Michigan

[ChicwannaB]

no rain here for a few days, been quite windy and very comfy cool. Means Ive had no excuse not to get out there and work. Got all the holes blocked up finally so no sparrows c an nest in the kennel again, but they still fly in and out and carry off chicken feed. And yes they DO carry off pellets!!!! I was given a bag with the 4 new hens I just got and the 16 chickens have already wiped that out.
I want to make an EGGS sign next.

Good Morning Michigan!!

 

[ChicwannaB]

them RIR sure lay a BIG egg

 

[Chickmate]

Welcome Lady and Angela and any other newbies! This is a great place to learn and make friends. We also have some very funny people here! So glad to have you with us!

So I went to TSC yesterday to get pine shavings, layer, scratch, dog and cat food. I dumped three bales of pine in the coop and one was wet. The guy at TSC told me he could tell by how heavy they were and was trying to pick dry ones for me, but that one wasn't. Hope it dries up OK. I also got a few bags of play sand to dump in the run to fill in mud holes. My run is covered with clear fiberglass but is leaking at the seams or nail holes. It's still drier than if it wasn't covered, of course, but pretty muddy now. Also dumped a bale of pine in to soak some of that up. I was going to get some BOSS for them as a treat, but holy $...t! $24.99 a bag??? Might as well just throw them money!

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi Angela and welcome to our crazy gang

(omelette I love it)

What kind of chickens DO I have? Oh boy...
2 EE hens, 1 and two years old, favorites that I kept when I turned over the flock - Chicken Little and Goldie
The rest are all pullets -
5 welsummers
3 silver Ameraucanas
3 Delawares
1 speckled sussex (Freckles)

and my banties,
5 blue and splash and brown red cochins
5 lavender Ameraucanas - 4 pullets and a darling little rooster - who I would like to find a new home for

And a partridge in a pear tree...

 

[Chickmate]

Quote:
Um...babi, your little ones are FBCM's from Jerry in Ada, right? Well, I just might take that little boy off your hands when he's bigger, if I can find a home for Worf, my EE roo. I gave away my two FBCM roos a month ago because they were intimidating Joe, my BR roo and making his life miserable. Also didn't need four roos with 13 hens. I really didn't want to do it, because I have two FBCM hens I would like to breed next year, but the coop is so much quieter now and I don't have to separate the roos. I'm thinking that if I get a younger roo he will grow up respecting Joe as the head roo, or don't roosters think that way? Anyway, Worf is turning into a very nice boy, finds food and lets the hens take it out of his mouth, keeps an eye out for danger, etc. I just need to find him a good home, then I could take the little guy.

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
What to feed really does vary from one situation to the next. The nutrient requirements of a bird vary depending on it's stage of life and Opa is right that layer feed is formulated for chickens who are in the stage of life where they are laying. But a few things are often overlooked when people decide what they should be using. One of those things is the breed of the chicken -- a chicken who is laying an egg a day has different requirements than a chicken who is laying 2 eggs a week. Another oft overlooked factor is the rest of the chicken's diet -- commercial, bagged feeds are formulated for and intended to be used as a complete feed. IOW, it's formulated to be fed exclusively, not along side grass or hay or bugs or scratch or anything else. And the final thing that is often overlooked, and probably even more often just not at all understood is that the bagged feeds you find are based on the bare minimum of known nutritional needs for chickens of a certain stage of life. They assume a perfectly balanced amino acid profile, for instance, when computing crude protein.

So, as you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider here. Anytime someone is going to be feeding low protein snacks and treats I highly recommend sticking with a feed higher in crude protein (and with an appropriate amino acid profile) because you have to remember that when you add in oatmeal or melon you're changing the composition of their diet. The requirements you read about are overall. The overall diet should be 16% CP. Well, if you are feeding 16% CP layer feed and then you're giving them another 10% of their daily diet in snacks and treats, you're lowering the CP. (And compromising the amino acid profile -- which is more notable but I don't have a lot of time in between football games here so we'll come back to it, if you'd like. If not, you can just take my word for it.

)

Unfortunately, when you do that you're tampering a bit with the vitamin and mineral profile since growing birds require different amounts of vitamins and minerals than laying birds (which is basically your two choices when you're working with commercial feed -- grower or layer). Fortunately, the main difference between the two is the calcium and that's easy enough to supplement. Oyster Shell works wonderfully. The other differences aren't usually so notable to be of great concern.

So, in a nutshell, based only on the information you've offered -- I would recommend you continue on with what you're feeding. To put that into perspective I'm assuming here that you are feeding treats regularly, but not in amounts that significantly reduce the amount of feed they're consuming. I'm assuming your free-range area is moderately to significantly limited as to diversity and overall size -- your basic backyard, non-rural, no fields, no other stock, etc. And I'm also assuming that you have hatchery stock birds of a fairly common laying breed.

IF one or more of those assumptions are wrong I might change my recommendation -- if you've got birds of a line and/or breed that do not lay often, if you have vast and highly diversified free-ranging available to them or if you are feeding treats only very rarely their requirements may be lower, or in the case of the free-ranging they may be able to be reasonably expected to derive a greater amount of their nutrients from the land, less from what you provide.

Hopefully this helps answer your questions.

 

[NovaAman]

Afternoon all!

Welcome Lady and Angela.

Angela... Have you been reading or watching a little to much Game of Thrones? George RR Martin? LOL.

Anyway! You know how I have been talking about Miss Isa being ill, having to take her to the vet, and now on Albon for 5 days? Well, I had her in the house for 2 whole days, so i was sure she'd be ok. I got hom from work yesterday and She was making such a mess in her tote! She dumped all her food and water, buried her bread treats, dumped her scambled egg. She was trying to get out of the chicken wire top too! SO, I took pity on her, brought her back outside along with a little dish of cat food, sat on the step and let her eat it along with her second daily dose of Albon... Man was she happy!

So, I go out last night a little early to put shut up the coop since all the birds were in due to it raining, and she was still walking around, aparently lost as to what she was supposed to do. She saw me come out and comes running up to me, just talking all distressed, and let me pick her up(totally amazing as she normally wouldn't let you touch her, but guess she realized I'm cool) and put her into the coop. I think she wanted to go back in the house! Where she got spoiled and didn't have to share! Silly pullet.

 

[chickflick]

Lady and Angela!! Hey, Angela, Krisrose and I are both in Davison...off of Noblet Rd. So... Hi, Neighbor! Good to know there are more chickies right here in town. It's turning out to be a beautiful day. At last, the sun is shinning!!

Got all the waterers scrubbed clean. New birds are settling in. Anyone who wants some beautiful birds, you need to check out Shellyb1969's website. Star Brite Farms. Beautiful healthy birds. Large fowl and lots of bantams.

 

[Stacykins]

ladychicken&Ducklover :

ladychicken&Ducklover wrote:


Ok, so Ive been a member of BYC for awhile now, and JUST NOW realized there is a Michigan Thread !!:
Im in the UP...Ishpeming, actually.
This is my FIRST year raising these adorable little feathered cuties.
ALL breeds are winter=hardy..
I have 3 ducks too.
I was given a WC Blk Polish Roo by someone who could not keep him.
He is JUST PRECIOUS, loves his girls so much.m
I have a 12x20 coop.With the winter coming, I am stressing out very much about How to Keep my Polish safe and warm enough..i.e..keeping his crest dry.
Please, ANY suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks friends

Glad you could join us

Wish I had advise for the polish boy, but since it is my first year too I don't have any experience in the matter!​

 

[KrisRose]

Quote:
OMG I am shocked that I didnt come home with 50 from Shelleyb's! Still thinking on those 3 bantum Cubalaya hens

. Ssssooo cute and sweet. And the Sikies and Cochins!! Loved those Calico Cochins

!!! AND I CAME HOME WITH NUTH'IN!!! Check my forehead I most have a fever and am out of my mind

!!

Chickflick-might be another road trip in our future!! Save up yer egg moola for giant slurpee!!!
Welcome to all the new eggs!!! Glad to have you on board!!