Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[chickadoodles]

I planed some oats and wheat in the back of my rooster run this morning the area is fenced off and I can let the hens or roosters in to forage. The area is only 12 x 15 but they love to get in there and look for bugs and eat the grass.

 

[3riverschick]

What nice yards!

 

[gjensen]

Growing sprouts in wire covered frames was somewhat common in the early 1900s. It is certainly a practical way to offer the birds young tender grass. Greens were especially important then, when formulated complete rations were not the norm.

I like to lime (hydrated), allow to sit, then till my poultry yards. After leaving the tilled ground tilled for a couple weeks, I like to plant it, allowing it to grow and fill in over the winter. To me this accomplishes two things. "Cleaning" the yard, and providing forage for the next batch of cockerels in the spring. They eventually strip it bare, but as a temporary pens, it does not matter.

 

[Zanna]

I feed all my penned up birds sprouts dailyn and thought I would share my method. I have two large translucent salad spinners on my kitchen counter that will stack on one another. To begin I put five cups of whole oats into one and soak in cold water for about 12 hours, then I drain it and just rinse the collander with the oats in 2 - 3 times a day under the kitchen faucet with cold water. 3 - 4 days later, I put 5 cups of barley into the other and soak in cold water 12 hours or so, drain and rinse as the oats 2 - 3 times per day. I start feeding them at about day 5 - 7. If I end up with excess I just store the sprouts in the fridge or feed the extra to the free-range flock. This works year round for me, I just keep rotating the oats/barley, scrubbing the collanders well before the new soak. Have never had any mold, sometimes in the heat of the summer it gets a little fermented smelling but they love it either way. If I end up out of town for a few days and the sprouts are not very far along, I just put the whole collander in the fridge and resume the rinsing when I get back.

 

[chickadoodles]

Thank you Karen. I am also doing sprouts of wheat, oats, boss for fresh greens.

 

[3riverschick]

Thank you Karen. I am also doing sprouts of wheat, oats, boss for fresh greens.

Welcome. Next season we are making a new set up for grow out pens. Never raising them in the garage again. Yuck.
I haven't tried sprouting BOSS, great idea!

 

[chickadoodles]

Quote: I am working on a new pen for the babies since I have birds in my grow out pens for now. So hoping it will hold the chicks til they are old enough to go into other pens.
I got the ideas for sprouting it from Cynthia12. The chickens love the sprouts.

 

[Delight in Dominiques]

Some of this years birds.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Those dominiques look very nice. I haven't checked the standard on them so to my untrained eye, they look really nice. Are they large fowl?

 

[gjensen]

Quote:
They are nice birds. They look good. It is nice to see some interest in the breed. As I began to appreciate what I liked in a bird, I began to appreciate the type of the Dominique.