The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[waddles99]

I just picked up a bag of poultry conditioner a couple days ago. How much are you supposed to use? I was thinking of dumping the whole 5 lb bag in 50 lbs of feed.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

I just picked up a bag of poultry conditioner a couple days ago. How much are you supposed to use? I was thinking of dumping the whole 5 lb bag in 50 lbs of feed.

That's a good question.TSC's feeding instructions say to mix with regular feed up to 25%... OR...1-3 tablespoons (daily) per individual LF chicken along with regular feed.

 

[waddles99]

That's a good question.TSC's feeding instructions say to mix with regular feed up to 25%... OR...1-3 tablespoons (daily) per individual LF chicken along with regular feed.

I think I might try to start out with the 5 lbs per 50 lb bag at 10% and see how it goes. If I need more, I'll add more. I don't want to give them too much of the stuff and have them be, well, over nourished.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

I think I might try to start out with the 5 lbs per 50 lb bag at 10% and see how it goes. If I need more, I'll add more. I don't want to give them too much of the stuff and have them be, well, over nourished.

That sounds like a good plan... start low and work your way up. I'll be going to TSC today to pick up some more bedding and chick starter, so I'll grab a bag or two of conditioner. Since they're only 6 weeks old, I'll start on the low percentage side as well. Their current feed has 20% protein, so I don't want them to be... as you said... "over nourished".

Another thing I plan to pick up while I'm out and about is a bag of wheat seed and some flat trays. I've been reading up on wheat grass, and it's nutritional benefits. It's cheap, easy to grow, and my chickens will love it. It's one of the most nutritional grasses for livestock (and humans), so I'm definitely going to give it a go.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

@cmom this is a short video of "Sonny, Jr." trying to catch a fly in the brooder. So far, he looks like he's going to be the top cockerel from pen #1. He's showing good type, good color, and excellent growth. He's got a brother that's a close second, and I realize slower developing birds can become better birds later on... but he's definitely got potential.

 

[waddles99]

@cmom this is a short video of "Sonny, Jr." trying to catch a fly in the brooder. So far, he looks like he's going to be the top cockerel from pen #1. He's showing good type, good color, and excellent growth. He's got a brother that's a close second, and I realize slower developing birds can become better birds later on... but he's definitely got potential.

Very nice birds. I definitely see what you mean about having the pronounced breast, instead of sloping down, it juts out. And that leg color is so nice. Thats something that my birds definitely lack, good leg color. Do you get that by feeding that marigold feed? And I love your waterer, its a great idea. I wish I could somehow introduce something like that into my setup, that would be really cool. My waterer gets so dirty, even up on blocks.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Very nice birds. I definitely see what you mean about having the pronounced breast, instead of sloping down, it juts out. And that leg color is so nice. Thats something that my birds definitely lack, good leg color. Do you get that by feeding that marigold feed? And I love your waterer, its a great idea. I wish I could somehow introduce something like that into my setup, that would be really cool. My waterer gets so dirty, even up on blocks.

Thanks, waddles. The cockerels have the more pronounced "brick" shape than the pullets, and Jr's breast was jutting out a bit excessively in the video because he was leaning back. There are a few other birds in the vid that show flat breasts because they are standing in a normal position. As for leg color, the legs are actually much brighter yellow than in the video. The LED lighting mutes the color, as well as my cell phone. I'll have to drag my old Canon camera out to see if it does a better job. I feed them DuMOR Chick Stater/grower, a little bit of Purina Scratch Grains, and access to the yard every day. Leg color can be improved by diet, especially with Marigold extract, but genetics plays a large role. Just like any other good trait, it has to be bred into the birds.

Edit: My SX30 IS does a much better job of capturing the natural color of the legs. These pics are under natural sunlight with no color enhancement whatsoever...







The waterer is a simple contraption to build, and I use them in all my coops. I start the chicks on these waterers when they're 3-4 weeks old and strong enough to move the spring-loaded nipple. It takes a little bit of practice for them to get the hang of it, but they figure it out all by themselves. These horizontal nipples, bought on Amazon, will work in almost any plastic container that's thick enough for them to screw into... from small water pitchers to 55 gallon drums or larger. Since they don't hold water like vertical nipples, they're less susceptible to freezing. The water in the container behind the nipple would have to freeze before they stop working. Here's my page that shows how easy it is to build...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/homemade-waterer

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

I messed up on these last two posts, and now looking for a way to delete them...

 

[daxigait]

@cmom this is a short video of "Sonny, Jr." trying to catch a fly in the brooder. So far, he looks like he's going to be the top cockerel from pen #1. He's showing good type, good color, and excellent growth. He's got a brother that's a close second, and I realize slower developing birds can become better birds later on... but he's definitely got potential.

Nice birds. I will try to get pictures of the one we discussed tomorrow. I spent five hours this morning processing my first meat birds, and I am off to work on post holes before leaving early so they are stuck in the covered section of run today since the open section is not done yet. I can't trust I can get them back in in an hour if I let them out. Have a great weekend.