***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[NanaKat]

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Often times in the country we find dogs that have been dumped because the owners don't want to pay the fee at the pound to keep their "pet" available for adoption instead of being put down. They assume that folks in the country can always use another dog. What happens in most cases is the single dog dies of starvation or packs with other strays and begins to hunt with them. We end up having to shoot dogs that chase our cattle. There are four dogs currently ranging on our ranch and the neighbors and have actually pulled the tail off one of the neighbors registered calves. Everyone is on alert and the dogs will be shot on sight. It's sad but necessary. We already have two dogs (one was a stray pup our momma dogs adopted) and finding homes for strays out here is next to impossible.

 

[NanaKat]

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As far as the billies and their distinct odor. Get them dis-budded as kids, there are scent glands around the horns that will be destroyed when you use a dis-budding iron. During rut there will still be a smell but after the nannys are bred just take and wipe down the buck with a moist wash rag, goats don't like getting wet. It's very rare for a bottle raised buck to go after you, all that we have had were sweeties.

And the top thing to remember is that it takes quality feed to get quality milk, we feed a lot of alfalfa and just a little bit of sweet stock. Too much grain can kill a goat. Always have grass hay available too, we have found blue stem hay to be great for both horses and goats.


Plus if you raise bottle calves raise them with goats. I have sent 800 pound calves to market that had never been wet. If a goat feels a drop of rain it's off to the barn and the calves will follow their buddies. Dry calves are healthy calves.

Did not know about disbudding to control the billy odor.

Kiko goats are a great meat goat and Sky Shivers has a breeding program in Prague. Sky is known as a cowboy humorist around the country and he has a history with goats too. I think he is on the internet and his ranch is Blue Sky Ranch.

 

[NanaKat]

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Joe, your roo is so ugly he is cute! Does he sunburn?
Did you ever check into the research program for naked birds...would be interesting to see if your roo passes on the naked body trait to his chick.

 

[artsyrobin]

Morning okies! We have NN chicks!!

this little guy was just starting to break out- who needs tv-

 

[Sooner]

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Wow is all I can say about that bird.

I want the stool he is standing on. LOL.

 

[mjgigax]

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- can't wait to see your NN drawings!

 

[artsyrobin]

thanks mj, gonna go back and check in a few minutes after i get my coffee drunk- what was funny was the other silkie hen, trying to figure out what that weird looking thing was!

 

[Poco Pollo]

Thanks, everyone, for all the great goat info. I've contacted three La Mancha breeders and should be looking at does and doelings next week.

My last hatch for the season ended yesterday. Time to clean out, sterilize, and store the incubator and hatcher. After looking over my hatch log, I've concluded that my best hatches were from February to April. After that, fertility dropped quite a bit. Only 1/4 of the final batch I set hatched; there were a lot of clears in that bunch.

Joe - I'm itching to make a sweater for that naked rooster of yours. I know the weather is fine now, but come December that boy is going to be wanting some britches and a heavy coat!

 

[spunkychickenmomma]

Good Friday morning all! Hoping everyone has a great day and an awesome weekend!

I went out into my big girl coop last night to check on them since I got home late and didn't get to lock them up until late.
While in there, I noticed that one of the eggs that my broody has been sitting on broke. The contents of the egg has leaked onto the majority of the other eggs. What do I use and how do I clean the mess off of the remaining eggs. Also, what is a safe number of eggs to keep under the chickens so that they won't break? I have barred rocks.

And last but not least...I have 2 broody hens laying on eggs. I also have a third hen that hangs out on top of the nesting boxes at all times. During the day when I am outside, I will notice that one of the broody will be outside in the run eating drinking and dust bathing. While she is out, the chicken that has been hanging out on top of the nesting boxes lays on her eggs until she gets back. Is this normal or could it be that the third chicken is broody too and her eggs are in the same nest with one of the other hens? Should I put a couple of eggs into another box and see what she does?

Thanks and have a blessed day!
Lori

 

[spunkychickenmomma]

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Congrats Robin! Are you expecting more??

I got 5 NNs this spring in hopes to hatch out some eggs next spring. So far I know I have 1 roo and 1 hen. The roo is absolutely gorgeous! I named him Stark. He is black with rust red laced around his feathers. His head feathers are rust red. The hen is gorgeous too. Her name is Zoe. She is black and the "feather boa" around her neck and down her breast are laced in silver. Of the remaining 3, 2 are buff in color and the other is pure black but has yellow legs instead of the standard black.