Surviving Minnesota!

[MinnesotaNice]

Quote:

Well, I was up at 0200 and checked on them, found them all sleeping fairly closely under the lamp, but not necessarily piled atop each other. I was worried when I saw some frost on my windshield this morning when I went to check on them, but was pleased to find they were running around, eating and drinking water (even though they got their first experience at ice chipping with their beaks!). The area under the brooder lamp was 65 degrees and not one bird was under there! I got some extremely hearty buckeyes from Minniechickmama, so they seemed to be doing well. I'll check on them again this afternoon and try to let them out to forage some. After last nights lows, the upcoming 40's and 50's for lows will feel like tropics for my chicks!

When I put my chicks in the coop this past January, I checked on them all of the time, too. They surprisingly didn't use the heat lamp like I thought they would. They more so huddled together for a week or two and then started to roost with the other girls. Sounds like your Buckeyes are pretty happy to be running around in that nice big space you have for them =) I always forget how resilient chickens are.

@Dandelioness , you have bunnies?

 

[Dandelioness]

I'm headed to the coop this week to pick up the last of the stuff I need to mix my own chicken feed. They carry a calcium supplement that I am pretty sure is just fancy crushed limestone (aragonite). I am thinking if I stop by the local quarry and pick up a few Pails of limestone fines I can probably save a few bucks with the same results, not? The chickens are constantly picking up grit from my limestone driveway already. I probably will also add oyster shell to the feed besides their free choice

What is the name/brand of the supplement?

A friend and I mixed our own feed a few years back, for meatballs, and wound up with leg troubles. In hindsight, it was a mineral deficiency. We had tried subbing one mineral for another product, too. I cannot recall the name, but if you tell me I may recognise it.

We also thought a slower growing layer type would not have had the leg issues, as we've thrown together stuff for them with little to no difference in growth/strength.

Oh, now you've got me nerding out on home feed mixes! Must resist!

I'm off to give the coop/colony a good cleaning.

Ralphie, we're all waiting to hear how things go today! >insert popcorn emoji here<

Have a good day All ~

 

[holm25]

I have a lean too on the old granary. the birds go into it year round to sand bathe... I am trying to talk Mom into moving her crap and I do me junk type crap out of it so I can give the birds more sand year round.  I would add ash to it if her stuff was moved.

But I guess I will have to not push too hard on that.  If you could get the right chicken into the ash pile today Kloppers, you could have baked Chicken. Maybe you would have to  wrap it in foil like you do a potato before you throw it in ashes.

Thanks for the well wishes on the "visit".

I really had thought it would be a couple weeks down the line so I could have gotten more done.  As nice as the weather was this winter, the spring has been chaotic and it has been hard to actually get a lot of major projects done.

I tried to got to bed around 1-1:30 this morning, but I could not find my IPhone.  I had a meeting in Downtown Orrock last night for 2 hours. I managed to convince myself I had left it in my van and had failed to lock the door.  I was a tad over tired, I admit. I even went on ICloud and disabled my phone and used the find a phone feature.  I called my phone over and over, I looked in my van, in the chicken coop, and the entire house.

  When I was laying in bed fretting over the phone, I thought, "gee whiz, golly gee, Did I leave it in the shed" So I got up and made an undies run to the shed. There was my phone! I use the blue tooth on it and play through a speaker in my shed while I work in there. I listen to Pandora. Yesterday was a little big town station day. I like them, I change stations every day so the repetition is not as bad.   But 99% of the time it is country, what else is there?

I thought for sure u would be listening to furry boots over and over again!

 

[holm25]

Ralph I wish u the best of luck today!







Got 2 calves today already. A white calf and a black calf. White calf is a big heifer and the black calf is a big bull!!

 

[KlopKlop]

What is the name/brand of the supplement?

A friend and I mixed our own feed a few years back, for meatballs, and wound up with leg troubles. In hindsight, it was a mineral deficiency. We had tried subbing one mineral for another product, too. I cannot recall the name, but if you tell me I may recognise it.

We also thought a slower growing layer type would not have had the leg issues, as we've thrown together stuff for them with little to no difference in growth/strength.

Oh, now you've got me nerding out on home feed mixes! Must resist!

I'm off to give the coop/colony a good cleaning.

Ralphie, we're all waiting to hear how things go today! >insert popcorn emoji here<

Have a good day All ~

I opted to go with Fertrel Nutribalancer as the base for mine. The mix will include Corn, Soy meal, oats, Nutribalancer, Fishmeal, and calcium for the layers. The mixture amounts is different for Broilers and layers. Fertrel provides the recommended recipes.

I am considering trying to grow duckweed when it warms up and I can harvest some from the local park. I would then sun dry it and try running it through my grinder and mixing with the feed for a high protein, green addition to the feed. I also will be harvesting and drying comfrey again this year for the winter feed mix.

I looked at the mixes available from Kent and Hubbard and didn't care for either of them

 

[MNChickMom]

I opted to go with Fertrel Nutribalancer as the base for mine. The mix will include Corn, Soy meal, oats, Nutribalancer, Fishmeal, and calcium for the layers. The mixture amounts is different for Broilers and layers. Fertrel provides the recommended recipes.

I am considering trying to grow duckweed when it warms up and I can harvest some from the local park. I would then sun dry it and try running it through my grinder and mixing with the feed for a high protein, green addition to the feed. I also will be harvesting and drying comfrey again this year for the winter feed mix.

I looked at the mixes available from Kent and Hubbard and didn't care for either of them

Can you tell me why you didn't care for the Hubbard mix? Once our chicks are off chick starter we plan to mix our own. Presently, our steers are thriving off the Hubbard brand feeds and concentrates so we would like to stick to one feed rep if possible. If you would rather PM that is fine too. Thanks in advance.

 

[chickenlover292]

Chickenlover292. Are you wanting to hatch or eat them? If you are going to eat them try the float test on them. Put Egg float test in the search bar and find a thread that will explain it all to you.

I am trying to hatch them but we didn't let the mother sit on them, once they were laid we pulled them out of our chicken coop and put them into the new chicken coop that has no chickens in there so they would be safe. My mom said she wanted them to lay more eggs before she put them back into the chicken coop so they could sit on a lot more. They were also covering them with the pine shavings on the floor so you couldn't find them at all.

 

[GoldenFlight]

,

 

[NathanZee]

Someone came and bought all four drakes I needed to get rid of!

Now I need to hatch little fuzzy replacements! (hopefully hens

)

 

[ejb3810]

GoldenFlight, welcome to the thread I think. It looks as if you will fit in nicely with a couple of the waterfowl fanatics already posting here.