"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[alwaystj9]

Is it just flies you are catching?

 

[jus10inla]

Yep. Keep in mind the 1/2 acre pond is only 20 ft from the coop. I think these are the buffalo gnats u are referring to . i just call them deer flies bc there so similar in size

 

[WhoDatChick]

Yep. Keep in mind the 1/2 acre pond is only 20 ft from the coop. I think these are the buffalo gnats u are referring to . i just call them deer flies bc there so similar in size

I tried one of those once… they smell so awful! How do you dispose of them?

 

[jus10inla]

Oh the smell is something else. whenever it gets time to dispose, they go in my work truck to go to our dumpster. I work in sewer; so needless to say a week of rotting dead flies smells almost as bad as what i touch daily

 

[alwaystj9]

Years ago I used to hang them in my feed room but I ran into one in the dark one morning and got the liquid sloshed on me. I don't think there is a word for how grossed out I was. I called in to work to say I would be late and got in the shower and basically debrided myself and boiled my hair trying to get even the thought of the stink out.

 

[Ragfrey]

I need some help here…I am really confused about what to feed.

There are different types for different ages and situations:
Crumble
Layer
Pellets
16%, 18% protein?
Oyster shells
Grit
All flock
Purina
TSC
Etc….

Going to order baby chicks soon and I don’t know what to have ready and what to move to in the future.

Is there a diagram or table that explains what ages to feed what?

How do you know what to feed?

Just put it out and let them free feed?

 

[jus10inla]

I do chick starter til a month. or til the 20 lb bag runs out, then they are on all flock with the rest. I HATE crumble, it is literally dust. Even the Chicks will bypass it for the larger mini pellets. Always had grit available. my birds are outside day 1. Whether thats by broody mom or hatch in incubator.

chicks never come inside. Even when we had our 20 & 30 degree nites. They only get heat lamp for one week 24/7, (unless its hot) . And one more week only at nite. After 2 weeks no heat at all.
after 15 yrs of having birds thsts what worked best last 5 Yrs.

goal is to make them ready for big pen by 6 weeks when integrating

feed rations. Keep it out 100% of time. Full size bird eats 1/4 lb per day. Smaller eat around 1/8.
that formula is spot on. A 50 lb sack last me almost to the day my flock vs 1/4 & 1/8 rstio.

 

[jus10inla]

The 20% all flock pellet is my preferred. but i do use 16% layer or 17 all flock. the chick feed is market driven, look at your label, u only paying for the name.

 

[alwaystj9]

Have you decided what type of chickens you want to raise? Basically layers or meat birds.
I have no experience with meat birds.
As far as chicks go, when I order I usually get at least 25 and I always feed Gro-gel for the first couple of hours. Then I go to Chick Starter. Nothing less than 18% protein and I usually buy medicated chick feed. It is not antibiotics, it has a thiamin blocker which prevents coccidia from multiplying in the chickens stomach. I know I have coccidia on my property because I have issues with coccidia in baby goats and it also routinely shows up in fecal scans of my adult goats. My chicks stay in a brooder table in my carport for 10-20 days depending on numbers, growth rate and what other things I have going on. Somewhere around 5 days I mix grit inwith the chick starter. I have switched from heat lamps to a brinsea plate to the mama heating pad method over the last 3 years. All 3 methods work, each has good things & bad things. I acclimate them to out door temps & conditions by sticking the chickies in a couple of outdoor cages set on the grass next to my carport, bringing them in at night for a few days to a week. I have a half-grown chick pen built inside my regular chicken pen and I gradually move the biggest chicks out there a few at a time. They stay on the chick starter until all are doing well outdoors, then I start mixing lay crumbles in until I run out of chick starter.
I am currently feeding the Kalmbach 20% crumble. I prefer pellets but not making a special trip...so last time when I went to the feed store they only had crumbles. I was feeding Nutrena but Zachary feed just started carrying Kalmbach and it's a bit less. I thought Purina had dropped prices but they just dropped from 50 lb bags to 40lb bags, sneaky.
I don't get dumor as I don't useTractorSupply.

 

[jus10inla]

Zachary feed just started carrying Kalmbach

Your welcome i
Told lance to look into them

my cousin got 300 lbs of 20% pellet from tri parish couple weeks ago. He has a mix of turkeys & chickens . So far no complaints. He goes almost weekly so im probably gona start asking him to get me a bag.

Beasley is a few dollars more; & i go by there every few days. But zachary feed / tsc works best for me last few years