NY chicken lover!!!!

[Chicken girl 15]

@Beer can it seems I have 2 cockerels in my CornishX group. If you are interested in one of them. They free range from 10am until the decide to gather at the feed dishes and yell for food, usually around 7. I plan on keeping a few of the pullets to cross to my fat boy mutt and see what I get. I am also getting 25 more from Cackle the week of the 17th if you want to wait. Just let me know.

 

[Gramma Chick]

I stopped fermenting the food for a while ..Im going ..back ...I am noticing a poop smell in the coop now ...
They are eating more food also ..No Rat Signs Thank Goodness
This little Roo is Cute ...Mettela is he a maran ?
I call him Cowboy ...he already has the boots


Here he is with his Mama Tweety

Are these meal worms ? I found them under the nest boxes .my nest boxes set inside the hen house ..

I guess I am raising them and didnt know it ..Are they hard to raise on Purpose ? LOL
.Do you suppose those were the beetles that were rolling the poo ?

 

[rancher hicks]

They look like meal worms to me, though I don't know if you want them growing in your nest boxes.

I understand Meal worms are high in protein. I might give them as treats except for me they're too expensive.

In the UK they've been banned as the imports aren't safe and there is no way for the UK to control what other countries do. Which may be why they've voted to exit the Union.

I do know they've been upset over the fact that other countries have not complied with the "cage free" law, while they themselves have. Making imported eggs cheaper, while they've had to raise their prices. I think the UK has to import feed too. I'm not sure.

Anyhow if you've got time and space to grow meal worms you might find a market in your area. I encourage you to give it a shot.

 

[boskelli1571]

I stopped fermenting the food for a while ..Im going ..back ...I am noticing a poop smell in the coop now ...
They are eating more food also ..No Rat Signs Thank Goodness
This little Roo is Cute ...Mettela is he a maran ?
I call him Cowboy ...he already has the boots


Here he is with his Mama Tweety

Are these meal worms ? I found them under the nest boxes .my nest boxes set inside the hen house ..

I guess I am raising them and didnt know it ..Are they hard to raise on Purpose ? LOL
.Do you suppose those were the beetles that were rolling the poo ?

People raise mealworms using a 3 step system usually - one tray is the worms, one tray the pupae & the 3rd tray the beetles. It's not hard, a bit time consuming tho'. If you want to give it a go I suggest you get a 3 tier tupperware type of container. The beetles don't usually fly so cover the top with some screen mesh. They will eat wheat bran, old cereals etc. Just a note of caution - in the past the Darkling beetle has been found to transmit Mareks to chickens. They don't 'carry' the disease I believe they simply were spreading it on their bodies as they travelled from farm to farm. What Rancher said is correct - mealworms are banned in the UK and much of the Continent b/c they are raised in China and the feed they are given is an 'unknown'. Many packets of mealworms in this country are from Chinese outlets.

There is a step by step guide on www.thehappychickencoop.com

 

[PhoredaBurds]

Those of you who have indoor pet birds like parrots and such, what would you say is a good starter bird? I don't want anything too big, one that would be a good companion too.

I have an African grey parrot who is a real sweetheart. I did quite a bit of work with rescue & rehoming of unwanted parrots when I lived in CT. Lots of really great birds out there that need good homes. Parrots are completely different than chickens (except the feathers part), not like dogs or cats either. They are very intelligent and can be very opinionated. Cockatoos are cuddly, amazons can be very talkative, Macaws are clowns... All very different personalities. Conures are wonderful starter birds, but can be very loud. Quakers are super fun too, full of P&V, like big birds in little bodies. Be careful with Craigslist parrots are there are a few scams out there involving supposed parrots in need of new home. I love my parrot & would like to bring in a second parrot home at some point.

 

[Pyxis]

All this talk of parrots has really swayed me to go ahead and get another, it's time. I guess I better get my cage out and clean it!

 

[akaruby]

I have an African grey parrot who is a real sweetheart. I did quite a bit of work with rescue & rehoming of unwanted parrots when I lived in CT. Lots of really great birds out there that need good homes. Parrots are completely different than chickens (except the feathers part), not like dogs or cats either. They are very intelligent and can be very opinionated. Cockatoos are cuddly, amazons can be very talkative, Macaws are clowns... All very different personalities. Conures are wonderful starter birds, but can be very loud. Quakers are super fun too, full of P&V, like big birds in little bodies. Be careful with Craigslist parrots are there are a few scams out there involving supposed parrots in need of new home. I love my parrot & would like to bring in a second parrot home at some point.

Do you know of any rescues around here?

 

[PhoredaBurds]

Do you know of any rescues around here?

Lolly Pop Farm in Rochester area does parrots. And there's an all parrots rescue in Syracuse area, Lovemyparrot is the name I think. I haven't found anything in the southern tier yet.

 

[Beer can]

Parrots are expensive, especially African Grey's, I would love to get one, DW say's too $$$ dang! how much do you spend on short life expectancy dogs? Parrots live many, many times longer, If we bought a young African grey today, likely it would out live us....

 

[Gramma Chick]

Thanks for the link
Heres a direct one ..
http://www.thehappychickencoop.com/make-your-own-mealworm-farm/
This suggests all stages of them together ..I dont think I would want 3 containers ...
Is there a reason you are seperating them ?

RANCHER - they are under the nest boxes ...there is some grass dirt etc there...the nest boxes are all wood with open tops and set on ceramic tile .floor of the hen house ..
They are on the tile under the nest boxes ...chicken dont see them and neither do I unless I pick up the boxes and move them