Okies in the BYC The Original

[BetsyOK]

Sorry, I missed where you said you pen them at night.

If you set up an area that is to their liking, they will use it. I've seen some made with cement blocks and others made as A-frames. They do like a place that has two exits, and it needs to be very camoflauged. I just let mine find their own nesting spots, as they usually nest within our two acres and fairly near their pen--the source of their major feed and water. When they start laying, they'll make a special "I've laid an egg" call, and will make a similar call when they're brooding and want someone to relieve them so they can go eat and drink. Once you get used to that call and the behavior of the rest of the flock, you can usually find their nests with a little time and patience. Their mates, and often the whole flock, are very supportive of their nesting and brooding efforts. After they start laying, if you observe them in the mornings when they leave their pen--being very careful to appear to NOT be observing them (definitely no direct looking at them)--you'll usually find their nests. They have very keen eyesight and seem to be especially attuned to YOUR body language and eye contact.

 

[al6517]

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Well I did chores yesterday in hopes of watching some good football games today while the girls do some last minute shopping for gift's and grocery's. so pretty much a nice lazy day for me.

AL

 

[Plain Old Dee]

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While I'm sure there is a regular goat feed you can buy, we haven't looked for it. We feed ours good grassy hay (same hay we feed our horses) along with alfalfa pellets, oats and the occasional odd handfull of chopped corn. They seem healthy and happy. The hardest part about keeping goats is keeping them in the pen! They can jump a fence that is 2-3 times their height without effort. Now that that dang billy is gone, having the goats run loose isn't a big deal. The girls are a bit people shy - unless you have a feed bucket. They certainly don't head butt and pee all over you! We are going to get a few more goats for our little herd. Daughter wants to sell all the babies - she thinks she's going to make money on them.

Hopefully, I have her talked into keeping a wether or two for butcher. She's not squeamish about butchering - she grew up on our farm - she just thinks she'll make more money selling them.

We used to have a guy come down from Stroud to butcher our beef steer every year. Both daughters would pitch in and help him - from the time they were about three years old. They would make sure all the entrails made it into the barrell, and would help separate the organs we were going to keep for eating. That guy would do the primary kill/cleaning right there in our pasture and haul the halved carcass back to Stroud for hanging and cutting.

Now both girls help the oldest daughter's family butcher and process deer. Youngest daughter has a husband who is very squeamish, and doesn't want his three children exposed to the "dark side" of farming. I have news for him. He wanted his kids to experience farm life - and they are going to experience all aspects of it - I'm not raising chickens and goats for the fun of it - I just can't afford that. I don't expect to make a profit on it - or even break even - but I do expect some sort of return in either meat or eggs. If he doesn't want his kids exposed to that part - he needs to move back to town!

I don't think I would make them watch the butchering process (we didn't make our girls watch it either), but I think they need to know how the meat they are so fond of eating gets actually gets to their table.

 

[sjarvis00]

We dont get to do lazy over here. We picked up a 3rd incubator yesterday afternoon, then ran to the city for fun, last stop was Lowes in Shawnee for some lumber then got home about 6:30ish. So today we have been rearranging(I have been rearranging), Carl will be building, and I am seperating chicken stuff into boxes so I can organize this mess I have going on. So no lazy here, not today.

 

[al6517]

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So what do you guy's plan on building today ???.

AL

 

[sjarvis00]

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So what do you guy's plan on building today ???.

AL

Nothing major. I have totes in the house next to my incubators so when the chicks hatch I can pull them out and get them toe punch or leg banded and watch them for a day to see if I have any with problem before I take them out to the brooders. Carl is building me a stand to put the totes on, my rottweiler is a little curious about the baby chicks and every once in a while grabs one to play with, and usually accidentally kills it before I find out he has one. He just carries off with them and sits them down to watch them but he either holds on too tight or they get cold from being wet and not under heat. He thinks they are his to protect. He is use to having a puppy to play with, no puppy anymore so the chicks are now his new puppy.

 

[joshbob]

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Ideal is actually down in Texas. I was really surprised at how fast they got here. As for brooding space, right now I have them in a big livestock tank with two lights over it and a cobbled up lid to hold the heat in. When they get to where they can regulate their own temp I will let them out in the pen the tank is in and suspend the lights from above. I just wish my laying hens would stop roosting on top of the pen. The roosting is OK, but when one gets a wild hair and trys to lay an egg on top of chain link, what a mess.

 

[sjarvis00]

The banties alone was keeping one of my incubators full that is why the other incubator was picked up yesterday. We already had plans to buy it, the guy was holding it for us until we were ready. Once all my breeds are laying again I will have both incubators full all the time and the hatcher going as well. The incubators have 5 trays each and will hold about 250 - 350 eggs each. The hatcher has 6 trays and will hold about 400 - 500 eggs. So I am set.

 

[al6517]

My next upgrade is to put a bank of light switches in the feed & work area that will turn on lights in all the individual breeding pens and double plugs in all of them as well for things like fans for the summer and water base heaters in winter. I still have plans soon to build more breeding and grow out pens. I am also toying with the idea of making two large brooder pens that will hold lots of fuzzy butts, in anticipation for my spring deluge of new birds.



AL

 

[al6517]

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WOW !!!! Stephanie you guy's are really gettin after it, that's alot of hatching but you guy's ship almost all of them off don't you ??. Carl mentioned your customer base is really solid.

AL