Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[Lacy Blues]

Karen, if its too sticky, they may not like it. I would add maybe some bread crumbs if you have them or some of your pelleted feed to soak up excess moisture. Hope you get it worked out well and quickly. I've been hearing horror stories about the weather you guys are getting. I'll be praying for you.

 

[3riverschick]

Karen, if its too sticky, they may not like it. I would add maybe some bread crumbs if you have them or some of your pelleted feed to soak up excess moisture. Hope you get it worked out well and quickly. I've been hearing horror stories about the weather you guys are getting. I'll be praying for you.

Hi Lacey Blues,
You are right.
I just want to take time to publically thank hellbender who took time to talk to me over the phone tonight. I knew there was something wrong with this mash in spite of everyone's help. Turns out, it was way too rich and would have scoured the birds. hellbender had me mix it 1 part mash to 2 parts of my regular crumble. Consistency like a graham cracker crust which you can make a ball in your had and it will hold its shape. Then I warmed it and the birds are very happy.
This list is a great family!
Best,
Karen in 3 degree western PA

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Yellowhouse farm, call ducks, hellbender, or ? I need advice now, please.
It's subzero here and I realized the birds need more than I gave them tonight. I is much colder than I thought it was going to be tonight. I am making a warm mash for them from canned spinach, stone ground white corn meal ,and old fashioned rolled oats. What consistency should it be? Right now it is 3 cups rolled oats, one cup corn meal and one can of spinach. with one cup of water. This is for 10 birds aged 8 mos. to 22 months.
Thanks for you help,
Karen

I'm glad everything worked out. It seems you had a stressful night. I couldn't sleep, so up at 4:30 I found your message. Oh the adventures of husbandry.

Campines are one of those breeds that has fallen by the wayside and needs some dedicated folks to bring them up. Duane Urch has some pretty good Silvers, also contact Wisher1000 on here, they seem very dedicated to working on the Campine and have some nice stock to start with. Maybe y'all could work on them together.

Campines in general are in a state of disrepair. They are in definite need of breeders that are willing to work with them on a long-term basis. I would definitely follow BGMatt's advice and be in touch with Wisher1000. It's going to take a village.

My quick impression is that Golden Campines are in a better state than Silver Campines. Using the se-lined nature of "silver" one can access the Golden Campine genes to infuse the Silver Campine genes with vigor and reproducibility.

Where are you located?

I am still undecided as to what breeds to get, heritage dual breed heavy, and if I should consider getting them local if possible or from an hatchery. I also have the option of incubating or using a brooder. Any input?

Where are you located?

 

[armorfirelady]

I am a lurker here but I have a question:

Does anyone here have chickens with feathered feet?
I would like to ask about something I came across with one of my hens but didnt think posting pics here would be appropriate.

If you do & would like to help just PM me.

Thanks
Jenn

 

[gjensen]

I am thankful that I do not have to do anything different management wise in the winter than I would have to do any other time of the year. I do not know what it is like to keep birds up north.

I cannot imagine any food other than a crop full of their feed doing any better helping them stay warm. I think some of this stuff makes us feel better about it more than anything else.

Again, I do not live up north.

 

[call ducks]

While I don't always agree with Joel Salatin - I keep an open mind and usually like listen to the lectures he presents just so I can have a wide mindset - After all I come from a family where my mother works with commerical farmers of all types, but I have a small farm while in school.

"All form fallows function" - I could not agree more with this and Form does fallow function - it is not the other way around

I tried to use the embed feature however it won't let me embed at a certain time. So here is the link and it will take you to the ~16 min mark for whomever is interested

 

[thedragonlady]

Yellowhouse farm, call ducks, hellbender, or ? I need advice now, please.
It's subzero here and I realized the birds need more than I gave them tonight. I is much colder than I thought it was going to be tonight. I am making a warm mash for them from canned spinach, stone ground white corn meal ,and old fashioned rolled oats. What consistency should it be? Right now it is 3 cups rolled oats, one cup corn meal and one can of spinach. with one cup of water. This is for 10 birds aged 8 mos. to 22 months.
Thanks for you help,
Karen

Make sure that all the birds DRINK before feeding anything.Dummy here, didn't get the water heaters in yesterday and it's 21 this morning. 15 and 16 degrees forecast for Mon. and Tues. So much for the sunny South.

 

[hellbender]

What's worked for me and my family for a very long time is...feed in the morning for egg production for the following morning. At near bedtime, when it's very cold, I give them cracked corn to help keep them warm.

It has worked well over time. It took me quite a long time to collect eggs today and I can't see where the cold snap even slowed them down...

They are calling for as low as minus 15 F over Monday night and highs of about 7 to 10 F on Tuesday...I don't expect any real reduction in production....but it's been a long time since we've had these low temps. WE'll see.

 

[hellbender]

Make sure that all the birds DRINK before feeding anything.Dummy here, didn't get the water heaters in yesterday and it's 21 this morning. 15 and 16 degrees forecast for Mon. and Tues. So much for the sunny South.

That's one advantage to feeding a 'mash'...lots of water in it. My chicken houses are just old converted dairy barns but they do have running water...hot and cold. Makes life so much easier!

 

[thedragonlady]

Hi Lacey Blues,
You are right.
I just want to take time to publically thank hellbender who took time to talk to me over the phone tonight. I knew there was something wrong with this mash in spite of everyone's help. Turns out, it was way too rich and would have scoured the birds. hellbender had me mix it 1 part mash to 2 parts of my regular crumble. Consistency like a graham cracker crust which you can make a ball in your had and it will hold its shape. Then I warmed it and the birds are very happy.
This list is a great family!
Best,
Karen in 3 degree western PA

Karen, Your birds will be better able to withstand real cold if they go to roost with crops full of whole grains. Digesting whole grains generates much more heat than digesting mash.My Orps get rolled oats, BOSS,and wild bird seed at 4:00 pm on really cold nights. They have Flockraiser,24/7 , but it won't keep them as warm.Herb Holtz taught me that 35+ years ago. He lived in Iowa.