Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[hellbender]

I had the misfortune to live in a small town in north Ga. All the vets had huge hands.I had a flock of Suffolks, and a herd of Nubians.One of my vets asked why I never had kidding , or lambing problems. I told him that my Nubians mostly had twins and triplets, sometimes quads, and that yes, I did have to pull kids, and the occasional lamb.The word got out. The vets would have people call me at all hours to deliver babies.One catch...if you were driving through this small town after midnight, the police thought that you were either drunk, or crazy, and needed to be stopped. Three vets chipped in, and got me a tag. It read :" QVM " for Quack Veterinary Medicine. They also called the police, and asked them not to bother me at night. They were only too glad to have me helping those ewes and does on bitter nights, while they stayed in their warm beds. Having produced an 11 lb baby myself (my only one !), I have a lot of sympathy for mothers to be in distress.

OUCH..... No wonder you only had one!! I have but one and the only real misery I remember is what my wife (rip) put me through. I thought Jason was big enough at 9.5 pounds.

 

[gjensen]

And with a broody on a productive pasture in a May/June time frame, I think that would mitiage to at least some degree the later hatch. They just seem to grow better.

What I am thinking of doing is a March hatch out of the incubator, and then let who wants to sit, sit.

It does seam that chicks naturally raised are more vibrant and sturdier. I do not think they grow as fast however. I chalk that up to that they do not spend as much time in front of the feeder. I imagine that you could offset the lower protein forage, with higher protein feed if you were wanting to make haste.
My forage may not be as good as yours either. I live on a sand ridge that is sand as far as you want to dig. Then the grasses that grow well on it are coarse and low protein.

Remember, I have expressed my inexperience on this subject. I am basing this on observation. Just sharing thoughts.

 

[hellbender]

What I am thinking of doing is a March hatch out of the incubator, and then let who wants to sit, sit.

It does seam that chicks naturally raised are more vibrant and sturdier. I do not think they grow as fast however. I chalk that up to that they do not spend as much time in front of the feeder. I imagine that you could offset the lower protein forage, with higher protein feed if you were wanting to make haste.
My forage may not be as good as yours either. I live on a sand ridge that is sand as far as you want to dig. Then the grasses that grow well on it are coarse and low protein.

Remember, I have expressed my inexperience on this subject. I am basing this on observation. Just sharing thoughts.

You may be far better off than you think. Chicks that are 'forced' can frequently develop structural problems. If you're not raising cornishX...slow and steady will win the race.

This will be the last year I use any sort of bator and if I lived closer to some folks who wanted them, I'd deliver some very good broodies, as I expect to have far more than I need.

 

[gjensen]

You may be far better off than you think. Chicks that are 'forced' can frequently develop structural problems. If you're not raising cornishX...slow and steady will win the race.

This will be the last year I use any sort of bator and if I lived closer to some folks who wanted them, I'd deliver some very good broodies, as I expect to have far more than I need.

Maybe. I do not have the experience to really say. I am comparing what the hens raised last year to what I did. They did not make the same gains. There average size is similar at maturity though. Made it to the same place.

I figure the brooder raised birds have little more to do than eat. More food and less exercise.

Often slow and sure is better.

 

[3riverschick]

What I am thinking of doing is a March hatch out of the incubator, and then let who wants to sit, sit.

It does seam that chicks naturally raised are more vibrant and sturdier. I do not think they grow as fast however. I chalk that up to that they do not spend as much time in front of the feeder. I imagine that you could offset the lower protein forage, with higher protein feed if you were wanting to make haste.
My forage may not be as good as yours either. I live on a sand ridge that is sand as far as you want to dig. Then the grasses that grow well on it are coarse and low protein.

Remember, I have expressed my inexperience on this subject. I am basing this on observation. Just sharing thoughts.

Just a thought. Plotspike makes all kinds of plot seed for all kinds of hunting situations.
Maybe they have something that will grow in your area? Or know someone who does?
http://plotspike.com/ http://www.deercreekseed.com/turf-mixes/sandy-soil-turf-mix/1/
http://www.deerfoodplots.org/deer-food-plots-for-sandy-soil/

http://hayandforage.com/mag/farming_sideoats_grama_likes
Oh, this is interesting! Sideoats Grama Likes Sandy Soils
A sod-forming, warm-season bunchgrass, sideoats grama is comparable
to timothy for nutrition and has a long life span — over 20 years if it's not overgrazed.

http://bestforage.com/forage-seed.html

 

[Fentress]

What I am thinking of doing is a March hatch out of the incubator, and then let who wants to sit, sit.

It does seam that chicks naturally raised are more vibrant and sturdier. I do not think they grow as fast however. I chalk that up to that they do not spend as much time in front of the feeder. I imagine that you could offset the lower protein forage, with higher protein feed if you were wanting to make haste.
My forage may not be as good as yours either. I live on a sand ridge that is sand as far as you want to dig. Then the grasses that grow well on it are coarse and low protein.

Remember, I have expressed my inexperience on this subject. I am basing this on observation. Just sharing thoughts.

I have a creep feeder on the pasture that only the chicks can access, so they eat a lot of high protien feed as well. I provide water here too. When they get old enough and start getting interested in the adult feed (it does not take long) I will switch the entire flock to an all flock (20%) feed and provide oyster shell on the side. That worked well last year. The hens ate the oyster shell as needed. I will open up the creep feeder to the flock after a few weeks when I think the chicks are big enough not to need a completely protected area to eat and drink. The adults for the most part stay with their feeder. So, it is multiple generations comming off at different times within the same flock, with multiple feed/water stations as needed to provide adequate access to all age groups. The farmers count on the pasture for no more than 15% of the required protien. Obviously, the more insects that are available the more protien that is available. I am inexperienced as well, but the pasture provides a more Diverse and healthier environment, that is obvious common sense in my book.

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
For chickens I suspect most of the forage protein would be coming from insects that live in the grass rather than from the grass itself. (Grazing mammals would be a different story.) Sand ridges are tough. I'm in a desert. My yard is pretty much devoid of plants and insects except where I have things on a drip system. With water bills already $100/month or more I'm not planting any fields of forage. The compost pile, mesquite tree litter, and garden beds produce a fair number of insects, so my small flock has something to browse on and hunt in most of the time. Much as they dislike the summer heat they really enjoy the July-August rainy season insect feast. We have several really short seasons, so it's hard to figure out how to time things.

Sarah

 

[Fentress]

Compost piles are great. I pick up leaves and grass from along side the road, that others have already raked and bagged up. Bee started a thread over on the Feeding and Watering Forum, "Developing the grass in your yard for free range..." that might be helpful to people interested in this sort of thing.

 

[gjensen]

Just a thought. Plotspike makes all kinds of plot seed for all kinds of hunting situations.
Maybe they have something that will grow in your area? Or know someone who does?
http://plotspike.com/ http://www.deercreekseed.com/turf-mixes/sandy-soil-turf-mix/1/
http://www.deerfoodplots.org/deer-food-plots-for-sandy-soil/

http://hayandforage.com/mag/farming_sideoats_grama_likes
Oh, this is interesting! Sideoats Grama Likes Sandy Soils
A sod-forming, warm-season bunchgrass, sideoats grama is comparable
to timothy for nutrition and has a long life span — over 20 years if it's not overgrazed.

http://bestforage.com/forage-seed.html

Those are good thoughts Karen. I do plant some forage mixes in the fall. They are fading here in early May. Ever year is different, but most years May is killing off the cool season stuff.

Timothy etc. does not like our heat/humidity and soil. It does better west and north of me. Timothy etc. is better for ruminants. Only the fresh emerging growth is really good forage for chickens.

The two grasses that does best here is invasive. Bahia and Bermuda. They persist with little care. Bahia is not bad when it is young, and it puts out a surplus of seeds that the birds do eat.

The best forage grass that does ok here if it has enough moisture is crabgrass. Ironically, crabgrass is very palatable.

The best thing I have learned for improving forage is tilling and liming patches. This brings up a variety of broad leaf weeds and natives. If allowed to get a start, it also become a good insect refuge. The birds spend more time foraging these free patches than they do the grass. Everyone thinks I am crazy for this, but it works.

In a place like I am it is easy to spend more on the supplements than you do the feed. I try to take advantage of what I have. Like anywhere there is some advantages. The sand drains well and easier to " clean", etc. It never stays wet, and wet is not good for birds.
Outside of a couple months it is a good place to raise birds.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: OMG and you did it?? Not something everyone would opt to do! MOst of my girls delivered after midnight and before noon time.

I have first go at it and if it needs more, DH gets the job because his hands are smaller than mine!

Quote: Every situation is a little different. IT is about observing and noting how the plants and animals function in a given area.

My birds don't live at the feed bunks even in winter, but I do see them off diggin in the leaves and eating the lawn. THey could be at the feed bunks but the choose not to be. I often wonder if they overall eat more by free ranging than when cooped with pelleted feed.

In the summer, my chickens jump to steal the tomatos and the black berries. Buggers.

I too am still observing