Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Lilion]

We can move them to the old coop, which can be moved over next to the main run. It's a little 4x8 thing. Would that work?View attachment 3564353

Or would something like this, that I can place in the main coop, be better? Or should it be in the run? I hate not knowing this stuff!

 

[Sir Sacabambaspis]

These are the babies I hatched in March

The Buff Buck (roo)

Nugget the peace maker (hen)

Brittany the trouble maker (hen)

Rayia the flower muncher (hen)

Janet the "was that a hawk" (hen)

Oreo the big boy (roo)

Mangster short for Maggie (roo)

These are some of the most personality having chicks I've ever had and yes Oreo does like playing in the mud as seen in the photo. In only keeping Buck as he is buff and he shall be the rightfull ruler of the littly flock. I will show them in time. As for Oreo and Mangster they will both be going to awesome homes in the local valley I live in. I live in the wilderness of Northern Italy but I will never say where, as I say in Italian "perché perché"

 

[Sir Sacabambaspis]

Also who can guess what breed the first three are?
Hint: they are a very rare Italian dual purpose breed.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Glad about BBQ’s foot. Good job!
On the feed, others have already provided some links and you should search on BYC for others.
Home made feed is not cheap and balancing nutrients is complicated. So if this is serious you will need to do a LOT of research. There are ingredients that are hard to find in bulk.
Look for posts by Perris and by U_stormcrow. Read what they have written and maybe start a thread and tag them to it. But research here first. Home made feed is quite a contentious topic and certainly complicated!
The best way to reduce the use of commercial feed is to let the chickens free range. Is that practical for you.

I wish I could let them free range, I really do. I live on about 60 acres, and we have some big coyotes and Bobcats. Not to mention the hawks and owls.
I wouldn't be able to bear it if they went into the woods or got killed. I do want to get chickens to free range, just not these.
And thanks for the advice, I'm gonna bookmark that!

 

[Sir Sacabambaspis]

Pov: the Final boss on stage three looking terrifying as ever and you're in the background with 5% health...

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Cottonmouth - he said.

You need to pay a SHRA Tax
Can’t wait to see your friends chooks


And my SHRA TAX
Fluffy says good morning!
View attachment 3564319

Here's tax- does SHRA mean there needs to be two chooks in the picture? This was the girls before my trip let out into my unfinished part of the coop.

 

[Skyewatcher]

That is "The Way of the Chicken"

It sure is!!

 

[Sally PB]

I wish I could let them free range, I really do. I live on about 60 acres, and we have some big coyotes and Bobcats. Not to mention the hawks and owls.

I really wish I could let mine range too. We have the room, 25 acres. But there are eagles and hawks, dogs, raccoons, possums, skunks, and probably coyotes.

I've considered fencing in "the side yard" where they coop/run is. I'd use electric fence, I think. But that area is used for many other things. Parking, access to the propane tank, access to the woodpiles, the clothesline. Having to open an electric fence to do any of that is a non-starter with hubby. And I can see his point. We're not necessarily home when the propane truck comes to deliver, and they won't call ahead.

I've thought about fencing in an area behind the run that goes into the woods. I have seen the effect of raccoons climbing trees and getting into the neighbor's run and coop.

Actually, we heard the effect at 11 pm a few weeks ago: BOOM! the neighbors have shot 7 of the local raccoon population. And yet, the other morning, I saw 3 raccoons run across our driveway.

I'd have to fence and cover any additional area for the chickens, and it would have to be raccoon proof. Right now, my run is perhaps not Fort Knox, but is as predator proof as I can make it.

Monday mug shot.

 

[BY Bob]

This is a BIG topic in other threads. The short answer is: Commercial feed is almost always cheaper and better quality than you can make yourself.

There are certain amino acids referred to as "limiting amino acids," meaning, if you don't get enough of those in the feed, the birds will suffer. One of them, Methionine (often referred to as "Met" for short), is critical to physical development, especially in chicks. If they don't get enough Met when they're young, there's no way to make it up and correct the problems that can ensue.

There are very few plant sources of adequate Met. In fact, in organic feeds, a certain amount of synthetic Met is allowed, just because otherwise, the feed would be deficient in this critical amino acid. And that's just one of the critical amino acids.

Yes, you could feed your chickens leftovers and let them forage. They might be fine. They might be fine for a while. They might have health issues right away. It's hard to tell.

In the tool and die trade, we used to say, "Cheap, Fast, Good. Pick any two." Meaning, if it's cheap and fast, it won't be any good; if it's cheap and good, it won't be fast; and if it's good and fast, it surely won't be cheap. (For "fast," in this case, substitute "easy.")

There is a Cheap, Fast, Good option for feeding your chickens: Commercial feed. If you can find ways to stretch it, then it's even cheaper.

I'll be stretching out my feed by gathering Japanese Beetles when they arrive. But I will spend an hour a day collecting them. I can give my chickens great entertainment and some food by giving them a bucket of weeds from my garden. Another time commitment.

Please talk to your dad about this. Pick a time when he's not stressed about something else. Maybe write down what you want to say beforehand. Offer to pay (or work for) some of the feed cost.

I agree with this completely.

In the summer my chickens are able to supplement their feed by free ranging but they still tank up on commercial feed before bed and before the automated door opens in the am. That makes me happy because I know they are getting some balance to their diet.

 

[RoyalChick]

Bernadette wishes everyone a happy Mugshot Monday.