So true; 'veggie fed' is on many labels of egg suppliers here. I wonder if someone could come up with an idea of 'vegan' worms for chickens as, after all, don't worms eat vegetables? Today my chickens had a wonderful time 'helping me' dismantle and take away many wheelbarrows of wonderful 2 year old leaf mulch. There were some fat squishy green cutworms curled up in there. Every time they found one, it was 'game on!' chicken tag, turkey tag, even Stanley my head goose got quite excited and he is pretty much vegetarian. Perhaps he was trying to be the referee. Hilarious watching them chase up and down the field. Better than football on TV.
I like your idea of telling people why you sand instead of wash - and the washing in 110 degree water. So many people don't have a clue re: basic egg hygiene. Some kind of simple label could do it.
My uphill MG chickens had their first opportunity to escape club Colditz today. I have been making up a wire fence every day since the day I moved them up the hill to the new coop. It allowed them to wander around about 100 square yards but when they have been used to wandering hither and yon.... anyway today I shut the alpacas in the lower field and let them out. Big Mac the rooster has a very melodious sort of tooting he does to keep his girls around him. And he did a wonderful job all day wandering the whole field and CAME BACK to the right roost tonight! So happy! I didn't fancy another evening chasing them up and down the field.
You sound like a very reasonable person, however, there is one question I need to ask...
WHY would a reasonable sane person have a goose?
Sorry, that slipped out, my experience with geese only served to allow me to tolerate my guineas...
I have a new head rooster, a coup occurred after Rick hurt his foot. I am not sure if Ernie or no name is in charge. Yesterday, I went out to check on the birds at around 1pm. I saw no chickens in the yard, I saw one RIR next to the house eating from the bird feeder droppings. The turkeys were missing. I got a sinking feeling and said to myself " why would they all be in the coop on a nice day like this?".
I opened the coop door and found it empty, one bird sitting in a nest box and that was it. My heart fell, the only other time I saw the birds all missing was after an eagle attack that killed a baby and fatally wounded a hen turkey.
So, I went on a chicken hunt, I went to check areas I know they hide in, I checked the leanto on the granary, nothing. I looked at the scrap iron trailer, nothing. I checked the pick up toppers Nothing! I was getting scared now.
I went up to the CX coop, everything was normal there, no extra chickens. I started into the woods, but the chickens had not been in the woods since the first snow in early November. I was one worried chicken rancher. Then I walked around another shed and found them in the woods, sitting in, on and under a widow maker that fell over last summer. MY little ICU baby was about 20 ft up the tree, sitting in the open, her white really showed up. As I looked closer I found all the chickens, I had Partridge EE'ers sitting in the tree like real partridge! The turkeys were there. The roosters were together and they seemed to be just enjoying the above freezing temps. It was actually funny to see them all in one tree, they have never stayed together as a group before.
I was relieved I do not think a Bird of Prey was involved, they just wanted to go on road trip, they were a good 100 yards from their coop.
