Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

Those are such pretty eggs! So pastel!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Fermented feed CX at 5 weeks doing great

I can't recommend this fermented feed enough! The benefits are amazing for such a simple task. I mixed 3 buckets today in about 15 min. Now we wait and I have next weeks food read to go

My layers molted beautifully and started laying again! They LOVE sneaking the CX chicks feed here and there and I let them for the recent molt.

very pretty eggs!

 

[Triple Willow]

Sad news and a good reminder to those using heat lamps in their coops... Be very cautious !

http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/24309892/egg-lamp-could-have-caused-kalispell-house-fire

That would be terrible!

 

[Triple Willow]

Yep Angelicisi, beautiful eggs! Wish I had some colors. Some of my later bloomers are starting to lay but I'm not sure just who.

 

[Triple Willow]

You guys ought to read this thread. Somebody took a sick chicken to the vet, well I believe had one checked out the had died, and ended up with the government wanting to kill their whole flock.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/844000/oh-my-god-the-government-wants-to-kill-my-chickens-ms

 

[Triple Willow]

Okay, now I have new respect for the "Red Solo Cup". LOL That video sure did bring back a lot of memories. Glad I survived the making of those memories, thank you Lord! lol I like that video about the "Trailerhood" too! hahaha

 

[Triple Willow]

@Bee, I am wondering how Katahdins would be to keep around for milking. I don't need a whole lot of milk. A quart a day would probably be more than enough around here at my house and maybe some cheese making! Yum! I'm thinking separate the lambs and ewe at night then just stealing a little milk before I turned them out together for the day. What do you think? I'm wondering if they would have enough milk and what Katahdin milk tastes like.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

TW, most people have to breed specially for good dairy production for a long time in sheep to get numbers like that. So it really depends on where you get your stock from. If you get your sheep from a person breeding for dairy I think you could expect that but an ordinary sheep, maybe not so much.

 

[Triple Willow]

TW, most people have to breed specially for good dairy production for a long time in sheep to get numbers like that. So it really depends on where you get your stock from. If you get your sheep from a person breeding for dairy I think you could expect that but an ordinary sheep, maybe not so much.

Yeah, I'm not really wanting dairy sheep because I don't want that much milk or a regular 2X/day job milking them. I figure with maybe 2-3 sheep you could get a quart or so per day without taking too much from the lambs. Then days I can't or don't want to milk the lambs could have it all. The man I know of that has them has kept them for at least 30 years. I don't know but I imagine he has some of the best around here. He sells grass fed Katahdins for meat. Meat, milk and a lawn mower what else could you ask for besides eggs. LOL Well... I know a guy that raises fish too. lol That would be interesting.

 

[Beekissed]

You guys ought to read this thread. Somebody took a sick chicken to the vet, well I believe had one checked out the had died, and ended up with the government wanting to kill their whole flock.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/844000/oh-my-god-the-government-wants-to-kill-my-chickens-ms

And yet another reason to practice preventative health measures for the flock and cull for hardiness.....when will people learn that? Everyone wants a quick fix and lazy times when dealing with animals and get quite belligerent when you talk about culling for health and preventative health measures~they act like pumping meds in a chicken and taking them to the vet is responsible livestock keeping. It's not. Preventing illness is responsible....trying to fix your mistakes after the fact is not.

Get with the program, people!

@Bee, I am wondering how Katahdins would be to keep around for milking. I don't need a whole lot of milk. A quart a day would probably be more than enough around here at my house and maybe some cheese making! Yum! I'm thinking separate the lambs and ewe at night then just stealing a little milk before I turned them out together for the day. What do you think? I'm wondering if they would have enough milk and what Katahdin milk tastes like.

Yep, they would be an excellent breed for milking as most of them are really milky sheep and docile enough to make for good handling, as well as frequent twinners, so their milk production is high. No, they are not dairy sheep but they can provide some milk and the more you milk them, the more they will make. Choose a breeder that selects for milkiness and if you have difficulty milking those small teats, they make a hand milker that fits most any teat and is an excellent choice for small amounts of milk.

Depending upon the maker, those hand pump milkers can be had for $30-$190 for a kit with bottles and such.

Yeah, I'm not really wanting dairy sheep because I don't want that much milk or a regular 2X/day job milking them. I figure with maybe 2-3 sheep you could get a quart or so per day without taking too much from the lambs. Then days I can't or don't want to milk the lambs could have it all. The man I know of that has them has kept them for at least 30 years. I don't know but I imagine he has some of the best around here. He sells grass fed Katahdins for meat. Meat, milk and a lawn mower what else could you ask for besides eggs. LOL Well... I know a guy that raises fish too. lol That would be interesting.

I think keeping the lambs apart from them at night is a good plan but you'd have to be really diligent on your morning milking and you couldn't have days where the lambs have it all...lambs don't drink much at a time and just nip in and nip out, so if you really want the milk volume to stay high you'd have to milk consistently and maybe even milk her out of an evening too, just to encourage more milk flow.

The good part about that is it would take a few mere minutes to milk out sheep by hand with one of those pumps, so the milking chore would be minimal. They also are cleaner than cows, so prep time is low. You'd have to train them on the milking stand unless you wanted to bend over that low to do the do. I had tiny stanchions built and had planned this very thing, but working full time and other things got in the way...but the stanchions came in real handy for trimming hooves, picking fleece, etc.

The reason I didn't want dairy sheep is the same as yours...I only wanted enough for making a little cheese and I wanted a hardy sheep, parasite resistant and that would shed the wool.