Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[BullChick]

I know someone that was a mile from the tornados in AL. She’s okay physically, but I still feel awful for what she and her family are going through emotionally!

 

[HeartoftheMatterFarm]

Here is a picture of last nights arrivals.
I went out to check on water and hay for all the animals. And found another white egg. They are deffently duck eggs.

 

[emorems0]

Squee! All of the babies! Human, poultry, and goats ❤❤❤

Speaking of babies, someone on a fb group was asking about pasty butt. I gave some info on heat in the brooder and someone else commented this... anyone have any experience with these foods for chicks?

"There’s a few products every companion fowl enthusiast really aught to have on hand at all times. For chicks, you cannot go wrong with these Farmers’ Helper products: babycake, hotcake & Ultrakibble for chicks. I condition my chicks to eat babycake as soon as they are pecking at food. I forgo conventional chick starter and instead place the babycake in a no tip dollar store pet dish on a thin layer of finch seed supplemented with ultrakibble for chicks. I mix 25 lbs finch seed with 2 lbs UK for chicks + grit. This is their entire maintenance diet. This whole ingredient diet requires significantly more time to digest than conventional chick starter. Consequently, they consume about 60% less food per day. This is key because a great deal of the manure chicks produce is undigested soybean meal. Commercial poultry rations are designed to pass through the entire digestive tract in less than 15 minutes. As they’re pooping most of it out only partially digested they’re perpetually famished and obliged to eat all day like factory farmed broilers/layers, which is what conventional chick starter is designed for- industrial farmed poultry. The babycake provides their free access food and they eat their fill and take long naps afterward. Theyre not scrambling for sustenance and always famished like they were on conventional chick starter. Also, the manure is manageable, drier and without much odor. This is critical in the long term - health. I see other folks are taking on the physical environment and heat etc. so I’m going to stay on the topic of endocrinology as it relates to nutrition and diet. I’ve been rearing birds since I was a biddy kid myself and I’m 50 now. Most of the birds I’m rearing by hand are extremely delicate. I rear hundreds bobwhite quail every year for soft release to battle tick infestation. I also rear rare pheasants, junglefowl, guineafowl, peafowl etc. The advice I’m sharing here is what we have perfected rearing chicks with in our farm cooperative. Every other year or so we purchase new chicks for egg sales as well as turkey poults and ducklings and of course we cultivate rare breeds as well. They are not as delicate as quail or pheasant chicks but we afford them the same treatment with great results. Instead of creating a disease vector with dusty wasteful chick starter we utilize the whole ingredient method. No more pasty butts, no picking or mortality. Due to the fat layer they develop, moving them outside after the brooder into their fledgling enclosures, we no longer find ourselves dealing with chilled and stressed birds. This is largely because the of the superior integrity of their plumage. Optimal nutrition produces perfect plumage from the cellular level . Plumage grows in as it does on wild birds, which nature obliges be as fit as their parents as they forage for food in nature. Domestic chicks tend to grow up with scraggly plumafe because theur diets are inadequate. This is because conventional pouktry rations are forumated for rapid growtg and yield, never lifespan nor reprodctuve heatl. Commercial diets assault the endocrine system of birds and often have it disabled or offline by the third year- hence hens slow rate of lay. It’s not age but endocrine poisoning that causes this. Ultrakibble contains optimal nutrition. It was originally formulated for the needs of rare zoo birds. The zoos use it alone as a maintenance diet for some species but for farm birds we only require a small amount of ultrakibble to stir into seeds/grains or/and a soy free layer. It’s a nutritional supplement not a maintenance ration. The babycake and hotcake are really awesome because they replace the need for keeping a full hopper of wasteful chick starter. They produce no dust and provide the equivalent of a productive day of foraging on fat bugs, nutritious rootlets and seeds. The best ingredients you can get into your chicks, like crab meal and fruit powders, + the premix vitamin/prebioti/probioti/mineral are folded into the matrix of the nutdough suet in such a manner that chicks ingest them on a consistent basis at ideal levels throughout the day. No more guessing. We are now using another product- the company is called Zootrilogics- Resilience for birds- miracle product- everyone serious about birds should have some on the ready at all times- use this instead of or with antibiotics (only use antibiotics with formal prognosis) as a preventative and as a curative. If we had chicks (or adults) presenting with pasty butt (“yuck butt”) or just about any common malady, we would dose them with resilience and their natural immunity will be restored within 48 hours. Resilience for birds is so on point - especially when dealing with chicks because it provides nourishment while also boosting immunity."

 

[fisherlady]

Wanted to share Lily's B-day party, she is 1 year old. 3/2
I realize that having a party for a dog may seem a bit .."over the top", but at this point in my life, needs & wants may be a bit different than most.
Besides, the granddaughter LOVES doggie birthday parties!!View attachment 1690520 View attachment 1690524 View attachment 1690525 View attachment 1690526 View attachment 1690528
Lily got a new toy, her momma likes it too.

Love it! Not silly at all and even if it is to someone else the only opinions that matters are you, your family and the pooch's anyway! So no other votes get counted!

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

Love it! Not silly at all and even if it is to someone else the only opinions that matters are you, your family and the pooch's anyway! So no other votes get counted!

that was so cool, thank you!

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

Here is a picture of last nights arrivals.
I went out to check on water and hay for all the animals. And found another white egg. They are deffently duck eggs.
View attachment 1690722

i like the color patterns, that tan one looks like it's momma?

Squee! All of the babies! Human, poultry, and goats ❤❤❤

Speaking of babies, someone on a fb group was asking about pasty butt. I gave some info on heat in the brooder and someone else commented this... anyone have any experience with these foods for chicks?

"There’s a few products every companion fowl enthusiast really aught to have on hand at all times. For chicks, you cannot go wrong with these Farmers’ Helper products: babycake, hotcake & Ultrakibble for chicks. I condition my chicks to eat babycake as soon as they are pecking at food. I forgo conventional chick starter and instead place the babycake in a no tip dollar store pet dish on a thin layer of finch seed supplemented with ultrakibble for chicks. I mix 25 lbs finch seed with 2 lbs UK for chicks + grit. This is their entire maintenance diet. This whole ingredient diet requires significantly more time to digest than conventional chick starter. Consequently, they consume about 60% less food per day. This is key because a great deal of the manure chicks produce is undigested soybean meal. Commercial poultry rations are designed to pass through the entire digestive tract in less than 15 minutes. As they’re pooping most of it out only partially digested they’re perpetually famished and obliged to eat all day like factory farmed broilers/layers, which is what conventional chick starter is designed for- industrial farmed poultry. The babycake provides their free access food and they eat their fill and take long naps afterward. Theyre not scrambling for sustenance and always famished like they were on conventional chick starter. Also, the manure is manageable, drier and without much odor. This is critical in the long term - health. I see other folks are taking on the physical environment and heat etc. so I’m going to stay on the topic of endocrinology as it relates to nutrition and diet. I’ve been rearing birds since I was a biddy kid myself and I’m 50 now. Most of the birds I’m rearing by hand are extremely delicate. I rear hundreds bobwhite quail every year for soft release to battle tick infestation. I also rear rare pheasants, junglefowl, guineafowl, peafowl etc. The advice I’m sharing here is what we have perfected rearing chicks with in our farm cooperative. Every other year or so we purchase new chicks for egg sales as well as turkey poults and ducklings and of course we cultivate rare breeds as well. They are not as delicate as quail or pheasant chicks but we afford them the same treatment with great results. Instead of creating a disease vector with dusty wasteful chick starter we utilize the whole ingredient method. No more pasty butts, no picking or mortality. Due to the fat layer they develop, moving them outside after the brooder into their fledgling enclosures, we no longer find ourselves dealing with chilled and stressed birds. This is largely because the of the superior integrity of their plumage. Optimal nutrition produces perfect plumage from the cellular level . Plumage grows in as it does on wild birds, which nature obliges be as fit as their parents as they forage for food in nature. Domestic chicks tend to grow up with scraggly plumafe because theur diets are inadequate. This is because conventional pouktry rations are forumated for rapid growtg and yield, never lifespan nor reprodctuve heatl. Commercial diets assault the endocrine system of birds and often have it disabled or offline by the third year- hence hens slow rate of lay. It’s not age but endocrine poisoning that causes this. Ultrakibble contains optimal nutrition. It was originally formulated for the needs of rare zoo birds. The zoos use it alone as a maintenance diet for some species but for farm birds we only require a small amount of ultrakibble to stir into seeds/grains or/and a soy free layer. It’s a nutritional supplement not a maintenance ration. The babycake and hotcake are really awesome because they replace the need for keeping a full hopper of wasteful chick starter. They produce no dust and provide the equivalent of a productive day of foraging on fat bugs, nutritious rootlets and seeds. The best ingredients you can get into your chicks, like crab meal and fruit powders, + the premix vitamin/prebioti/probioti/mineral are folded into the matrix of the nutdough suet in such a manner that chicks ingest them on a consistent basis at ideal levels throughout the day. No more guessing. We are now using another product- the company is called Zootrilogics- Resilience for birds- miracle product- everyone serious about birds should have some on the ready at all times- use this instead of or with antibiotics (only use antibiotics with formal prognosis) as a preventative and as a curative. If we had chicks (or adults) presenting with pasty butt (“yuck butt”) or just about any common malady, we would dose them with resilience and their natural immunity will be restored within 48 hours. Resilience for birds is so on point - especially when dealing with chicks because it provides nourishment while also boosting immunity."

There is a ton of info here. Will be reading over it multiple times for sure. Will also check out "Zootrilogics"..see what's - what there. Thank you so much for sharing!
Anything new learnt is always appreciated!!!

 

[fangedknight]

Welcome welcome all you new folks from down here in Berks County!

My English Orpingtons and Foley (fancy chicken breeder) Silver Laced Wyandotte go seriously broody. But my Austrolorp, the sex linked blue layers and Welsummer and Legbars I got from Dennis did not go broody. My feedstore chicks never went broody either---barred rock, Buff Orpington and "Rhode Island Red"---(Rosy is probably a production Red, not a true Rhodie.) If you don't want fancy chickens there chickies out there that have been bred for maximum production of eggs--not broodiness.

See none absolutely none of my hens have ever gone broody. Ever. They're going on 3 years old now and not a single darn one of them has ever gone broody and it sucks. Makes my job so much harder ugh. (Well okay to be fair I've only ever hatched one egg out of those girls when they've had a rooster in with them but that was his problem. Hopefully his son isn't as bad).

Congratulations on all the new babies! And the birthdays! Susan got some koi pellets for the birds so they ducks will start laying again and it seems to be working! Got our first duck egg on Sunday before all this snow hit us. I just want it warm so I can do things outside and not have to worry about 10 feet of mud!!

Got another goose egg, but we ate it because it was more than likely infertile! (We were right). It was absolutely delicious and I'm glad we're going to be getting more geese cause that was fantastic!

So this week has been a bit of a rollercoaster already. Kinda rolled over from last week. BUT! I'm turning 25 on Thursday. Yep that's right my birthday is in 2 days! It's a super important one too. Not just cause I'm turning 25 but it's gonna be the first birthday since I came out last year! So, I'm excited! Even though I'm probably only going to get an extra nap out of it...maybe.

If the ducks get consistent in laying I'll probably have eggs for sale if anyone wants some (eating or otherwise) I do have a drake in there with the girls I just don't know if he's done anything with them yet so far. (Lord knows he knows what to do!)

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

..well Happy Birthday!! I know I am early, but who cares?!!!

Was that goose egg big enough for an instant omelet?? Seriously wondering...has to be what...4-5 chicken eggs worth?!...a 2 people meal, with toast & such.

I am getting ready to start some seeds today.
Have a couple grow lights that we are use to keep the 'house' plants going..they spend all summer outside until it gets too cold. Then we bring them in to keep them alive until they get set free again. They obviously prefer it to inside..can't say I blame them
Looking forward to getting dirt under the fingers nails, even if it is just potting soil.

We are ready for growing season too, but NOT looking forward to the mess of spring though...totally agree with you there!

 

[dheltzel]

@dheltzel Hiiiii Neighbor!

Thanks for the info and alleviating my breed concern... I'm currently working on coop/run ideas. I think I may purchase a coop and build a large 8ft by 6ft run around it for easy access... Hmm.

Let me know when you need some chicks (or ducklings or turkey poults). I have all of them hatching now through the summer).

 

[dheltzel]

Will anyone have duck eggs avaible to hatch out the end of March? I would like to get some. I dont care what kind aslong as its not muscovy ducks.

I have *lots* of Australian Spotted duck eggs, but it is already past time to get ducklings at the end of March, they incubate for 27 days. These produce ducklings that are the cutest ever and they are very practical pet ducks, small and lay pretty well. I like the bantam ducks because you can put more into the same area compared to the larger ducks.