Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Beekissed]

Thanks Bee. I'll head on over there and say hello. Probably tomorrow.

What experiment are you talking about? Did you tell us already and I missed it?

Just a hatching experiment. Then, if I get chicks from it, I'll do a little brooding experiment.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

size of cages are 4X4 for males, need to put something on the wire. The female cage is with nesting box. I feed normal rabbit's food and hay from the horses . They are white with red eyes

Many rabbits come in red eyed white. Dozens of breeds. If it is a big bunnywl with no black or grey it is probably a new zealand white. The cage size is good... Are they housed indoors or out? Do they habe good shelter? Also, more about the food. For example I feed two types of pellets, one for my pet mini lop and one for my meat breeding does. The difference in nutrients is staggering. Both can be found in the same store and are two of the biggest brands of rabbit feed out there.
The pet food has 12% protein, 0.8% calcium, something less than 1% fat...
The meat rabbit food has 18% protein (half again as much) 2% calcium (more than double) and like 2% fat (double).

The first food would never support a breeding rabbit.

Hay has a similar issue. If you have Brome hay it may only have 6-8% protein in it. If you have alfalfa hay it could have 22% protein! Bromegrass would not support a breeding meat rabbit, alfalfa tends to be too fatty and rich and too much calcium.

It is important to know what you are feeding.

 

[Demosthine]

yea me to! Can we all come? We could camp out in tents and it'd STILL be cooler there than here!

sure HOPE we don't see no 110+ temps though. 104-5 is high enough.

with this humidity down south we'd die for sure. ugh it gets VERY hard to breath at the little over 100 temps.

Just 110* over there, heck, that's a winter vacation here! 'Course, I'll take our 120* dry heat over 80* with a high humidity any day. I hate humidity.

Which brings up an interesting thought. Everyone always talks about chickens suffering in the cold and the heat, but I don't think I've ever seen anything mentioned on humidity. Is there a specific way you handle things are change things when it gets really bad? Not that I'll ever need it here, but...

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: It doesnt get as hot here as you... I think our record was 110. but I have never seen stress in my chickens.... Panting yes but only when they are in the nest box trying to lay an egg. I am working on water cooled nests for next year.... But Like Arizona the humidity here is low almost all year even when it rains.

When there is high humidity it displaces oxygen. My dad was a pilot and he said the worse times to fly were on hot humid days. Not enough air for the plane to get off the ground. The best thing to do in that situation is to keep activity to a minimum and help bring the ambient temperature down... Cool places for them to hunker down ... damp sand, shallow wading areas.... Even then it brings the humidity up.... so you are darned if you do and darned if you dont.

deb

 

[armorfirelady]

Just 110* over there, heck, that's a winter vacation here! 'Course, I'll take our 120* dry heat over 80* with a high humidity any day. I hate humidity.

Which brings up an interesting thought. Everyone always talks about chickens suffering in the cold and the heat, but I don't think I've ever seen anything mentioned on humidity. Is there a specific way you handle things are change things when it gets really bad? Not that I'll ever need it here, but...

While we do not get temps up to 110* we did get up into the 90s last year & we get the humidity as well. I just make sure the girls have plenty of water available with multiple watering areas plus numerous shade areas for them to rest under. I will even on occasion turn the sprinkle on for a short amount of time. While they do not go in the sprinkler they like the wet grass/dirt after I turn it off.

My girls pant & lift their wings when its hot & humid. As long as they have plenty of water & shade I do not worry to much about it. They also get water with their FF since I do not drain all the water off before serving.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

My girls didn't show any signs of stress. Only on the hottest days (over 90ish) were they even panting, even my fluffy black australorps. Most of their area is in the shade of a few old trees with low branches, and grape vines that grow over my fence and into the trees. It makes for a fascinating canopy for them! I think that may also be a goodly part on why there were no hawk attacks in the pen in the summer; too much foliage, branches and vines! Only a small portion of their pen is in the sun, maybe 1/4 of it.

 

[sarahsunshine]

While we do not get temps up to 110* we did get up into the 90s last year & we get the humidity as well. I just make sure the girls have plenty of water available with multiple watering areas plus numerous shade areas for them to rest under. I will even on occasion turn the sprinkle on for a short amount of time. While they do not go in the sprinkler they like the wet grass/dirt after I turn it off.

My girls pant & lift their wings when its hot & humid. As long as they have plenty of water & shade I do not worry to much about it. They also get water with their FF since I do not drain all the water off before serving.

In the middle east they do various types of construction to create evaporation and drafts which cools things by a couple degrees. Evaporation takes the energy out of the air, which makes it cooler and more dense - so if there is the slightest draft, you create a pond on that side of the house, and when the wind blows, it travels over the pond and cools off the air - sending cool air in the house (lower), and warmer air up.

Another way to do it is to build a chimney on the hottest side of the house. You paint it white on the bottom and black on the top. Then you have your windows on the north (shady side) of the house. Then, the sun heats the chimney, creating a draft because you have hot air in it. This pulls air through the house, with cooler air coming in from the north side.

If you want to combine those things, you put a pond on the north side right under the windows (or hose it down regularly), it creates cooler air on the north side of the house, and the chimney creates a draft - bam - passive air conditioning!

No, it's not as efficient as a store-bought air conditioner, but it works very well provided you have insulation to prevent too much heat coming in the house!

Now... this is house design. I can't imagine it would be too hard to create that in a chicken coop by putting a black chimney pipe on the top to create a draft!

 

[BCMaraniac]

Hey Bee!

Here is a photo comparing the first and second egg from one of my new Marans pullets. Her first egg is on the left from yesterday, and her second one from today on the right!! They weigh 47 and 81 grams respectively....small and jumbo plus!

I bet that second one is a double yolker.




I am sure she will get the hang of it as her body gets hormonally balanced. The size contrast is pretty impressive, though.

Bee, I don't know what I will do if this keeps up.....she skipped a day and then laid an 84 gram egg. I sure can't incubate those. The first big one was a double, so I am sure this one will be as well.....poor girl.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: That's really cool info. I actually have a hoop coop with 2 black roof vents on it & the tarp is rolled up on the sides during the spring/summers/fall. I also have it covered with a white tarp. There is a lot of air flow in there and its usually cooler in the coop than outside. But humidity is hard to get rid off lol
My girls did great last year in the heat

 

[Triple Willow]

When it gets hot and the humidity get on up there my birds do pant a lot and hold their wings out to cool. High humidity makes it miserable - like sucking in air and still can't breathe! I don't look too forward to it but this weather hasn't been too wonderful either. lol