***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[NanaKat]

well, i raise enough for occasional treats- but not on a massive scale- the are so simple to raise- my starling and sparrow enjoy them too- not to mention chicks

get bin or drawer, a couple inches of crumble, oatmeal, dog kibble. Toss is about 500 mealies, halved potato and ignore them, you should have a good size colony going in no time or

you can buy them live in bulk from fluker farms http://www.flukerfarms.com/index.aspx

Quote: Try cracked corn...or black oil sunflower seed...both are cheaper than the meal worms, store in a five gallon bucket and don't require feeding or tending. And the chickens love it. A handful is all I need to call the chickens to coop at night.

Quote: Any breed or rabbit can be litter box trained.

Quote: When I had rabbits, my students gave me an Angora for a Christmas present. He had to be brushed at least three times a week. hair can be carded and then spun into yarn.

Quote: I had Rex, New Zealand, Dutch, Satin, Angora and a French mini-lop. Our girls adored them. My Chihuahuas loved to play hide and seek with the rabbits...it was sooooo funny to watch the rabbits hunt for and chase the dogs...bound in the air, flip and run to hide again. All were in cages outside in the shade under the back patio. The New Zealand loved to sit on the first step of the swimming pool...in the shallow water. I kept trays of kitty litter in the cages and the rabbits readily used them. News paper in the cage tray made moving the pellets to a bucket for the garden very easy. The rabbits had my 1/2 acre in town yard to run in during the day....until the neighbor's two Dachsunds dug under the privacy fence and killed all but two of them. That was a rough summer....and then we moved to the farm.

 

[NanaKat]

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!
It should be a beautiful day to celebrate all the Freedoms we cherish.
Hug your loved ones often today

We are going to take a day off and enjoy fishing and a cook out down at our party pond. Then enjoy the local fireworks display.

 

[NanaKat]

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July.
It will be a beautiful day to celebrate all the Freedoms we enjoy.
Hug your loved ones often today.

We are going to take a day off and fish and cook out down at our party pond. Then enjoy the local fireworks display.

 

[SharkmanDan]

NanaKat,
Mine, don't seem to care much for the sunflower seeds. I bought like five pounds of it, and they just don't seem to devour it, like the mealworms. About the only treat, other than mealworms, that they respond well to, is Quaker Oats. I need to find a cheaper source of oats, for them. But, all of the other treats seem to be like normal food for them.

 

[NanaKat]

you can get rolled oats in a 50 pound bag at the feed store.

 

[NanaKat]

pictures from the garden...


And broccoli processing for the chickens...never wanting anything to go to waste...I had some broccoli that had not been picked at the right time...filled one section of our kitchen sink. So after putting nice spears back for us, I coarse chopped the stemmy pieces...then processed in the food processer. The small cut chops filled a gallon and a half of tiny pieces that the chickens devoured.



I often freeze tubs of fine chopped cabbage, broccoli, pea hulls, etc for a hot day treat.

 

[Kyzmette]

Mr and Mrs Cluck and Ms Green are beautiful birds!

And Yogi and Booboo are soooooo adorable!

I'm prettysure Seamas can get wryneck like other chickens. Poor baby.

 

[Loriemarler]

I just went out to let the chickens free range and one of my hens is sitting in the nestbox. I think she might be going broody? Well my dilemma is I gave @artsyrobin my rooster several weeks ago and although I do have 3 roosters in the coop they are 3 1/2 months old and 3 months old. Is there anyway her eggs would be fertile? I have a couple in the fridge I can crack open but I'm not 100% sure what I am looking for. My other problem is the coop is hot in the afternoons that is the reason I let them free range all day. If she stays broody should I move her?

 

[Loriemarler]

I took the last 5 eggs I collected from her and cracked them (making the kids breakfast) and they all look fertile to me but I am not an expert at all. I had the hardest time getting a good picture so this may be blurry still. All five had a ring with a small white dot in the middle

 

[SharkmanDan]

I just went out to let the chickens free range and one of my hens is sitting in the nestbox. I think she might be going broody? Well my dilemma is I gave @artsyrobin my rooster several weeks ago and although I do have 3 roosters in the coop they are 3 1/2 months old and 3 months old. Is there anyway her eggs would be fertile? I have a couple in the fridge I can crack open but I'm not 100% sure what I am looking for. My other problem is the coop is hot in the afternoons that is the reason I let them free range all day. If she stays broody should I move her?

Lorie,
I'm no expert. I'm a total newbie, to birds, of all kinds. But, in trying to read as much as possible, this is the best information I've found, on the subject.this