Texas

[hungnguyen]

Quote:
Wow JellyBean, I bet that all Horses want to kiss you ... and the horsemen too

 

[hungnguyen]

Most chicken breeds have good feathering by 2-3 mos and can survive the cold air. I fell in love with the Vietnam Orientals as this was the first chicken I raised as a child when back home in Vietnam. The Vietnam breed is quite naked in neck, chest . Many people described the appearance of them as "turkey". As you can see, my chicks did not have enough feathers. In addition, we built a new cage for chicks this summer to put outside, next to the barn. This cage served the needs for grown chicks and did well during the summer. Clearly, this not the case for winter. I will have to bring them back inside the barn and continue with the heat lamp maybe till end of Feb.

In May 2012, I sold a pair of VN Oriental to North Carolina. In Aug. the new owner called me and alerted me "something wrong with the chicks. It's is almost 3 months and all they have were a few wing feathers". After learning that this is the speacial trademark of a pure Vietnam, he was proud to let all his friends know that he now breeding the pure VN.

Well, some more works to do tonight to prepare them for the cold front coming next Tues.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

With that mane and tail, no one is letting him run in any field!

That is where braiding skills come in handy.

 

[OrpObsessed]

I know there are some horsey people here and I wanted to share my photo of our 36 year old horse, Black. We were told he was a cutting horse and he was very light in the rein. He used to be coal black, now his face is more gray than black. He is a good boy and we don't mind him being a retired hay burner.

I love horses. It's always been a childhood dream of mine to own one. I got into goats because at the time we couldn't afford a horse. Now we don't have enough land for one. Oh how I wish we could own one or two! He is beautiful!

 

[OrpObsessed]

Ms. Jellybean this is for you to dream on:

Lisa

WOW!!!

Lol!

 

[Ms Jellybean]

My original plan was to use a tractor set up but it really isn't very much space. They are much happier free ranging. I try to make it safer for the Silkies and Polish since they are not suited to evade predators because of a lack of flying ability (Silkies and frizzled Cochin) or vision problems from their top knots (Silkies and Polish) The Ameraucanas are free on two acres, the Silkies and Polish are close to the house in the back yard.

I want the benefits of free range, both for the birds' mental well being and from a healthier diet stand point. Leaving chickens in a small space with only deep litter is only a step above the commercial farming practices. Giving them long strands of clipped grass is an unnatural way for chickens to eat grass. They normally bite of bits of grass, not long strands. The long strands end up swallowed whole, since they are not attached to roots that hold it in place. The long strands can cause a blockage in their crop.

My plan is to have a large (10x20 feet or so) area for them to be out when I can't watch them. My fence is only 4 ft high and they could escape if they wanted to, people at the nearby park to easily take them or a predator... I will let them out for an hour or more each day as I can. Lunch time should always work for me since I work from home. My yard is a 1/4 acre total. I intend to keep the chickens in the fenced back yard, which is pretty good size.

So mowed grass is too long to put in the large run area? Ok. Mulched leaves would be alright though, correct?

This reminds me. I cancelled the lawn service that I had last summer so no more chemicals will be sprayed on the yard, but what about fertilizer? Is that bad to use? I would water it in well before letting the chickens out in the grass.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I have a wonderful project to share that can be done with the kids (or grandkids). I watch my friends' 8 yr old twins 3 days a week after school and I am going to do this next week with them. We made clay turkeys last week. I am a crafty girl.

Gratitude Star Garland

 

[hungnguyen]

1. I need to put more heat lamps. So where can I find the Red Heat bulb. So far I went to Home Depot and Lowe just to get the clamped light fixture. All the bulbs I saw was Yellow.


2. Also, every winter 1-2 of my grown birds get sick and paralized their legs. Long ago, I though this was trace of Marek. But now I know this only happens in winter, maybe early winter. Does anyone know which sickness is this and how to deal with it. Currently 1 one-year bird has 1 leg coupled a few days ago

 

[Ms Jellybean]

1. I need to put more heat lamps. So where can I find the Red Heat bulb. So far I went to Home Depot and Lowe just to get the clamped light fixture. All the bulbs I saw was Yellow.

Petsmart or Petco. In the reptile section. Walmart might even have them in the Pet section, not sure though.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I was told to ask Bee about FF (I think Lisa directed me). I asked about the article I had read and I got this reply from Bee that I am passing along so everyone can benefit.

I don't recommend the methods for FF on the first site mentioned as they fail to understand the meaning of anaerobic fermentation and they insist on posting wrong information about it, so I'd refrain from reading any further there. You don't need to keep the feed under water to effect LAB fermentation nor do you need to keep lids sealed tight over it, so please don't believe that or anything else they post on the matter. Most of their information is either ripped off from someone else and not from their personal experiences or seriously misunderstood, as they've only had chickens for a year or more, if that. Sorry..but that's the facts on that site and they've caused quite a few misunderstandings for people, with the latest one an exploding glass jar that could have injured someone if they were standing nearby...it left a huge mess exploded all over their hallway, with fermented feed everywhere.

Fermenting starter food for chicks is as simple as placing starter in a bucket and pouring water into it until you've mixed all the feed well enough that it's moistened fully. Add more water~about 6 in. more~to account for further absorption. You can add some mother vinegar~doesn't really matter how much..just a splash~or not, your preference. Leave it somewhere warm and you can place a lid over it but don't snap it down tight on all sides..leave a crack for air exchange. The next day, give it a stir. Is it about the consistency of peanut butter or very thick oatmeal? Perfect. If too dry, add just a little more water until it's a smooth, thick mixture that can be stirred. You should see some bubbles rising when you stir. If not, no worries. Sniff it...does it still smell sweet or does it have a slight sour smell like sourdough bread? If still sweet, it will need more time, if smelling sour, the fermentation has started and you can start feeding it then. You don't really need to strain it if you keep your mixture nice and thick. Just stir it every day before you feed to moisten the top of the feed and then feed it out to the chicks.

A feeder that doesn't allow them to get into the feed can save you a lot of trouble...I used an old muffin pan with a piece of fencing over it to keep them from wading in the feed. No longer than the feed stays in the metal of the pan, it won't start leaching into the feed, so no worries there. Just dish out what they can clean up in a couple of hours, twice a day. Good deep litter will help clean off the feed residue from their faces, chests or feet. Don't place the feed directly under the light or the top will bake hard, but keep it near the circle of light to keep it warm. Check back on it later and if it has gotten a crust, just stir that up and they will eat the rest of the feed quite easily. If you are finding they can't clean it up in a couple of hours, feed a little less next time until they have cleaned the entire feeder before they get fed once again.

Don't worry about mixing this or that in your chicken feed...folks get a little too wrapped up in that and it makes them feel like they are doing something special, but it's not necessary unless you are mixing in a cheaper grain to cut the protein percentage and to save money. If it isn't saving you money, it's not worth the bother. That's one of the reasons to do fermented feed, so adding expensive grains or supplements to the mix is kind of defeating the purpose and is entirely unnecessary~not to mention is giving the chickens too much protein. USDA sources on information about the protein percentage of brewer's grains(a less potent end product than the FF)shows them at 24% and no chicken needs more than 16% to produce an egg, so no further adjustments to FF need to happen unless it's downward....like adding a cheaper grain like barley to the layer feed to make the layer feed go further.

But, you don't have to worry about that at all....just ferment the layer ration, doesn't matter what brand or type, and feed it to the chickens and gauge their reaction, how the feed ferments, tweak your water amounts to get the easiest texture or thickness and enjoy the process. That's all...just enjoy the simplicity of taking a cheap, substandard feed source like grains and amping them up to provide a better nutrition for your birds. No need to complicate it any further....just a bucket and a scoop, feed and some water.

Any questions about it after that can be answered pretty quickly and usually quite accurately at the two FF threads on BYC,one is in the meat bird section and the other in the feed and water section of the forum. Both are dedicated to giving the correct information on the method and have many people who have been doing it for some time...one lady has been doing it for years in large quantities and can give you the low down on it for the long term or for large quantities.

Good luck, Laurie! And give all those Texans a big ol' hug from Bee!