NY chicken lover!!!!

[Gramma Chick]

LuvMyChicks1491-Great sum up. haha

All summer we kept getting stung but couldn't see why. After the leaves left, we saw why. Different lenses on my camera shows it a little differently.

Hornets ...they can be mean ...skunks love them if you can get them down .

 

[Nuttyfrom6kids]

For some reason I haven't been getting the NY thread. I also tried fermented feeds. I used whole oats instead of mash or pellets. Yes, It was less expensive, but in the winter, unless you have a heated place to keep it, it will freeze. I didn't like using pellets or mash as it was a huge mess. My birds had wet heads, maybe it was just them, but it was ugly....LOL I appreciate doing fermented feeds, but it proved to be too much work for me and time consuming. I have 13 coops. Just more time than I wanted to spend.

Ok I have as many if not more birds than you and I don't find it anymore time consuming maybe an extra 5 minutes. Now I do have my buckets in a heated building. Right now I am doing the mash and crumbles for the birds and pellets for the pigs, Unless I drop the food on my birds including my silkies they are not a mess. Only time they have had wet heads is when my son left the waterers on the ground instead of on a brick for some reason they can't drink if it is that low without getting wet heads.

Thats why I want to try but start with the bigger birds first before even thinking about going that route with the silkies. I can only imagine how messy their crests would get and I'm doing enough right now to keep them clean. If I do this, since it will only be for the 4, I will do it in a small portion and keep it in the house. I'm just trying to figure out WHAT I have laying around to keep it in. LOL

You can do it in any small bucket and if you don't have a lid put pantyhose over it keeps the bugs out and lets the gasses release

I didn't bother ever trying for the reasons you gave. I have 100 or more birds at any given time. I can't even imagine all of the extra time it would take me each day to keep multiple buckets going, in the house all winter long. Like you, more time than I am willing to spend.

I have as many birds as that and find it isn't anymore time consuming just a few minutes to add the feed water and stir. If I did dry I still had to scoop it out and feed it to the birds. My buckets are in a heated building/ garage not the house but that is where my feed has always been and I have a metal garden cart that I put the buckets in and take along with to the barns.

I used to use a plastic strainer ...Now I dont strain it ..
.If you vary the consistency ...you dont need to strain it ...add little more feed to the mix till you get it to
do a thicker layer on top ...it should have a more fluid layer on the bottom ...
Did you add too much feed ? and theres no fluid layer in the bottom ?
Dont worry ...scoop out what you need for this feeding ...then add more water to what is left ..it will still continue fermenting .
Add your feed again to the pail & mix ...
If you find it is too liquid when you scoop it out ..you can also add some of the dry & mix it in ..let it set a little bit ...it will absorb the extra liquid in your feed pail .
I use those 2 gallon ? ice cream buckets for a feed pail to transfer the food to their dishes .
You can play with the mix as you want ...too thick add more water ...too thin add more feed .
Understand ? Any more questions ?
If you want to talk PM me & I will give you my phone # ..I am usually up till 1;00 am +

I did start doing that just making it thicker so I don't have to strain it. It is great my birds love it and look great.

if you gave a bowl a day give them the same amount of fermented feed .
You can ferment any kind of feed - pellets , grains , mash , etc ..you dont have to add anything extra to the feed if you dont want to .
Sometimes I add scratch to the feed , right now I am mixing in sunflower seeds , just for variety .

I have been adding corn or BOSS on occasion.

 

[Nuttyfrom6kids]

Rancher it was great to meet you yesterday and the queen is doll. Is number 2 another queen or a king? The birds are doing great and my Orpington Rooster has already done his mating dance for the lavender if you decide to get rid of any others just let me know and we can make another trade. If you order some chicks let me know I will probably get some with you.

I have 2 new layers that are olive eggers and the one lays a gigantic egg each day it is like twice the size of a jumbo I feel so bad for her especiallyw ith her being a new layer but it doesn't seem to phase her at all.

Still have to talk to hubby about the bird show this weekend I forgot about it. I would love to go.

 

[County Boy]

LuvMyChicks1491-Great sum up. haha All summer we kept getting stung but couldn't see why. After the leaves left, we saw why. Different lenses on my camera shows it a little differently.

We have had 6 different nest of them this year. One was in between stackable chairs and that got so big it lifted the chairs apart. We also had one on my uncles plow and that was huge. We measured it and it was 23 inches tall and17 inches wide!! But yes, they do sting bad don't they?

 

[stonykill]

We have had 6 different nest of them this year. One was in between stackable chairs and that got so big it lifted the chairs apart. We also had one on my uncles plow and that was huge. We measured it and it was 23 inches tall and17 inches wide!! But yes, they do sting bad don't they?

hornets are terrible. I got rid of a ground nest and a nest on a tree and I see they are rebuilding back ina tree. And in a coop. Hornets are terrible this year.

As for bee's we have a lot on our land and always have.

 

[JLaw]

We don't have hornets but we tend to have carptener bees. Also as we was knocking down the barn we hit a yellow jacket nest things was as big as 2 didgets of my fingers. They are still there unless they desided to leave the inside of the timber. I didn't know what to use on them because I didn't want the chickens eating them after they die with pestacides on them.

 

[vmdanielsen]

If I don't reply it is because I am new to this.

Welcome! You will soon get the hang of it!

 

[Metella]

Hawks: well you may kill or have a dog kill a hawk - but they are migrating - so that really won't work ....this hawk is probably just pass through anyway .... that is too bad, as I know I could get to an "understanding" if a hawk family took over and guarded my territory - but they don't really.

Buried Eggs: It also may be rats ! They could be taking them off and burying them for later munchies ! I really don't like rats and squirrels at all ! they really are smart enough and dirty enough to be actual health hazards and can ruin a barn or even a house.

 

[armorfirelady]

Sally8 that's a great picture of the hornets nest. Glad its at your house tho !!! A couple years ago I had ground bees in my wood pile. I got stung 6 times over 5 weeks.......now I have to keep an EPI pen on me

thankfully I was finally able to kill them suckers.

I dont dislike bees......just more aware when I am around them. I love the big honey bees I see in my plants. They are usually so full of pollen they are slow moving. I do love to watch them work.

 

[vmdanielsen]

For some reason I haven't been getting the NY thread. I also tried fermented feeds. I used whole oats instead of mash or pellets. Yes, It was less expensive, but in the winter, unless you have a heated place to keep it, it will freeze. I didn't like using pellets or mash as it was a huge mess. My birds had wet heads, maybe it was just them, but it was ugly....LOL I appreciate doing fermented feeds, but it proved to be too much work for me and time consuming. I have 13 coops. Just more time than I wanted to spend.

Funny how we are all different!! I do mine in the winter. But by then I am down to the duplex coop and it is close to the house. Currently the chicken pasture is about as far away as it can be and still be on my property! It would be more work for me now.

I ferment organic scratch. I didn't like whole grains because I didn't think that the nutritional seed inside was being fermented. Didn't like mash either as is was messy and plugged the holes used for straining. I did fertrell's poultry balancer to it. Also they had regular food in front of them. I only put enough in their pens to last a few hours, because it will freeze here during the winter.

I sprout the boss and other whole grains in winter so they can have greens as well.

Winter is really coming, though it is hard to believe with the weather we have lately. We still haven't had a frost. Some cold weather would be nice to knock back the ticks. I pulled 7 off my horse the other day.