeding of FF to my youngsters.

I know you fail to see it and that may be because you are relatively new here...but these kind of things invariably do cause some people to post in protest of the practice. We've had that here in the past and we'd like to avoid it if we possibly can. We often deviate from the thread topic here and no one really cares too much, but usually when we talk about cutting on chickens without anesthesia someone gets their feathers ruffled.

At that point, to preserve the thread from a lock down, we usually suggest that a person start their own thread on the topic if they wish to discuss it further. Sometimes there are already threads devoted to that topic wherein people can discuss it freely because the thread title is clearly labeled as containing content on that practice.