Red Laced Cornish X and project talk (pics p. 8)

[bt2000]

If this is your first go with broilers.. and if heat is going to be high.. I would suggest processing them as soon as you feel they're large enough..Don't wait for "monster chicken". Heat is a broiler killer for sure.

Lot's of shade and water.. and a few fans don't hurt either.

 

[MobyQuail]

do ya'll use foodgrade DE? just found some in the Alachua Farm and Lumber near me and thought I would try.

also, thinking in the heat lately getting me dizzy, even shaved my head so hot here.

so, project #1 gonna raise up these 8 bantam cornish see what we get, hatch to dispatch, you will get pictures. will keep the best according to ya'll
and hold on project #2 the bantam cornish X blue rock project- several reasons really,
1 the heat,
2 I think we should get some white rocks (i wonder who has the best? hmm) to cross with the bantam cornish roo, I think the birds would be better suited to be meatbirds and have better coloring living and for butchering, thoughts or would they be all white?
3. chicken math (slow down, walk down the hill dont run)
4. quality over quantity, keep saying it to myself.
5. lets us use the Blue rocks this fall for what we really need in our flock now, making about 30+ blue and blue barred egg layers for next year.
6. "start from where you are with what you have"

whew, thanks, lots off my chest, and now in writing

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Yes, I use food grade DE, purchased from the garden center of Farm King Supply, a localized chain with prices compairable to larger chains. However, it's better used as a preventative than a treatment for an existing problem IMO.

Your list is a good one. The only value I know of in useing white colored birds is the much cleaner appearing carcass of the processed birds, but that can be an important quality. White individuals do seem to have a greater attraction of predators.

I've paid too much for a few of my birds, but why breed if not trying for the best I can produce; quality comes at a finacial cost, but as an old mentor once told me, "It doesn't cost any more to feed a really good animal than it does a really poor one, so buy the best you can find and afford." When it comes to numbers, I try to hatch enough to insure that the few individuals selected off the top to keep as breeders will be showing progress towards the goal; but due to my issues with health and severely limited budget, those numbers are limited. This is why when I found a couple of DCs with great meat qualities, I paid as much as I would have for 10 or more lesser quality birds. In the long run, they were cheaper than the 25 chicks I ordered from a hatchery and fed to breeding age anyway. We do all have to start with what we have, but I'm trying to make sure that what I have makes it possible to achieve my goals........................ when or if it prooves otherwize, there is at least the opportunity to use them as food for myself or dogs....................... or they may be suited for somebody else's idea of what to keep in their own yards....................... I've sold or traded a bunch to people that were glad to have them.

P.S.: The White Rocks, if recessive white, will not produce white chicks off your bantams, but their offspring will when mated with each other.

 

[MobyQuail]

what do you use for worming and how often?

I give the chicks ACV in their water while brooding, can't say I do it as often for the entire flock.

we used wazine? couple months back on the whole flock. we had it on hand but understand it may not treat everything?
we have fenbendazole? but the dosage is tricky.
reading about ivermectin and that is the way I am leaning. pour-on?

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
I've used apple cider vinegar in the past for my chicks instead of medicated feed, but have never had a problem with cocci in my birds anyway. ACV is not a wormer, but supposedly helps maintain a PH level that is not supportive of parasitic worms thriving. From what I've read, raw ACV is supposed to be more beneficial, but I wasn't willing to pay the price. LOL

I used Wazine and Sevin on my flock last year because one bird definately had mites, and was probably wormy. I followed with Ivomec Pour-On applied under the wing. I like the Ivomec for its effectiveness on both external and internal parasites.........................Wazine for its ease of application....................... and found Sevin difficult to get under the feathers where it would be effective. I don't have a parasite treatment schedule established, but offer DE bathing areas, dust nest boxes with it, and sometimes sprinkle it over their feed. I believe Ivomec has long lasting properties, but absolutely no proof that it does any more than kill the parasites immediately, other than my own dogs taking Ivomectin injectable, applied orally, once monthly, and remaining free of worms, ticks, and ear mites. . {I find several ticks daily on myself, but my doctor says I can't take Ivomectin myself.................. I was probably well dosed myself last year by the time I was done treating my chickens....................... but it was winter so the ticks weren't a problem then

}

 

[MobyQuail]

Quote:
I've used apple cider vinegar in the past for my chicks instead of medicated feed, but have never had a problem with cocci in my birds anyway. ACV is not a wormer, but supposedly helps maintain a PH level that is not supportive of parasitic worms thriving. From what I've read, raw ACV is supposed to be more beneficial, but I wasn't willing to pay the price. LOL

I used Wazine and Sevin on my flock last year because one bird definately had mites, and was probably wormy. I followed with Ivomec Pour-On applied under the wing. I like the Ivomec for its effectiveness on both external and internal parasites.........................Wazine for its ease of application....................... and found Sevin difficult to get under the feathers where it would be effective. I don't have a parasite treatment schedule established, but offer DE bathing areas, dust nest boxes with it, and sometimes sprinkle it over their feed. I believe Ivomec has long lasting properties, but absolutely no proof that it does it any more than kill the parasites immediately, other than my own dogs taking Ivomectin injectable, applied orally, once monthly, and remaining free of worms, ticks, and ear mites. . {I find several ticks daily on myself, but my doctor says I can't take Ivomectin myself.................. I was probably well dosed myself last year by the time I was done treating my chickens....................... but it was winter so the ticks weren't a problem then

}

thank you Sir, noted and scheduled with the worming.

I have been taking the ACV myself on occassion, Braggs with "Mother", not bad with sweet tea and I am acquiring a taste for it, Grandma Rita swears by it.

ACV is not a wormer, but supposedly helps maintain a PH level that is not supportive of parasitic worms thriving. From what I've read, raw ACV is supposed to be more beneficial, but I wasn't willing to pay the price. LOL

ya know, when I was in college, we had an instructor that spoke of this, and also of common viruses in the same way.

thanks again!​

 

[MobyQuail]

2 weeks and growing on me.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

What are those exactly Model A? They look identical to my Freedom Rangers.

 

[MobyQuail]

Quote:
we'all figured they are poorly marked/colored white laced red bantam cornish. someone mentioned bantam weight for cornish roo was ~44oz.?

they are scratching around in that brooder with the RIR bantam chicks we picked up all off crgslists best deal ever.

 

[SteveH]

I grew complaicent after not loosing a chick or chicken to furred predators over the last two years, and put my CX in a little cage that nearly anything could climb and enter from the top, it being only protected from large birds of prey by 4x5 inch openings.

The result is a chick lost last night, and all but a bit of intestine, some feathers, and one bare thigh bone devoured right next to the cage. The cage will be covered with hardware cloth today [as I strated to do but decided "Why bother?"]. The traps will be baited and set tonight.