Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[NanaLynn]

It doesn't save money if you are buying the cheap stuff but if you compare to the "good" stuff it can be cheaper. I will never feed a cat store bought food again. I learned too much about their digestive systems and can't believe it has ever been accepted to feed an obligate carnivore anything other than meat. Would you throw a celery stick to an eagle, tiger, dolphin? Then why feed a cat food with grains, veggies, etc. Their system is not setup to handle it. That's why their poop stinks to high heaven! I just made a batch of food for the cat by grinding up some pork. He loves it. Depending on the meat I get it can be pricey or cheap. I always look for bulk meat on sale. If you do just store bought meat make sure you add calcium since they aren't eating bones. Our cat is a farm cat and hunter so I don't worry about the calcium. DD said she saw him eat a mouse this morning. 
If we had a costco near us it would probably help, and I'd probably go back to making dog food too. But alas, our grocery store does not have cheap enough meat to make dog food worth it (one dog is allergic to beef so it's harder to reliably find cheap meat). I just buy grain free stuff for them. They don't do as well on it as the homemade stuff but for now it's good enough. I've toyed with the idea of raising some animals for meat for them but haven't figured out what that would be yet. I think rabbits would be great for both cat and dogs but I just can't bring myself to kill them, they are too cute. I have also thought about meat goats but they are such PIAs that I can't justify it. lol

Wow, you really take care of all your animals. That's amazing! My oldest son manages a store owned by his wife's family and they sell the all meat brands of natural dog food so that's where we get ours. Maxie eats a lot less of it and also does not have as smelly poop as on the store brands. Your cat is one lucky cat too!

Thanks for sharing your recipe for chicken feed too. I'd love to one day do the same as you. You are so on top of things on your little farm. I am very impressed.

 

[COChix]

FYI, I just put up a blog post with more detail for my homemade fermented feed. 

good reads and I see indeed to drill my holes differently, I drilled the bottom, so the mush sits I the bottom making it harder to strain. My girls seems to be pretty voracious eaters, I have to keep remembering we have 28 growing girls and boys. So do you agree with most estimates of feeding 1/4 lb to 1/2 lb of food per day per chick. Also how long does your food last for 18 chickens? You did say you had 18 right?

 

[COChix]

Just thought I would share some good reads/links about benefits for fermenting feed.

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/fermented-feed.html

http://www.communitychickens.com/why-and-how-to-ferment-your

http://ohlardy.com/fermented-chicken-feed/


A more scientific look at it -

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19373724
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/fermented-feed.html

Lastly if you wanna start reading this thread it has been very helpful, it was started for meat birds but layers are discussed as well there. Enjoy!

 

[MamaShell]

Sorry for all the complaining and so many pictures! 

Don't worry about it. You have a beautiful piece of property! I am sure you and your husband have worked years to get it looking so nice. No one could blame you for being upset about the messes that your flock is making! I would definitely try to use the fencing that you had been using to block off your gardens to create a more contained free range area where you don't mind the chickens making a mess. My chickens don't know any better, but, they seem very content with their space. Yours will be too!

To reiterate Nancy's questions, Did you say you were getting rid of some of your flock? Which breeds are going and why?

 

[MamaShell]

If you guys wanna see my coop&run set up and their free range areas at the moment. Click here,figured this I wouldn't bog the thread down with a bunch of shots. I think I have too many!!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6799748/coop/

Great set up. I love how you repurposed doors and shutters to cover the run!

 

[MamaShell]

FYI, I just put up a blog post with more detail for my homemade fermented feed. 

Can't wait to check that out this weekend! Thanks!

 

[COChix]

Great set up. I love how you repurposed doors and shutters to cover the run!

thanks

 

[COChix]

- free range time, I think they are mostly after my kale juice!

 

[autumnhearth]

Thank to everyone for their info on fermenting and mixing your own feed. Definitely something I'm interested in, I have several bookmarks for recipes, but this page lists a bunch:

http://www.whistlepighollow.com/201...ecipes-soy-free-corn-free-fermented-sprouted/

Also got a few good shots of Clara today and because a few of you favor her, Morgaine. I love the copper coloring around Clara's comb, I think it makes her look more distinguished than just the solid black head she had for awhile.

 

[MamaShell]

Thank to everyone for their info on fermenting and mixing your own feed. Definitely something I'm interested in, I have several bookmarks for recipes, but this page lists a bunch: http://www.whistlepighollow.com/201...ecipes-soy-free-corn-free-fermented-sprouted/ Also got a few good shots of Clara today and because a few of you favor her, Morgaine. I love the copper coloring around Clara's comb, I think it makes her look more distinguished than just the solid black head she had for awhile.

Wow, Clara has so much going on with her coloring. So beautiful and distinctive! Morgaine is pretty. She reminds me of one of my black Australorps, with the green sheen in her feathers and the purplish comb. She might be bossy but she sure looks sweet!