There ya go, Bee, an answer to all your problems. Start an apprenticeship program. The Bee Better Homestead introduces... Long hours, hard labor, and no 20th Century ammenities. Detox from the human life...
Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds
- Thread starter shadowmane
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There ya go, Bee, an answer to all your problems. Start an apprenticeship program. The Bee Better Homestead introduces... Long hours, hard labor, and no 20th Century ammenities. Detox from the human life...
Bahahahaha, yeah that'll bring 'em in.
I can see it now....parents tired of their teenagers...guess who they are going to send them to???
Lisa
Got ? for ya....... got a few things going on and not for sure what's happening here.......
hubby has been feeding the chickens for me for quite some time now due to my health. On days I feel like it I will go feed them because I enjoy messing with them. But this isn't a whole lot now a days in the cold and in the rain etc.
I've been making the ff here in the house and it smells fine just like it always has but it's a little soupier now for some reason and I'm not understanding why when I've been doing this for many months now. I don't know IF they changed up the food or what. Anyway day before yesterday they didn't eat much of their food but they got BOSS and a little chops since it was going to be cold. For some reason they have backed off eating as much of their food as they were. Then yesterday they didn't hardly eat any of it. Wondering what's going on. I wasn't able to let them out to free range at all for days because of it raining and the girls have those saddles on because of the roos making their backs bare. Now only one roo, but still need to keep the saddles on. So they were shut up in a smaller area in the pen to keep them dry from the rain and it being freezing at night time to. So I had closed off their run because of keeping them dry.
So hubby went out there yesterday I think it was and came back inside telling me to get me plenty clothes on since it was cold and raining and go check my roo. The girls have picked his feathers out all around his tail and he only has a few tail feathers on his tail.He's pitiful looking now for sure. I worry about them pecking the skin now since it's naked!
and even thinking about making him a saddle to cover his skin to avoid that!
They or one not sure how many is doing this, have worked over with one the hens head and she don't hardly have any feathers there either. She's my best layer to! Don't know if this was due to boredom or what but they have NEVER acted like this before but then again they were able to free range or be in the run. Spoiled chickens! ARG..... anyway wondering WHY they're not eating as much of their food now? And wondering why they are doing this with the feathers? I used to have a Aussie roo that was doing this when they were really young pulling feathers but I put him in a pen to himself. But he's been lonnnng gone. Not had any problems with this since.
I guess I just need to make extra saddles and let them into the run or free range when they can and that way I will have dry saddles for them but I hate to have to change them so much.
I checked them for mites and for lice and found zero. No eggs or anything at the shaft of the feathers. No scales on their feet are lifted or anything
Also one of the girls (the best layer, #19 bless her heart) the roo has split her on the side, she lost her saddle today while free ranging and I guess that's when it happened.
I thought the roos nails might need trimming or something so I trimmed just the tip ends of two off and they both bleed.
Oh my goodness. I just went through this. Not the feather picking but the wounds. I should have taken pictures to share. If you're not squeamish, you can sew her up with a needle and thread. The thread will heal into her skin but she'd be fine. If she has a saddle to protect the wounds, you wouldn't need to separate her. Just get the wound nice and clean, inside and out. Soak your needle and thread in some iodine and when you make your stitches, tie each one off individually. I thought about doing a running stitch type thing but figured if something happened, the whole thing would come undone so better safe than sorry, even though its a pain, to make each stitch separate.
If you have or can get some scotch guard to spray their washed and dried saddles with, it will go a long way toward making them waterproof and you wouldn't have to change them like you were mentioning. If you took them all off one night to wash and dry, you'd only need to separate the rooster for the night so he couldn't get at them in the morning. Then put all the treated saddles back on them in the morning. I don't know what to tell you about your bare rooster, probably make one for him too?
I know I'm not Bee, just trying to help.
- Mar 1, 2013
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I can see it now....parents tired of their teenagers...guess who they are going to send them to???
Lisa
Yikes!!! That skeers ME!!! hahahahahaha
I'm w/ you TW, if I send 5 texts in a month that was a very busy month. I carry my cell to work w/ me, and most of the time have to find it since I have no idea where it is, and just pray the battery isn't dead so I can call it and hear it ring to find it. I have a cell b/c I drive 50 miles one way to work and most of it through the country, so I can get help if I need it. I do not have a fancy or smart phone, it is just one step above a flip phone, and I am seriously thinking about going back to the flip phone.
- Mar 1, 2013
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Yep, I have wondered if I would find mine before when the battery did go dead and I couldn't call it. LOL If it wasn't for the internet and needing it just in case of an emergency I'd probably not even have one. Well and I do use it for overseas communications (texts, email, Yahoo, etc).
- Mar 1, 2013
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Have any of you used sawdust for deep litter? Would it work or will the birds eat too much of it?
I have used saw dust from cutting fire wood in the coop before. I really do not know if they ate it or not but I am guessing not since they did not have any problems. I am all about free DL
- Mar 1, 2013
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I have used saw dust from cutting fire wood in the coop before. I really do not know if they ate it or not but I am guessing not since they did not have any problems. I am all about free DL
That's what I'm thinking, free litter. Just don't want them to eat it and keel over.
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