NY chicken lover!!!!

[LuvMyChicks1491]

Haven't tried cabbage with my girls, but will sometime to give them something to do in the winter.

As for mint oil..I agree with Stony..I'd say forget it. I soaked some and put them behind the stove a few years ago. A few days later I smelled something funny when I turned on the stove and the little BLEEPS took the cotton balls and moved them under the burners and made a nest with them. Needless to say I never used them again and we now have a new stove, the smell of mouse pee everytime you turn on the stove was soooo bad!

 

[Glasshen]

The stove story reminds me of a friend who had mouse problems in a closet, and found that mice had made nests in the dryer sheets she had put in there to repel them. I have heard that moth balls repel animals, but also people...the traps do work. That is what DH does. I try to avoid all the killing, am waiting for my big moment with the coyote.

 

[rancher hicks]

I honestly can't vouch for the Mint oil thing. I was only sharing what'd I'd read in Mother Earth News. I prefer the traps. I know they're dead and I also know where there is one vermin there are more. I say kill'em and be done with it.

 

[Breella]

I think I remember seeing many many hundreds of pages ago people talking about fermented feeds. If you do it how much do you think I should start with for a flock of 25 birds? If I understand what I was reading correctly I can start a culture and by straining the feed out and leaving the fluids and some feed in the bucket I can keep a cycle going of good bacteria, I just don't know how much feed to start with. Also what other things do people ferment for their birds? Something I was reading said wild bird seed and Black Oil Sunflower Seeds?

 

[armorfirelady]

I ferment grains. Oat, wheat, corn, Canadian peas and flax. I have alfalfa pellets and fish meal I add as supplements. I feed 1/2 c of wet ff feed per hen once a day. I initially started with a 5 gallon pail and have about half that left. I started the batch oct 31st.

When snow makes their foraging unavailable I will probably feed twice a day. But I have a freezer full of veggies so I might not have to.

You can use commercial feed, scratch, boss or any grains to ferment. I don't add veggies to the ferment tho

 

[Gramma Chick]

Eveving all. Well we processed the six hens that were our first chickens. Did it this morning. Took 2 hours and 40 minutes from kill to canner. We just took the legs and breast meat. The barred rocks had quite a bit of fat on them and the wyandottes were meatier. We did look at the ovaies and all but one hen was definately done laying. Got one egg from thy wyandotte. The fat on them was a nice bright yellow. No tears. Dh and I were strong. I got six quart jars of meat. The seals look good. We will miss those girls but at three and a half with no eggs, it was time and the insides told us we made a good call.

My poor silkies need chicken therapy as they had a ringside seat to the processing. Poor legolas took his women and children and hid under his coop.

Thelma and louise are now in the big coop. Thelma went in by herself but I had to rescue louise tonight and put her in next to her sister. They are inseperable and I do believe one would die without the other.

Cleaned out both silkie coops today and got them ready for winter. Just have to put the plastic up on legolas coop.

My cheeps like cabbage. Of course, they like food period!

Have a good evening everyone!

Poor Legolas : He sounds like he is pretty smart ..
We dont kill them in front of the other chickens ..we take them down in the woods

 

[Gramma Chick]

I think I remember seeing many many hundreds of pages ago people talking about fermented feeds. If you do it how much do you think I should start with for a flock of 25 birds? If I understand what I was reading correctly I can start a culture and by straining the feed out and leaving the fluids and some feed in the bucket I can keep a cycle going of good bacteria, I just don't know how much feed to start with. Also what other things do people ferment for their birds? Something I was reading said wild bird seed and Black Oil Sunflower Seeds?

I ferment layer pellets . sometimes I add scratch or Boss in too . I have a covered bucket that is big enough for 2 - 3 days . I have 16 chickens . they go through about 8 - 9 cups a day ..if they empty the dishes I will give them a little more
Plus they free range.
some days longer than others ...it depends on our schedule . If we are gone they stay in the run longer .
If I know I will be gone most of the day tomorrow I give them all 8- cups at night .
If I will be home I will give them 4-5 cups

I would start with what you feed them now ...normally it ends up being 1/2 of what you dry feed them .
They sometimes will eat more than 1/2 at 1st then they will slow down once they get used to it .

Add some apple cider vinegar to get it started ...you wont have to add any after that ..just add water
Note it will form a crust on the top once it is fermenting ...kind of grey . I think it is oxidation ..
Dont be alarmed ..just add it to their dish & mix it up

 

[Gramma Chick]

houseofknauss good luck with the job! I think it's more important to have a job you love and one that you can come home from and not worry about rather than one where you make more money...I would rather have my sanity

Also--with the cabbage mine HATE it. I left a head of cabbage hanging in their coop for a couple of days and they barely touched it.

Mine eat cabbage ...as a matter of fact ...they have been pecking the cabbage in our garden ..It is open now . not fenced in .
Only cabbage , Brussels sprouts , broccoli , turnip greens , beets , carrots , some swiss chard left alive .
We only give them cabbage in the winter or when we have a head left if the frig that is on its way out .

 

[Cass]

Poor Legolas : He sounds like he is pretty smart ..
We dont kill them in front of the other chickens ..we take them down in the woods

Same here. We butcher early in the morning and don't let the chickens out til we are done. They run they are cooped up in is on the opposite side of them coop from the area we butcher in. One chicken was loose one time and she ran off. We didn't see her for hours. I try and make sure I don't do that to the ones I am keeping ever again.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: I feed my chickens cabbage and they love it. There are a lot of false rumors out there about what is poisonous to chickens, most of them aren't true.