NY chicken lover!!!!

[Glasshen]

Sounds like broodiness to me. Her timing is not good, though, at least in my flock it would be hard to raise chicks in the coop with everyone. . .

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Well the girls have an 8×16 coop so that wouldn't be an issue but I can not have chicks in the house again or hubby is bound to kick us all to the coop. I could build her a nice setup in one corner of the existing coop. I'm just afraid it will get super cold as they hatch I I will lose them all.

 

[tao chick]

I could get myself in trouble with one of these.
Figured I'd post it in case anyone 'needs' one...

I have been looking at that ad for a couple weeks now. I want a large incubator but I'm not ready for one yet. It's on my list for next year. I'm hoping to turn the "business" into more than just eggs. I'm considering a roadside stand and pure breed chicks. The land needs some work first.

 

[rancher hicks]

Is this the JJ Feeds that's in Lafayette? We are close enough to where we can make it there. Do you know if they're open on the weekends? I suppose I could call and find out myself.

Thank you for sharing. I'm going to go out and check their feed bag shortly when my husband walks through the door. It's funny you mentioned the protein. I'm feeding them the fermented feed and since they were due to start laying I figured I'd buy the organic layer pellets. So I just switched them to layer pellets from the chick feed. Should I have waited until I've actually seen eggs before giving them the layer pellets? Could that have done it?

I ferment it and add oats, chia seeds, flax seeds and I put some split peas in there. I didn't want to put any soy in there or whey protein. Would lentils be good protein to add if we needed to add it? We're a mainly plant-based family with my daughter and I having the occasional egg or two so my husband is full vegan and my daughter and I are vegetarian. Eggs, no cheese or dairy or regular meat. We eat the occasional egg or fish with veggies and sometimes GMO free soy.


By the way, If I add Bag Balm to their feet and the roosts won't they slip off the roosts?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gramma Chick

Also in winter it is good to give them some fat ..occasionally ...so they have some fat stored in their bodies
This some hamburg fat im going to freeze for them


Your probably going to get a chuckle out of this but does it matter what kind of fat? We don't eat animal fat for health reasons (my husband has a family history of heart disease with every male on his side either passing away by the age of 40 or having several heart attacks and stents by that age and I'm newly off my insulin pump but still on insulin for type II diabetes). Is it possible to switch animal fat for flax, chia or nuts? Oh boy! These chickens are going to hate us. Hahahaha They'll have some access to lots of greens, fruits, veggies, beans and grains they want but the animal fat will not be one of them.


Corn. Are you feeding your chickens whole corn? I think I may have asked this before but if we have to feed them corn I'd rather be sure it's not GMO.

Here is the feed we're giving them. I have looked a couple of times and can't find how much protein is in it. I'll have to go into the coop tomorrow to find it. http://organicfeeds.com/16-egg-layer-pellets/.

Yes that JJ feeds.

No they won't slide off the roosts.

Rub some of that fat on their legs. They be nice an juicy come fricasseeing time.

 

[Hennypenny15]

Someday......yeah I can see having one. Dreams do come true sometimes.

 

[Hennypenny15]

Do you just let them eat the fat by itself or mix with something?

 

[Gramma Chick]

Well the girls have an 8×16 coop so that wouldn't be an issue but I can not have chicks in the house again or hubby is bound to kick us all to the coop. I could build her a nice setup in one corner of the existing coop. I'm just afraid it will get super cold as they hatch I I will lose them all.

If she is truly broody you dont have to worry about the chicks .
they can survive & thrive under Mama in the coop ..if she is able to protect them from the rest of them .
Sometimes they they dont stay broody the 1st time ...test her for a couple weeks ..before putting live eggs under her ..
Got any fake eggs ? See if she will stick to it .
Also try moving her somewhere else ...some times that breaks them ...
If she is Broody I would wear gloves ...before moving her ...they can get vicious at that time .

 

[Gramma Chick]

Do you just let them eat the fat by itself or mix with something?

I mix it with treats : could be what you want ..
!) fresh veggies , seeds ( bird seed or sunflower ) , cracked corn , bread , leftovers ( mine eat everything) , Scratch, Layer
Some make their own suet out of fat ...I never had much luck with it ...so I just mix it in stuff ...easy...

 

[Gramma Chick]

The REST of The Story ..
Well Bobby rooster woke me up at 7:30 am ...yesterday



.
I was worried coz they were in the front yard ...PASSING CARS ....
Here I am in my PJs ....do I get dressed & chase them back ?
By the time I get to the front of the house again they have all vanished to the back yard ..
Im Like Okay ...their in the backyard ...their FINE ...their safe
and I get back in bed & go back to sleep for a few hours ..
When I wake back up ...Im like the chickens are out ..Ahhhh
Where are they?

No where to be seen ...they are dust bathing under the back deck ....
they spent this morning safely in the coop ...

 

[Beer can]

I have been looking at that ad for a couple weeks now. I want a large incubator but I'm not ready for one yet. It's on my list for next year. I'm hoping to turn the "business" into more than just eggs. I'm considering a roadside stand and pure breed chicks. The land needs some work first.

Same here, not ready for one now. I have heard the sportsman cabinet incubator is the best, and the price is less than half if you figure in taxes, and I hear cabinets are much better at regulating temps evenly. I don't have the $ or the need right now, probably go with a hovabator when tax return season comes around. I should probably see if these 'silkies' I have, and my proven little 'EE' can hatch out what I want, but I would like to have them all hatch at the same time, think a incubator would be best for that.