Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[OHhappychicks]

I know!! It's on nights like this that I can remember most what it feels like to be a kid....spring nights brought hope of summer vacation from school and an endless summer. Back then summer seemed to last forever. Whistle brand orange pop, catching lightning bugs, listening to the whippoorwill, and sitting out on the porch swing in the dark while Dad told stories about when he was young. Mom making us come in the house and wash the fishing slime and other accumulated dirt off our bodies~ and "don't forget that ring around your ankles!"~ before going to bed.

Oh, to be a kid again back in the 70s.....

I'm with you!! I remember the same things! Sitting on my grandma's front porch with the scent of petunias and geraniums from the porch boxes, catching lightning bugs, listening to the sounds of the neighbors settling in for the night, the crickets. The ice cream truck used to come around about 8-9 in the evening. Yum! My grandma as you can tell, lived in town, but it was such a different time. My days of being a kid were in the 60's. And yes the evening spit bath!! If it was really bad, we had a full bath!! I still drive down passed the house my grandmother lived in, remembering the rides down the sidewalk in our wagon. It has changed since those days. It is a business now. I kinda regret we didn't buy it after she passed. But we were young with no money back then. But back to reality!!! God is good and life is good!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Amen! Yes, He is and yes, it is! Life is so good right now that I walk around in a dream, stepping on air six inches off the ground. God is so very good to me that I can scarce take it all in.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Amen! Yes, He is and yes, it is! Life is so good right now that I walk around in a dream, stepping on air six inches off the ground. God is so very good to me that I can scarce take it all in.

 

[Triple Willow]

@Bee... another question - would it be better to have them foraging out in the open with lots of grass and some weeds OR under trees mostly with lots of leaves and some grass?

...I'm sure under the trees has more bugs. I HOPE snakes don't get them when I turn them out!

 

[Beekissed]

@Bee... another question - would it be better to have them foraging out in the open with lots of grass and some weeds OR under trees mostly with lots of leaves and some grass?

...I'm sure under the trees has more bugs. I HOPE snakes don't get them when I turn them out!

Mine seem to prefer the wood line when they go out...I think it affords them some cover and protection, which makes them feel safer, but being CX they will go wherever the food is. Mostly they seem to find more bugs and worms under the leaf litter.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Mine seem to prefer the wood line when they go out...I think it affords them some cover and protection, which makes them feel safer, but being CX they will go wherever the food is. Mostly they seem to find more bugs and worms under the leaf litter.

You should see mine scratching through the needles under the pine trees......they have a field day....I think it is warmer under there two with the composting needles, so they find all kinds of good things under there.

 

[cortner1195]

Something is not right here......there should never be a time when young birds miss dinner and don't get up to eat. Then to sleep through another meal? Something is not right. I'd turn off that heat lamp as they don't need it for those temps and for that age of birds. Keep an eye on these birds....if they are that lethargic and at that age, I'd be worried about coccidiosis.

Turning off the heat may help..it could be that they are just too hot. Let us know how they go along?

They are all up and active this afternoon. This was their move from in the garage to outside. They spent about five hours digging around in the grow out run and may have had quite a bit to eat out there. I think we fed them just a bit late. The usual time under artificial light, but just a bit late in natural light. This morning I filled the feeder just before sunrise(it was completely empty) . All the food was gone when Mike got home, and all were active and excited to eat. He fed them at about 4pm, and all were out and eating vigorously. By 7pm they had all gone to bed again. A quick check while they were sleeping showed all crops evenly full.

On the little guy with the crooked leg, Do I need to splint it for the remaining five weeks? I know that if I planned to keep them longer I would have to do something. He gets around well. I had thought to separate him and keep him in the garage until stronger, but he may not re integrate. I have some coban wrap that I can use to wrap the leg, but worry that he will get it caught on something in the pen while we are gone.

Thanks for the help. It is fun to watch the laying hens free range around the grow out pen. They are so curious, but so "I don't care". My new 5 gallon bucket of ff is bubbling gang busters at just over 24 hours. YES!

I will update tomorrow on how they are adapting. That leg is the only thing I am super concerned about. The crooked toes don't seem to effect the ability to get around for those chicks.

 

[Beekissed]

Whew!! That's good to know! Never have I seen young birds sleep when they could be eating, so it sent off alarm bells in my head.

I think you could try splinting it and see if it will help him with stability and mobility. A lot of folks use the vet wrap and it does fine with the chickens...that stuff clings pretty well. You might find, too, that once he gets some good FF in his system that leg might correct itself...sometimes it's due to a vitamin deficiency and FF seems to correct those.

Let us know how he goes along? I think Triple Willow is also dealing with a CX with leg problems that seems to be getting better with the use of the FF.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Well...checked on the CX chicks and they are all snuggled into the bushel basket as I had figured...cute as can be. It's 60* here tonight...soft, spring rain going on and all the frogs singing down in the holler. Lovely!

aweee you got em in a basket? how sweet!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Sounds like you are really working those rabbits! That milky doe sounds like a keeper....I'd use her as a foster doe for when you have too large of litters on other does. I had a doe I used to do that with because she could just feed more than the other rabbits could and always turned out little butterballs.

I think you should feel quite proud! Passing on life skills is important and so many out there are lacking. Kudos, Mighty Mouse!


I don't have a schedule, really. I feed them in the morning when I feed the big gals...I just fill their feeder and let them at it. Later that evening when I gather eggs I'll check their feeder..if it's empty I fill it again. If there is still a good plenty in there, I stir it up with my finger and leave it. Right now it's always empty, so they are up to two full feeders a day...probably a little over 2 cups of FF per day for 9 chicks.

Now, of course, I'll not be able to keep track of the amounts because they will be eating and sharing with the bigger flock and both groups will be sampling out of each other's feeders since I took them out of their brooder. I'll still try to give them a morning and an evening meal until they are ranging out more and forage becomes more abundant. When they are foraging for most of the day I'll move their feeding to a once a day thing in the evening.

If yours are acting super starved, just feed them more and monitor the results...if they are starting to look like little round balls with splayed legs, back them off the feed. If they aren't that starved but are just food aggressive, I suggest you do a little training. I had to do that with my biggest chick the very first week for biting my hand when I reached for the feeder...just lofted him across the brooder and that was the end of that. Hasn't tried it again. Pecking order must be maintained.

LOL

you litterly had me chuckling out loud on that one.