Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

OK i know this has nothing to do with mushrooms as the conversation is going in that direction...lol but i am paniced as i am getting a dozen or so broilers next week and have forgotten what i should feed them. I am going to start them out on the organic starter/grower.... should i just feed them that throughout their short life or until i do some finisher the last couple weeks? Or should i order grains? I have heard if you do grains and ferment them that is better for the birds...fills them up...is better for their constant pooping...etc.... what do you all feed your broilers and where do you buy your feed? I live in Central mn smack dab in the middle of st. cloud and msp. thanks for your help...

WB...

As a Self proclaimed CX expert. DO not over feed them.

The first 2 days give them a starter around 18-20 percent. Give it to them 12 hours a day. And lots of water. Keep the water and Feed as far apart as possible. Make them walk. Do not leave the feed with them 24 hours a day!

Starting on Day 3 only feed them twice a day, morning and night. I give them as much as they can eat in 15-20 minutes. they will stuff themselves then back off the feeder. Take the feeder away. Make sure they have lots of water. I give mine soil/sand from the garden/yard to play and pick at. It gets the bugs in my soil into them in a small dose and they can develop immunities. At this point you can drop down to a 15% grower. Medicated or not is up to you. I do not medicate. Just know if you get that Cocci stuff it can wipe out all chicks in a day. I take the risk, but know it is there.

After about 2 weeks they are ready to Free Range a few hours a day. If you decide to free range do not feed them before you send them out the door. They will not free range if they are full. It is amazing how many bugs and seeds they will eat in a day. I love free ranging CX's. I feed them every night at this point to get them back in the tractor/coop. I still only feed 15% protein. and 20 minutes. LOTS OF WATER!

I know a lot of people will tell you, this is a crazy way to grow them. They feed them 22% protein until they butcher. 12 hours a day. I tried that. I had heart attacks, leg issues, kidney (ascites) problems and the birds needed to be culled at 40-42 days. They were not happy birds I hated what I had for birds.

I decided to try them this way and I liked the birds. they were happy, they lived to be 13 weeks when I would process them. My roosters go 11-13 pounds my hens 8-10. They are huge delicious birds! Fit for a king. I never have the horror stories you hear about CX's when raised this way.

I have had all kinds of people tell me it is impossible to raise them like I do...They are wrong... The guy in the feed store told me I would have leg problems and the birds would be crippled and not make good meet. So be prepared to hear all kinds of stuff......

I roasted a breast last week, the breast was 4.5 pounds! it was great. We had the original meal, then sandwiches, and finally a white stew. A Quarter will weigh 2 pounds easily! The drumsticks are great. no little bones to bother you!

Good luck on them.

 

[jerryse]

No, it's not deep because I was wearing boots. It's like all the skin layers initially were crushed.
I've been keeping mine dressed, too. The new skin is pushing up & it's making me itchy. So maybe not as problematic as it sounded, no infection. Just itchy. I was wondering if it was taking too long to heal and thought, "I wish I knew someone who had a big wound right around the same time as me..." Thanks for comparing notes.

I have a stand of trees that are good host species for morels. My friend has been saving her rinse/soak water for me & I keep dumping it in a certain spot. I've heard you can get morels to grow there by doing this. It'll take another year before I will know if it works or not.

This works . I did it around dead elm trees . It ca take several years or 1 . Just wondering when your morel time is . Ours is usually the best the last week of April . Can start by April 15 and sometimes as late as May 15 for the last find . So I am guessing 2 weeks later for BC . Not likely to be there that early anytime soon .

 

[duluthralphie]

This works . I did it around dead elm trees . It ca take several years or 1 . Just wondering when your morel time is . Ours is usually the best the last week of April . Can start by April 15 and sometimes as late as May 15 for the last find . So I am guessing 2 weeks later for BC . Not likely to be there that early anytime soon .

Do Morells like dead elm?


I have a dead elm I might cut down this summer. I have been leaving it for the pileated woodpeckers. If I do and I lay the logs in the woods will I get Morells?

 

[KlopKlop]

Do Morells like dead elm?


I have a dead elm I might cut down this summer. I have been leaving it for the pileated woodpeckers. If I do and I lay the logs in the woods will I get Morells?

I think they grow up from the roots of the elms, not the logs. Maybe as the log rotted though? assuming you had spores to start the growth

Edit: Maybe cut down the tree, then grind the stump and mix the grindings into the soil? that seems like it would make a great morel growth area once inoculated

 

[jerryse]

Do Morells like dead elm?


I have a dead elm I might cut down this summer. I have been leaving it for the pileated woodpeckers. If I do and I lay the logs in the woods will I get Morells?

From the roots mostly . I have heard of burying limbs or small trees with some success . Shallow of course . They like elm , cottonwood , silver maple , Sycamore , willow and even oak . River bottoms are a great place if you are near them . Lots of dead and dying trees in there .

 

[Dandelioness]

Sorry about your duck, Holm!
One of my favorite EE hens is not looking good. She has been standing off to the side really puffed up but droopy. Today, she was sitting in a corner kinda like a broody, but her eyes are half shut and she moves very slowly if at all. Someone has had really loose stool lately, I think it must be her. Everyone else is looking and acting fine. :/ I was hoping to hatch out some of her offspring this summer/fall.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Does anybody use kennel fencing as a run? If so, do you cover the chain link with chicken wire or hardware cloth? I'd have to run chicken wire over the top and bottom as well. I'm considering a 10x15x6 chain linked kennel as a home for my ducks.

@holm25 , I'm sorry to hear about your drake.

And a huge loss with Merle Haggard. We had tickets to see him at the casino this summer. I have yet to see Willie Nelson live - I told DH we have to make more of an effort to see him when he's close to MN. When these great, classic artists are gone, they're gone.

 

[Dandelioness]

Jerry, good to know it works!

 

[lilbear412]

WB...

As a Self proclaimed CX expert. DO not over feed them.

The first 2 days give them a starter around 18-20 percent. Give it to them 12 hours a day. And lots of water. Keep the water and Feed as far apart as possible. Make them walk. Do not leave the feed with them 24 hours a day!

Starting on Day 3 only feed them twice a day, morning and night. I give them as much as they can eat in 15-20 minutes. they will stuff themselves then back off the feeder. Take the feeder away. Make sure they have lots of water. I give mine soil/sand from the garden/yard to play and pick at. It gets the bugs in my soil into them in a small dose and they can develop immunities. At this point you can drop down to a 15% grower. Medicated or not is up to you. I do not medicate. Just know if you get that Cocci stuff it can wipe out all chicks in a day. I take the risk, but know it is there.

After about 2 weeks they are ready to Free Range a few hours a day. If you decide to free range do not feed them before you send them out the door. They will not free range if they are full. It is amazing how many bugs and seeds they will eat in a day. I love free ranging CX's. I feed them every night at this point to get them back in the tractor/coop. I still only feed 15% protein. and 20 minutes. LOTS OF WATER!

I know a lot of people will tell you, this is a crazy way to grow them. They feed them 22% protein until they butcher. 12 hours a day. I tried that. I had heart attacks, leg issues, kidney (ascites) problems and the birds needed to be culled at 40-42 days. They were not happy birds I hated what I had for birds.

I decided to try them this way and I liked the birds. they were happy, they lived to be 13 weeks when I would process them. My roosters go 11-13 pounds my hens 8-10. They are huge delicious birds! Fit for a king. I never have the horror stories you hear about CX's when raised this way.

I have had all kinds of people tell me it is impossible to raise them like I do...They are wrong... The guy in the feed store told me I would have leg problems and the birds would be crippled and not make good meet. So be prepared to hear all kinds of stuff......

I roasted a breast last week, the breast was 4.5 pounds! it was great. We had the original meal, then sandwiches, and finally a white stew. A Quarter will weigh 2 pounds easily! The drumsticks are great. no little bones to bother you!

Good luck on them.

thanks....i am going to try this way of feeding them. I have a tractor for them and if it ever warms up i will get them outside . What kind of food do you give them? I have Organic chicken starter grower. I would love your recipe for feed. And obviously you are close to me so where do you get the stuff for your feed? I think i will ferment feed and give it to them late afternoon/early evening after they have been out all day roaming. I know they will kill themselves eating so to limit their food intake. Like i said, fermented feed fills them up (makes sense), they get water from the feed (in addition to their water) and it forms their poop better. thanks

 

[holm25]

LOL Like I am going to remember her name!!!!

I thoight the state vet was a guy? Cuz they had the state vet at a 4H thing last year and it was a guy? Unless there is a couple of them for each zone?