Setting 41 on 6-15, 7-8, 7-31, and 8-23 feel free to join in at any time

[scflock]

Um, I have 4 dogs, I wasn't thinking of selling, just using...

From that pic you posted of your roo, I'd say the dog likes the taste. I'm sure that could be better than store bought dog food, but depending on how long you raise them could also be much more expensive. Are you looking at it as a way to save on food, or to satisfy your hatching addiction?

 

[WalnutHill]

Does anyone here produce enough chickens that they use some for a raw diet for dogs? Is this an inappropriate subject in this thread? I ask, because it gives me a way to keep hatching after the provincial processor shuts down at Christmas.

I don't, but there is a big market for it here.

My dog coughs up boneballs when given a raw diet and odorizes the house so much a skunk would be fresh air. So I don't feed him a raw diet. But there is a big market for it here, people advertise on Craigslist ISO freezer burned or surplus or game meats for raw dog food. They don't pay squat though.

Chicken is not a balanced diet, so you would have to calculate nutritional needs and add other ingredients accordingly.

 

[RubyNala97]

So does a raw diet mean, a raw chicken? How does that work? Do you still process the chicken? Cut it up for the meat and not cook it? Or just give the dogs the whole bird? I've never heard of this...

 

[WalnutHill]

Here is an Australian FAQ that answers many questions. http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html

If I had a fenced yard that my dog could access at will, I would probably continue to try as I have a lot of venison, chicken and turkey available as well as beef trim. But you can't just replace the diet overnight, it's hard to find pet care who can/will follow the program (if I asked my mother in law to kill a chicken and feed it to my dog, rather than fill his bowl with kibble, it would not go over well), and if you raise chickens, it may not be good to teach your dog to eat them.

And the dog will learn to associate animals with food sources, so kittens, squirrels, rabbits, birds become food as well. My dad had a Brittany Spaniel that was a pound dog, he had been raised on raw food and was worthless as a hunting dog as he'd eat the bird after it was shot.

 

[NTBugtraq]

So does a raw diet mean, a raw chicken? How does that work? Do you still process the chicken? Cut it up for the meat and not cook it? Or just give the dogs the whole bird? I've never heard of this...

I had a cockerel get beaten to death by the main flock when he was 10 weeks old. So I skinned it. I kept the carcass with meat, and fed all but the intestines to the dogs, and they loved it. My thought was to eviscerate, and then quarter the birds skin on...and feed that to the dogs.

 

[scflock]

I had a cockerel get beaten to death by the main flock when he was 10 weeks old. So I skinned it. I kept the carcass with meat, and fed all but the intestines to the dogs, and they loved it. My thought was to eviscerate, and then quarter the birds skin on...and feed that to the dogs.

You aren't real...
You were put here by the mods to give me enough rope to hang myself...
One weekend, I'm going to drive up to Hell's half acre, we are going to get bombed out of our minds, beat the crap out of each other, then I'm going to teach you how to load that Brinsea

 

[NTBugtraq]

Here is an Australian FAQ that answers many questions. http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html

If I had a fenced yard that my dog could access at will, I would probably continue to try as I have a lot of venison, chicken and turkey available as well as beef trim. But you can't just replace the diet overnight, it's hard to find pet care who can/will follow the program (if I asked my mother in law to kill a chicken and feed it to my dog, rather than fill his bowl with kibble, it would not go over well), and if you raise chickens, it may not be good to teach your dog to eat them.

And the dog will learn to associate animals with food sources, so kittens, squirrels, rabbits, birds become food as well. My dad had a Brittany Spaniel that was a pound dog, he had been raised on raw food and was worthless as a hunting dog as he'd eat the bird after it was shot.

Frankly, I'm happy when my dogs catch local fauna...it shows their noses still work and they're alive...keeps me believing they'd survive a bear encounter...(3 of my dogs are Bichons, and weight 13lbs or less). Speaking of nose, my dogs will often go running into the bush barking, and then stand and smell, and go off in another direction. Yet they never smell the chickens. Perhaps its just that they already know the smell of the chickens...they have calmed down significantly when nobody is inside the runs, but when people are there a couple still drool.

In any event, if my dogs get into the coop/run they would likely kill chickens, having eaten them before or not...IMO, a dog must be brought new and young to a home that already has chickens to learn to live with them...do it any other way and you have to hope the dog has a calm disposition.

Finally, I wasn't thinking about putting them on a complete raw diet...just giving them chicken as a treat weekly. If I had to keep incubating through the fall to attain my 100 pullets, I could cull cockerels at much less than 16 weeks and they'd still make good treats for the dogs, and save me money on feed. They would also provide me an ample source of test subjects so I can learn caponizing. Failed capon = dog treat, successful capon means a much bigger meat bird...even if I keep it through to next June. I would love to have all my 2016 meat birds be capons, that would be awesome.

Day 5 Incubation Update:

The Brinsea is barely using any of the humidity pump water, and is staying below 40% (35%-38%). Nice and easy.

The Janoel isn't quite as easy. Firstly, during the night of day 2 I was woken by the humidity alarm, and turned the unit off...(Hey, I was asleep at the time!)...when I turned it back on the temp was down maybe 5C...not sure what effect that will have but I suspect it won't be anything but a bit of a delay in hatch. The humidity in it has been as low as 28%, and as high as 59%. I've added water twice so far and both times a very small amount, but in both cases the humidity shot up to 59%. My next plan is to use a shot glass and see what the humidity goes to with 1 oz, and adjust from there. Janoel says run at 50%...so at the very least I am not deviating enormously from their recommendation...even if I am over @scflock 's.

Tomorrow is a day full of garlic cleaning as Saturday is the annual Haliburton County Garlic Grower's Association Festival. Soil test results for nematodes tomorrow, as well as nutrient recommendations. My certified organic gardener friend gave me 20lbs of her amazing pork, turned into sausage by her butcher according to my recipe, which I have to start smoking on Sunday. Monday I have to start splitting my 8 bush chords of round logs for next year's maple syrup. Recommendations for a diverse cover crop for the raised beds come next week, and gets seeded as soon as the beds are weeded...

Not trying to say my days are any fuller than anyone else's, but just blogging...;-]

 

[NTBugtraq]

You aren't real...
You were put here by the mods to give me enough rope to hang myself...
One weekend, I'm going to drive up to Hell's half acre, we are going to get bombed out of our minds, beat the crap out of each other, then I'm going to teach you how to load that Brinsea

I would love to see you load my nearly round eggs into the Brinsea with the rails in...!!! You know you are always welcome!!

 

[scflock]

keeps me believing they'd survive a bear encounter...(3 of my dogs are Bichons)

I'm not trying to rile you up, I really do love you

First, I'm seeing 3 ferocious bichen frizzies all bowed up to a bear

Then, I'm seeing you, and all that you have become in my mind, chain smoking in the living room, surrounded by brooders and those same bichen frizzies, trying not to kill the rooster you are practicing your caponizing on, while the frizzies are hoping you do

You aren't real...
How long does it take to get from SC to Hell?

 

[rossfam06]

Frankly, I'm happy when my dogs catch local fauna...it shows their noses still work and they're alive...keeps me believing they'd survive a bear encounter...(3 of my dogs are Bichons, and weight 13lbs or less). Speaking of nose, my dogs will often go running into the bush barking, and then stand and smell, and go off in another direction. Yet they never smell the chickens. Perhaps its just that they already know the smell of the chickens...they have calmed down significantly when nobody is inside the runs, but when people are there a couple still drool.

In any event, if my dogs get into the coop/run they would likely kill chickens, having eaten them before or not...IMO, a dog must be brought new and young to a home that already has chickens to learn to live with them...do it any other way and you have to hope the dog has a calm disposition.

Finally, I wasn't thinking about putting them on a complete raw diet...just giving them chicken as a treat weekly. If I had to keep incubating through the fall to attain my 100 pullets, I could cull cockerels at much less than 16 weeks and they'd still make good treats for the dogs, and save me money on feed. They would also provide me an ample source of test subjects so I can learn caponizing. Failed capon = dog treat, successful capon means a much bigger meat bird...even if I keep it through to next June. I would love to have all my 2016 meat birds be capons, that would be awesome.

Day 5 Incubation Update:

The Brinsea is barely using any of the humidity pump water, and is staying below 40% (35%-38%). Nice and easy.

The Janoel isn't quite as easy. Firstly, during the night of day 2 I was woken by the humidity alarm, and turned the unit off...(Hey, I was asleep at the time!)...when I turned it back on the temp was down maybe 5C...not sure what effect that will have but I suspect it won't be anything but a bit of a delay in hatch. The humidity in it has been as low as 28%, and as high as 59%. I've added water twice so far and both times a very small amount, but in both cases the humidity shot up to 59%. My next plan is to use a shot glass and see what the humidity goes to with 1 oz, and adjust from there. Janoel says run at 50%...so at the very least I am not deviating enormously from their recommendation...even if I am over @scflock
's.

Tomorrow is a day full of garlic cleaning as Saturday is the annual Haliburton County Garlic Grower's Association Festival. Soil test results for nematodes tomorrow, as well as nutrient recommendations. My certified organic gardener friend gave me 20lbs of her amazing pork, turned into sausage by her butcher according to my recipe, which I have to start smoking on Sunday. Monday I have to start splitting my 8 bush chords of round logs for next year's maple syrup. Recommendations for a diverse cover crop for the raised beds come next week, and gets seeded as soon as the beds are weeded...

Not trying to say my days are any fuller than anyone else's, but just blogging...;-]

See I disagree with you about getting a new young dog. We got an 8 week old puppy and worked with her and the chickens. We'll come to find out when she was 8 months old.....she was digging underneath the coops, dragging a chicken out and chasing it around until she caught and killed it. Then she just left it there. It sucks. So we found her a new home.