"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[PrimroseMom1]

...

Feeding...man I love feeding a variety!

I tried penned birds on strict pellet high quality diet and they lived fine and were ok looking but never really got to LIVE and be beautiful!
Since moving down South we free range dawn til dusk every day. They have clear access to about 6 acres but really only use about 3 of those.

With free ranging, I feed fermented feed. I Frickin LOVE it. I use dry feed to distract or gather chickens only now
It has saved me soooo much money and made my girls look fantastic. I'll never look back since growing out CX meaties on FF.
So they range and get FF and that's plenty to thrive but I grow an organic herb garden for the chickens and rabbits. Adding 10x's the berries next year even lol
Each individual rabbit & the flock of chickens are fed a small amount of fresh cut herbs daily. I also clip/trim and top my herb plants regularly to promote growth and bushiness then I use those cuttings to sprinkle in chicken nest boxes (they love them and play with them while laying lol)
I grow mint, oregano, thyme, Vietnamese cilantro, Mexican tarragon, dill, basils, sage, rosemary & Mexican cilantro. A handful or two of any combination or even some of each is just lovely for they're systems.

I also offer all our meat carcasses and table scraps from dinner (chickens/turkey/rabbit/beef bones/pork bones/fish parts and organs from our own processed animals. We eat well as a family and the majority of our "scraps" would probably make a great meal lol)

Everything in moderation

Just finished reading up on fermenting food. I will have to give it a try this week. I gave my chickens a herb dessert today with mint, oregano, basil, garlic, crushed pecans and a slice of orange mixed up in a dish. I had to put the two older hens in the coop and let the three little hens get some first. As soon as I let the two big hens out, the little ones scattered. 

I swear Angel, you are a feed genius. I admire you in so many ways!!

 

[topdog24]

Ron and Pam, I work offshore and i have a timeline to complete this house, not only do i have to finish it, but i also have to split the yard fence and tie it in with the chicken house, it will be re configured into an L shaped pen with the house making up the NW corner, once i get it completed, i will draw up the plans and may do a video on the step by step part. I build all my projects myself, the buildings, carports, trailers, BBQ pits with/without trailer, I do my own electrical work and it pass's regulatory code, The blueprints and the plans are all developed as i go, My minds eye see's it in it's finished stage and i make it happen, that way if something don't satisfy me I can make the changes needed as i go. I did not get a photo of my progress today, my phone was dead. I will update tomorrow.

 

[Ron Skekel]

Ron and Pam, I work offshore and i have a timeline to complete this house, not only do i have to finish it, but i also have to split the yard fence and tie it in with the chicken house, it will be re configured into an L shaped pen with the house making up the NW corner, once i get it completed, i will draw up the plans and may do a video on the step by step part. I build all my projects  myself, the buildings, carports, trailers, BBQ pits with/without trailer, I do my own electrical work and it pass's regulatory code, The blueprints and the plans are all developed as i go, My minds eye see's it in it's finished stage and i make it happen, that way if something don't satisfy me I can make the changes needed as i go. I did not get a photo of my progress today, my phone was dead. I will update tomorrow.

We are masonry subcontractors and do the same. we built our house.,Our older and new coops and our pottery studio is a work in process. We built The new bark sided coop in 14 days. Thats just the amount of days we worked on it, there we're some rainny days etc. Sometimes I didn't post my pics till the next day.None of us are perfect we do our best thats all you can do. It sounds like your best is pretty good. So don't sweat it. It's more fun when you go with the flo. Your animals pick up on your mood. You will learn it is true happy hens lay lovely eggs. When they are upset they stop laying till they feel happy . We also built our coop and studio without plans. Just used our vision so we have much in common. Pam

 

[topdog24]

Yeah, my chickens come and sit in the shade about 3 or 4 feet away from where i am working, they are constantly watching, if i walk up to the house, they go about their business until i get back, then they sit and watch me, If i didn't know better, i would say they are watching how i put it together so they will know how to take it apart. I hope you had a great mothers day.

 

[Jipus5]

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!

So sorry Pam. Glad she made it, and hope she gets better soon! Stupid dogs...

 

[Jipus5]

While everyone is posting lists, here is a helpful one as well:
FOOD SOURCE - PROTEIN BY WEIGHT
Dried fish flakes 76
Dried liver 76
Dried earthworms 76
Duckweed 50
Torula yeast 50
Brewers yeast 39
Soybeans (dry roasted) 37
Flaxseed 37
Alfalfa seed 35
Beef, lean 28
Earthworms 28
Fish 28
Wheat germ 25
Peas & Beans, dried 24.5
Sesame seed 19.3
Soybeans (boiled) 17
Sunflower seeds 17
Wheat bran 16.6
Oats, whole 14
Rice polish 12.8
Rye 12.5
Wheat 12.5
Barley 12.3
Oats 12
Corn 9
Millet 9
Milo 9
Rice, brown 7.5
Helps a lot when figuring out what all to mix together for fermented feed.
CITRUS is bad for chickens, but tomatos, watermelon, and cabbage, to me, should be a regular 'treat'. Which to me isnt a treat if it is good God grown food... just not a daily thing is all.

 

[Jipus5]

Also, a good reference website for fermenting your feed. The why, how and what for in detail:
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/fermented-feed.html

 

[Ron Skekel]

Yeah, my chickens come and sit in the shade about 3 or 4 feet away from where i am working, they are constantly watching, if i walk up to the house, they go about their business until i get back, then they sit and watch me, If i didn't know better, i would say they are watching how i put it together so they will know how to take it apart. I hope you had a great mothers day.

Thank you I did have a nice day. Except for this mornings dog attack on my flock. Still happy it could have been really bad if my neighbor wouldn't have been awakened by it.
Chickens love being around their owners. They are a lot smarter than they are giving credit for. You will even notice within a flock some are smarter than others. And the pecking order of the flock is a lot like dogs in a pack. I hope your wife will feel free to jump on and ask for help or for fun when you are at work. I hope She had a great mothers day too.

 

[Ron Skekel]

While everyone is posting lists, here is a helpful one as well:
[COLOR=333333]FOOD SOURCE - PROTEIN BY WEIGHT[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Dried fish flakes 76[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Dried liver 76[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Dried earthworms 76[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Duckweed 50[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Torula yeast 50[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Brewers yeast 39[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Soybeans (dry roasted) 37[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Flaxseed 37[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Alfalfa seed 35[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Beef, lean 28[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Earthworms 28[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Fish 28[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Wheat germ 25[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Peas & Beans, dried 24.5[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Sesame seed 19.3[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Soybeans (boiled) 17[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Sunflower seeds 17[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Wheat bran 16.6[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Oats, whole 14[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Rice polish 12.8[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Rye 12.5[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Wheat 12.5[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Barley 12.3[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Oats 12[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Corn 9[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Millet 9[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Milo 9[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Rice, brown 7.5 [/COLOR]
Helps a lot when figuring out what all to mix together for fermented feed.  
CITRUS is bad for chickens, but tomatos, watermelon, and cabbage, to me, should be a regular 'treat'.  Which to me isnt a treat if it is good God grown food...  just not a daily thing is all.

I got a subcription to Grit magizine and canalope seeds are natural wormer for Chickens.

 

[Ron Skekel]

I feed my chickens organic its inportant to me. I have finnaly found a decent price for it. Its A truck drop co-op called azure standard. They have all kinds of organic products. You call to find out where the closest drop is.I was lucky they have a drop in my town. So you order off their web site once a month you pay online then you meet the truck with everyone else in your area unload your order shipping is like paying tax. The organic feed is 22.00. Our town has a facebook page so you can order in a large amount an split it with others. Pam