Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[emorems0]

You need to be careful when using a trough style feeder with meaties...they tend to eat and sleep in the same spot..they will pile into an empty feeder and sleep when young..those on the bottom of the pile do not do well..

My opinion is to ditch the high protein feed and the pasty butt will stop. But I am in the minority in my thinking on that......the healthiest birds I ever have, no matter what they are, is when they are broody raised, they eat what everyone else is eating in that case. And only get extra protein in the treats they are given.

if you are worried about cocci you could just add oregano and cinnamon to the feed. All my meaties start on this instead of medicated feed.

I've already noticed that they like to lay down a lot more than the heritage. A couple of them were just laying down in front of the feeder eating... Talk about lazy. I was thinking trough so that there was plenty of space for them to all eat at once so they didn't trample each other trying to find space at a bowl. What type of feeder do you like for meaties? Just have a couple of bowls so they can all find a spot?

I don't think my feed is medicated, I've been adding cayenne for cocci since I have turkeys in there too (also a big reason for the higher protein food). I took the pasty butt chicks back down to the brooder. I figure at this point stress is probably part of the problem and it's much less stressful downstairs away from kids and dogs. Only two of the birds still had crud on their butts and it didn't seem to obstruct their bowels at all, so I just cleaned them up and took them back down.

I do have some pictures to share once I get a chance to sit down at the computer... It's crazy how much bigger the cornish roasters are after just one week... They are nearly the size of the turkeys that are a whole week or two older!

 

[wingstone]

I just spent my entire afternoon in a retirement home with my father in law for a birthday party. Never would of thought I could talk chickens there, but apparently those old timers have fond memories of chickens. Wonder how many of them could come help me clean pens out..
Of course many of them told me I was doing it all wrong and chickens do not need all that stuff...kind of interesting how much things change..

And I thought it was gonna be a boring day.

 

[troyer]

Photo for AnneInTheBurbs'
Here is the cockerel you hatched and brought back to us. He fit in real well with the batch of chicks we already had. They are all the same size, so it worked out great. He is a beautiful Cubalaya cockerel. It looks like he will turn out to be a sharp and flashy looking individual! Definitely potential breeder quality.

 

[LadyBehir]

Yay!! LMP in da house! You are not allowed to disappear like that.

 

[LisaYolkUm]

I HAVE BABY CHICKS NOW! WAHOO!


4 BABIES! so so adorable.................and sleepy!

one welsumer
one columbian wyandotte
2 easter eggers

pictures will be coming as soon as this camera works more reliably? seems to not want to hold a charge???

I hope they all are girls................and that they all stay healthy.

my original gals i got at 6 weeks of age.....................so now I am glad to have the chick experience.

last year I was soooooooooooooo excited ................and then unfortunately my family nixed the project.

This year i just told them i love them but I am getting chicks so they just need to find a way to cope..........still love them but need to do this.............

they have not yet seen the actual chicks since today is day one of having them.

I am enjoying watching and listening to them................and wondering how long I have until they jump out of their low walled box!

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

Yay!! LMP in da house! You are not allowed to disappear like that.

haha, thank you...

...
it has been more than overwhelming lately, but...I am so looking forward to getting those meat birds and starting on the rabbit project. I am chomping at the bit to get my hands dirty in the garden, but will most definitely have to wait until I get more physically able to do so.
I am going to get some seeds into a few starter packs...i hope I am not getting too late of a start on them..it doesn't get consistently warm enough to plant here until May...ish.., so I am hoping that having over two months and the "hot boxes" will be sufficient.
How are your girls doing?...will you be adding more?

 

[LisaYolkUm]

I would like to better understand what you all posted about

cayenne or oregano or cinammon in the feed to prevent or deal with cocci?

can you explain a little more.........

is this for full grown birds

for when they migth be sick or as a preventative

oregano plant leaves or spices? how much..............how often...................etc

this sounds so much healthier than medicines

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

I have absolutely no-idea what has been happening here with the PA group....and I just can not bring myself to reading through thousands of posts...
So, I hope everyone is doing well..and your birds...goats...rabbits..ducks..hahahaha
It is good to have a little PA friend -time again..you guys are so great

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

I HAVE BABY CHICKS NOW! WAHOO!


4 BABIES! so so adorable.................and sleepy!

one welsumer
one columbian wyandotte
2 easter eggers

pictures will be coming as soon as this camera works more reliably? seems to not want to hold a charge???

I hope they all are girls................and that they all stay healthy.

my original gals i got at 6 weeks of age.....................so now I am glad to have the chick experience.

last year I was soooooooooooooo excited ................and then unfortunately my family nixed the project.

This year i just told them i love them but I am getting chicks so they just need to find a way to cope..........still love them but need to do this.............

they have not yet seen the actual chicks since today is day one of having them.

I am enjoying watching and listening to them................and wondering how long I have until they jump out of their low walled box!

so awesome Lisa!!

...can't wait to see the pics!..fingers are crossed for all girls

 

[stake]

Get me started... small scale. I make sourdough bread and do ferments for our family so I'm familiar with the process, but all the instructions I've seen for chickens are so long winded I get overwhelmed by the idea of it.

I have a couple 1 gallon buckets I can use. I'm feeding turkeys and meat chickens - the pasty butt chicks are Delaware and Dark Cornish. their feed is game starter crumbles from Agway (only higher protein feed I could find). So... I put their feed into a bucket, I cover with water and a splash of apple cider vinegar, I wait a couple days (2 days?) stirring once or twice a day. On day 2 (or when it bubbles) it's ready to feed? From there, I start a new bucket or can I just add more feed and water to the original bucket as I take some out each day?

I need to feed fermented feed in some kind of bowl or trough, right? It won't work in a gravity feeder. I actually bought a length of gutter and two end caps to make a trough for the chicken tractor when they are older, I should be able to cut that down to size and start using that right away as long as they can reach it (it's pretty tall).

The crumbles will turn into mush, right? Are there any general guidelines on how much to feed, or just whatever they can finish in an hour or so and then I take it out. I guess it's better to feed twice a day with fermented feed instead of just filling up their gravity feeder each morning.

emore:

Here's a youtube from Sally Sunshine on making FF.....

BTW, haven't seen here around in a while.....