My Cornish X experiment

[LindaB220]

I feel the same about FF. I maybe need to read more of Linda's posts about it. I'm not against it. Just not sure yet.

Duluth you don't understand. This isn't just at feeding time. This is every time they see me! I walk into the yard to check in on them and all 26 come running and completely surround me. They like the little scritches on the neck or pets that I give them. They seem to just like the interaction with me. It's like having a ton of toddlers! When I finally break free they all run off back to what they were doing but they really feel they all must greet me profusely. My neighbors, husband and kids all watch this craziness and think it's hysterical. They call me the crazy chicken lady. I even have the tee shirt.

I could not imagine trying to get through the sea of chicks and try ladling feed into their trough while not hurting myself or one of them. I should have my husband record it so you can see my dilemma.

Bahahaha

I do understand your questions. I feed twice a day. In a trough. When I carried the big dishpan in the coop, they knocked it out of my hands and it turned upside down. Fussing at them I managed to turn it over and they ate from the pan. I have to be a little more proactive about holding on but these aren't even CX's. They are my layers. It will be tough but for saving money, keeping the poop smell down and having to water a lot less I like it. So healthy for the birds. You feed about 1/2 c to 1 c a day. Later maybe a little more. If you want to do a bunch get one of those 18 gallon containers form WM. Fill 40% water with 2-3 T ACV and sitr, Start adding your grower. Stir and add. When it is getting stiff add more water and stir more. Let sit a few min. It should be thick like oatmeal. You'll need a big spoon or paddle. Cover with a towel and lay the lid on top. Stir daily for 4 days. Start to feed out. When it has a couple of servings left in the bottom add a bunch of water and stir. Keep adding water and grain until you're back at the top. It will be ready overnight without having to add anymore Apple Cider Vinegar. I have my container and new feed and will start making it in that instead of 2 five gallon buckets that I feed out in 4 days. I have thirty five but have 3 doz eggs ready to hatch or go into the 'bator. The white plymouth rocks that will hatch in 2 days are supposed to be BIG so I'll see if they eat as much as CX. I can't do the CX until next spring. Too much on my plate and not enough coops. "Ain't that always the way"

 

[duluthralphie]

Your chicks love you more than mine love me....

Mine will come to me if I enter the pen. I stopped Free ranging them a few days ago when I had to go away. They are in a huge pen with tall weeds, toys items to climb on and hide under. They are also away from my free range birds. I wanted to be able to control the feed they get a little better than I could feeding them with the rest. The chicks do not know they are not free range the pen is that big.

Of course, a couple babies found the ONE hole in the fence and came searching me out in the shed yesterday. I plugged the hole, but with the rain we have gotten it could open again.


I am not sure if they will go completely free range again or not. I am undecided.

 

[Bladeguy]

I haven't had my chickens care to come near me. A few do here or there, but to get them to run away, all I have to do is bend over and try to pick them up....then they run!!! They think I'm penning them back up I think, and they hate being locked up. In fact, they are penned up right now and look at these two pics. The first one taken right as I went out, the other after I had been there 10 seconds. See how they come to the door? If I let them out, they just go running around and don't crowd me. Then I take their troughs and fill them up. The third pic is showing a few roosting....one on the 1" PEX tubing I use for their water, and the others on the feeders.

 

[Bladeguy]

Regarding FF, here is what this newbie did. I drilled a bunch of small holes (maybe 3/16" or so?) in the bottom and sides of a 5 gallon bucket. I then put that bucket into a different 5 gallon bucket. I filled the bucket with holes in it with feed, and then put water in it along with a couple of "glugs" of ACV with the mother. I then mixed it up, adding water until it was oatmeal like. Then I put a little water on top to cover the feed, and put a bucket cover on loosely. A couple of times a day, I just mixed the feed and added a little more water to cover it before putting the lid back on. I started it 3 days ahead of time with turkey starter. When I feed out of the bucket, I just add some feed and water back in to bring the food level back up to where it was. Occasionally, I will have so much water that it will leak out of the top of the bottom bucket, so I will take them apart, pour some off, and reuse it when I need to add water. It seems to be working great for their health, but if have no baseline of my own for comparison, so it is definitely not a scientific observation. It definitely has not harmed them....I can certainly say that. They are all very healthy as far as we can tell.

 

[JessicaThistle]

No one else's chicks surround them in a sea of feathers, talons and peeps, going round and round not giving you room to step? I thought it was normal. I must be the Chicken Whisperer or something.

 

[Bladeguy]

Do you give them treats some times? We don't do anything for them but water and feed. Even when they have been out of feed for a while, they still don't necessarily want to feed from the feeder. Some do, but many prefer to run around and range where they can. It is almost like they are smart enough to know that the food will be there when they have to go back to the pen, but they can only run around when the pen is open.....they can't be that smart, can they? Maybe the chicken whisperer can enlighten us... :cd

 

[satay]

I'm just going to say hi as I have found this thread great and would love to see how you go with them.

 

[JacobH]

Fun to read a this. I'll throw my method in about the FF. I have a trough style feeder, but I just pick it up out of the tractor, fill it, and put it back. They don't charge me like they used to. I do have one layer chick in with them, and she jumps on my arm when I reach down and climbs out. I let her run around the yard until I'm done doing chores then I put her back.

Mine do come to the edge of the pen and beg to be let out though. They love range time.

The benefits of FF are pretty widely accepted. You can easily find the info with a quick search on google. Here's a quick list:
Eat less food.
Waste less food.
Stimulates gastrointestinal development. Basically, it helps chicks to be able to absorb more nutrients from the food they're eating.
Overall, reports show birds that are healthier, and less likely to contract disease.
Increased nutrient content in the lacto-fermented feed (higher levels are certain vitamins and raises the level of usable protein.)

I'm definitely not an expert, and these are just some of my understandings. I haven't done a control test. This is my first go. But they love the stuff, don't eat much feed, and are happy and healthy.

 

[LindaB220]

Fun to read a this. I'll throw my method in about the FF. I have a trough style feeder, but I just pick it up out of the tractor, fill it, and put it back. They don't charge me like they used to. I do have one layer chick in with them, and she jumps on my arm when I reach down and climbs out. I let her run around the yard until I'm done doing chores then I put her back.

Mine do come to the edge of the pen and beg to be let out though. They love range time.

The benefits of FF are pretty widely accepted. You can easily find the info with a quick search on google. Here's a quick list:
Eat less food.
Waste less food.
Stimulates gastrointestinal development. Basically, it helps chicks to be able to absorb more nutrients from the food they're eating.
Overall, reports show birds that are healthier, and less likely to contract disease.
Increased nutrient content in the lacto-fermented feed (higher levels are certain vitamins and raises the level of usable protein.)

I'm definitely not an expert, and these are just some of my understandings. I haven't done a control test. This is my first go. But they love the stuff, don't eat much feed, and are happy and healthy.

Grand to have you. And this was a very good post. The amount of protein is raised about 12%. So if you had 20% you could add 12% of that to it. I don't know maybe raise it to 22 or 23%. It's great.

 

[Bladeguy]

Next time I let mine out of the pen...I will take a video and post it. It is so fun to see them come running out wings flapping like they were just freed from prison. I swear when we put them in, they are screaming that it is unjust and they have a right to a fair trial!!! Then again, tonight all it took was some raindrops and most of them went in on their own, but there are always a few die hards.