Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

Taking mice Far away with the catch and release method will require going at least 10 km (6 miles). I am a wildlife biologist and I used to work at a wildlife station where we ear tagged all the live-trapped mice we caught. Even after driving them across the river (2 miles away), they would be back in a few days. Only after 6 miles did they not return (that we know of). 

Live trapping does make a person feel better, generally, but lots of animals actually die due to being relocated to a new place where they don't know the area for predators, have to compete out already existing individuals that call the place home. They tend to get eaten, injured, or starve. I know it's not what you want to hear, but after seeing the statistics, I have come to grips with the fact that snap traps are best. Quick and no poison. Peanut butter is the best bait.

And Lacy - do you have any expert advice on getting a hen to go broody? (taking notes for when the time comes)

Holy cow, they swim rivers too! I knew snakes had to be taken far away, didn't think about mice. That's crazy. But I have no plans on releasing any mice. One day a long long time ago my dog had a little field mouse and I felt sorry for it and made him give it to me. I took it and it bit the snot out of me! Felt like pliers had ahold of me! I threw it down and told him to eat it. That was the extent of my love affair with mice. It's over, been over a long time. LOL
 
Now, I've only read about broody hens... what does a broody hen look/act like? I'm really wanting to put this reading into experience (and it's interfereing with my job!)!


A broody hen becomes broody when her hormones trigger a certain set of behaviors...she may start sloughing some feathers off the breast and lower abdomen in preparation for sitting on eggs. If she were out on free range and laying eggs out in a hidden nest, she would be very secretive and not announce her laying...just slip off and lay, cover the nest lightly with grass or leaves and she would do that until she got an acceptable size clutch of eggs...and only she determines what size that would be. Her body temp increases, triggered by this hormone flush. This usually happens in the spring or early summer, though in some breeds or situations it can happen all year round.

When in a coop situation, often the first you will know a hen is broody is when you see her sitting on the nest for longer than it usually takes to lay her egg...and she will sit there all day. When you try to gather the eggs under her, she will puff her feathers up, cry out in protest and certain birds will even peck your hand. If you evict her from her nest she will walk around all fluffed up, knees bent slightly in a crouching walk and growl/purr and pace..and pace.....until you leave and then she will get right back on the nest, even if it is empty. When given a nest of her own and a clutch of eggs to sit, she will flatten out like a pancake over those eggs until she looks twice the size she normally looks.

She may stay on those eggs for long stretches of time, only standing up to turn the eggs or remove those not developing, and occasionally she will leave the nest to eat, drink and poop. Some birds won't even do that, but will stay glued to that nest for the whole time. The last few days of her sitting time she won't move from that nest if a bomb goes off next to her. She will not die from not eating or drinking...this is how God designed these animals and it is a perfect design. Broody poop is a black, huge, sticky, stinking mess...you can tell it's been in there for some time.

That pretty much sums it up.
 
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I think they already have a Chicken Whisperer show out there...it was bound to happen with all this uprise in chicken ownership.  :rolleyes:    I do like to experiment with what works on behaviors of chickens and often mimic what works within the flock to get results, so I guess it is a lot like Cesar Milan's using the pack to learn dog psychology. 

Before you know it there will be Rooster Rescue nonprofits springing up in every state... every city! Were going to have to listen to what's her name sing about poor roosters being "in the arms of the angels". So, so sad. LOL

I wonder if I could get in on that...?
 
A broody hen becomes broody when her hormones trigger a certain set of behaviors...she may start sloughing some feathers off the breast and lower abdomen in preparation for sitting on eggs. If she were out on free range and laying eggs out in a hidden nest, she would be very secretive and not announce her laying...just slip off and lay, cover the nest lightly with grass or leaves and she would do that until she got an acceptable size clutch of eggs...and only she determines what size that would be. Her body temp increases, triggered by this hormone flush. This usually happens in the spring or early summer, though in some breeds or situations it can happen all year round.

When in a coop situation, often the first you will know a hen is broody is when you see her sitting on the nest for longer than it usually takes to lay her egg...and she will sit there all day. When you try to gather the eggs under her, she will puff her feathers up, cry out in protest and certain birds will even peck your hand. If you evict her from her nest she will walk around all fluffed up, knees bent slightly in a crouching walk and growl/purr and pace..and pace.....until you leave and then she will get right back on the nest, even if it is empty. When given a nest of her own and a clutch of eggs to sit, she will flatten out like a pancake over those eggs until she looks twice the size she normally looks.

She may stay on those eggs for long stretches of time, only standing up to turn the eggs or remove those not developing, and occasionally she will leave the nest to eat, drink and poop. Some birds won't even do that, but will stay glued to that nest for the whole time. The last few days of her sitting time she won't move from that nest if a bomb goes off next to her. She will not die from not eating or drinking...this is how God designed these animals and it is a perfect design. Broody poop is a black, huge, sticky, stinking mess...you can tell it's been in there for some time.

That pretty much sums it up.
And do you have any tips for stimulating a chicken to go broody? I"ve read about putting golf balls, or ping pong balls... Maybe a dark carrier with a blanket over it? And Cochins or game hens being broodiest.... And how many chicks per hen on average? What is a clutch size?

Too many questinos...
 
I get calls constantly for roosters people want to rehome but not eat :gig there's a market there in the city lol
Before you know it there will be Rooster Rescue nonprofits springing up in every state... every city! Were going to have to listen to what's her name sing about poor roosters being "in the arms of the angels". So, so sad. LOL

I wonder if I could get in on that...?
 
That sounds exactly like what mine did last year. Also, before she ever had any eggs to lay on she walked around grumbling and all puffed up. She looked huge.
 
 And do you have any tips for stimulating a chicken to go broody? I"ve read about putting golf balls, or ping pong balls... Maybe a dark carrier with a blanket over it? And Cochins or game hens being broodiest.... And how many chicks per hen on average? What is a clutch size?


Too many questinos...

I keep reading about cochins and especially silkies being used as broodies. People swear by silkies for that purpose.
 

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