Organic frustrations.....

[Organics North]

I just came in from the morning ritual of scraping the poop board... I tell you what a pleasure, when you mix your own feed or I assume if you buy a quality feed such as the one being discussed. Droppings are firm not smelly ....

IMO commercial feed high in soy and corn makes for disgusting poop...

I think it is the soy that does that but am not sure?
ON

 

[SeattleChickenHead]

All you peeps that have nowhere near you to get organic feed should consider become distributors! Order that stuff by the truckload and sell it out of your garage on craigslist! Thats how it starts! You could make a few bucks doing something good, and get your own feed cheep!

 

[TanyaFL]

Quote:
never thought about that part...I just figured my coop is not smelly because my 3 girls have 192 sq ft. in there and they do spend quite a bit of time out of the coop

now that you mention it...the poop IS firm, quite easy to clean up. I thought it was probably just the DE but maybe it is the feed too. Its firm enough that I use an old trowel to just swipe off the hard flat surfaces (like the top of the nesting box that I now realize I should have made a SLOPE on, lol) into a bucket and carry it out to the compost.

Ohhhhh, and I see you have Marans and Ameraucana chickens! Those are the two breeds I was mentioning I want to start! (right now all my chickens are who knows what mixes from the local feed store...and a who knows what from the neighbor, lol. All brown eggers. (RIR and NH looking) I am eyeballing both BCM and Ameraucana eggs on ebay...looking for the real deal trying to scout out solid sources now so I will be ready when I get this incubator finished. (which I need to do asap so the eggs dont run out!) I also need to figure out which Ameraucana I want, lol.

Tanya

 

[TanyaFL]

Quote:
You know...not a terrible idea...
I wonder what the response would be around here though. I might put some feelers out on craigslist or something to see if I can guage an interest. I remember the first time I went to the grocery store when I moved out here 6 yrs ago. I was standing and staring at the eggs in disbelief that they had NO organic eggs or free range eggs on the shelf. Heck, they did not even have brown eggs. (just making the lack of choices clear) A lady standing next to me asked, "Whats wrong honey?" (I must have looked as disturbed as I felt, lol!) So I explained that I was looking for organic eggs and you know what she said??? "Oh honey, your new in the area aint ya! Give it a year and you will be eating regular ole eggs with bacon and grits like the rest of us."

She said it in a nice kind way...so I did not have the heart to tell her exactly how unlikely THAT was.

Six years later and look where I am at,

!!!

FTR: Not the bacon and grits part, just the eggs. Though I do confess to limiting our rare bacon consumption to nitrate/nitrite free bacon, lol.

Tanya

 

[trilyn]

Quote:
OMG....I am such an idiot.

I have been noticing the same thing with my girls, and never put two and two together. Umm...could it be more obvious! This whole mixing my own feed is so new to me and I finally got the protein percentage right. Well, I am also a nervous nellie and decided to hang a feeder of gamebird next to the whole grain feeder to make sure all my birds get the proper nutrition. Well....I was wondering why the poops are so runny all of a sudden! DUH! There is a definite correlation between the feed/poop! LOL Needless to say, the gamebird is gone tomorrow! My buddy will be getting a little surprise on his doorstep. It may cost a bit more to feed whole grains, but it is definitely worth it. Organic would be better, but for now...I am satisfied with this.

 

[Cargo]

Cascade Organic Feed

Can be ordered from:
Azure Standard

Azure Standard has truck routes delivering to Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming

 

[Organics North]

Isn't that cool with the firm less smelly poops.... I first made the connection when raising chicks... I used to have to deal with pasty butt with commercial feed.. (I do not know what it is, the soy, the corn, the additives?) Regardless once I started raising chicks on home made feed without those things... No more pasty butt...

I too used to get nervous, worried if I was doing the right things in making my own feed... (I think it is good to a degree, keep you on top of tracking your amino acids and balance of the feed.) After a while, when you comparing chickens raised on standard run of the mill commercial feed, to yours.. You get confident!! Faster molts, shiner feathers, less sickness, more eggs, earlier eggs on and on.

Ohhhhh, and I see you have Marans and Ameraucana chickens! Those are the two breeds I was mentioning I want to start! (right now all my chickens are who knows what mixes from the local feed store...and a who knows what from the neighbor, lol. All brown eggers. (RIR and NH looking) I am eyeballing both BCM and Ameraucana eggs on ebay...looking for the real deal trying to scout out solid sources now so I will be ready when I get this incubator finished. (which I need to do asap so the eggs dont run out!) I also need to figure out which Ameraucana I want, lol.

Tanya

I assume you have checked out both the Ameraucana thread and the Marans thread here on BYC? I got my Marans from BYC'r Bishopschickens. For pure Ameraucana I recommend the breeds web site. Mine came from Paul Smith. They are show winning quality, I am very pleased with the birds.
http://ameraucana.org/
Many of the breeders listed are participants on the Ameraucana thread too..

Another words, If it were me I would skip ebay and find what you want here on BYC or at the breeds clubs.

Be well
ON​

 

[Cluckn Crazy]

So does anyone have a canadian contact for soy free/organic chicken feed. I was at my feed mill today and they don't sell individual grains, so the hopes of making my own feed are delayed until I can find a supplier. You guys south of us are lucky to have such great suppliers, even if it is at a premium. Its nice to have choices!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Try http://www.azurestandard.com/shop/search?q=poultry+feed I like the contents, but the price delivered to the Phoenix ares is $27 per 50 lb bag. Since I go through many bags per week, not something I can afford. If I only had a few birds, I would sure be tempted. Unfortunately it only comes as a mask

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Personally I would be more likely to guess it to be the corn; corn is difficult to digest. If you feed a corn-free cat or dog food (to your cat or dog), both volume and odor of the poop go down drastically.