Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Taniamax]

Do you have an overly vigorous rooster?

I didn't think I did, but I have a young guy who was born this spring that has been trying out his skills and I wonder if her got to her. She is way smaller than him. The other thing I was thinking was that perhaps a hawk got her and started to take a bite when one of my roosters scared it off. We have a lot of hawks and since my Araucanas free range, they've been getting targeted the last couple of years. I lost two teenagers this year and two last year.

 

[Taniamax]

Oops sorry for the double post.

 

[Taniamax]

That sudden tuft may be torn skin standing up. That will die. It will also hinder a fast regrowth of new skin. If she were mine, and that skin was up like that, I'd definitely get a sharp pair of scissors and cut it off at the point where it is solidly attached. She'll probably bleed a little. I don't know anything about Nustock, if it stops bleeding but if it doesn't, you can put Bleed Stop on it. Cayenne pepper also works well. You just need to be careful of their eyes.

Thank you for the suggestions! I was so bummed when I saw it last night. Poor little thing. She is such a sweet little bird.

 

[Taniamax]

I don't think this looks like a predator wound. Most predator wounds are deep gashes. This looks like she stuck her head into something and pulled it back out scrapping the skin towards her face. She probably won't do it again but one of your other chickens might. Keep an eye out for feathers/skin on the top of a hole in a wire fence big enough for a head but not a body......... or something like that.
Ditto on the treatments mentioned above.

We've got lots of wire fencing in the yard, so I'll have to take a walk around and see what I can find. That scenario makes sense. The good thing is that she is very calm about it and acts like nothing is wrong. (I wish I was that calm about it!!) It's hard to look at - it hurts my heart. But, maybe she is not feeling as bad as it looks like she should be feeling.

 

[Lacy Blues]

It could have been done by a very vigorous cockerel too. If you're concerned about her being in pain, she probably isn't but if you're concerned, blueberries are high in natural aspirin. Chop up a couple and give them to her. I keep them in my freezer for ready use.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I do..

They are on time out. They ripped a huge gash in the side of one of my favourite hens. I'm not talking just a scratch.. I'm talking gaping open would.. At least an inch wide and six inches long. Still she continues to lay, molts, and acts completely normal. Oh did I mention she's 3 years old? Crazy hen.. I was not happy with the roosters though. I don't know which one did it, so they are all on time out. Should have done it earlier.
ETA: I'm treating her wound, and it's healing nicely. It's been a couple weeks.

Whichever one it was may not have done it on purpose. Check to see how sharp his spurs are. If the hens are getting a little thread bare, some times even when they are well feathered, if the cock's feet slip off of her back, and the spurs are really sharp, they'll act like a knife and slice her side open. I've had that happen with a couple roosters that I KNOW are PERFECT GENTLEMEN. They would never harm their hens. You can cut the spurs sharp points off and then file them so they're smooth and rounded, not sharp and that should take care of the problem.

 

[KrisH]

We have used the "hot Potato method, just without the potato. a friend came over and showed us for our turkey. works great!!! but we also sprayed "bluekote" on the quick.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/home/rooster-spurs-trimming-and-removing

RobertH

 

[TeacherDude]

Got a couple of "wonderings" I wanted to ask about: 1) Since ff makes nutrients so available and changes the poops, does it also reduce the usefulness of the manure for fertilizer? 2) If ACV in water increases the numbers of female offspring, will ff that utilizes ACV as a starter also increase female offspring? May be silly, but inquiring minds like mine want to know....

 

[Beekissed]

I would say, no, it doesn't decrease the usefulness of the manure, but it may keep it from being such a "hot" manure...not sure. It's sort of like cow manure at that point, as cows ferment their own grains and we are fermenting the grains for the chickens.

I would think that the FF just may help with the pH of the body but am not sure about that. You would think the ACV probios would work the same, whether it is in feed or in ACV. I do know it makes the yolks fantastically large and increases lay....so it remains to be seen if we will get more females out of the mix.

I guess we will all have to wait until spring to see how our broody hatches all turn out....

 

[aoxa]

Whichever one it was may not have done it on purpose.  Check to see how sharp his spurs are.  If the hens are getting a little thread bare, some times even when they are well feathered, if the cock's feet slip off of her back, and the spurs are really sharp, they'll act like a knife and slice her side open.  I've had that happen with a couple roosters that I KNOW are PERFECT GENTLEMEN.    They would never harm their hens.  You can cut the spurs sharp points off and then file them so they're smooth and rounded, not sharp and that should take care of the problem.

The cockerels who did it are juveniles, so just tiny little spurs. They are the type that will force. She was molting, so that made it worse. They are mostly locked up as to not irritate her any further. All of my molting hens are thanking me lol.

I can't show if I remove spurs. :/