The Middle Tennessee Thread

[RebekahTN]

I am seriously considering letting go of my trio of Black Ameraucana from John Blehm. I have chicks ordered months ago (before the hatch-a-thon started) coming and am out of room. One of the girls is broody right now with about a week to go. (More chicks). If there is any interest, let me know. They have good egg color and were hatched early last May. I got them from him as day old chicks.

How much would you be asking for your Black trio if you decide to let them go?

 

[RebekahTN]

You too???

I gotta boot the Lavender trio I kept from that batch too... don't want to mix my lines and need the space for my whites...

Where are you located and how much are you asking for your Lavender trio? I am in McMinnville.

 

[cree57i]

How much would you be asking for your Black trio if you decide to let them go?

PM'd you!

 

[JKYoung]

Has anyone else tried the non GMO feed from Taylor family farms? http://taylorfamilyfarmtn.com/chicken-feed.html

If so, what did you think of feeding powdery feed instead of pellets?

Or, have you used another type of feed that is in powder form (similar to flour) and do you think it is OK? Any benefits or detriments to ground up food?

 

[rjohns39]

Has anyone else tried the non GMO feed from Taylor family farms? http://taylorfamilyfarmtn.com/chicken-feed.html

If so, what did you think of feeding powdery feed instead of pellets?

Or, have you used another type of feed that is in powder form (similar to flour) and do you think it is OK? Any benefits or detriments to ground up food?

I have not tried their feed yet--but starter should be ground on a 3/16 or 1/4 screen and layer on a 3/8 screen. I know several farmers who swear by Johnnie and if he wasn't sooooo far away I would likely be buying feed from him. I also know that he uses Soy Meal rather than whole roasted soy. Where are you in TN? There are several sources of Non-GMO feed available in middle TN that is not tucker. I personally don't like tucker, but many do. I use the same feed that polyface farms in VA use for my birds. They're working off 30 years of R&D when it comes to feed. I also follow Jeff Mattocks closely. Smith County Co-Op Makes my feed for me but minimum order is a ton. I recently drove through VA on a business trip and picked up my turkey starter from Sunrise farms in stuarts draft VA. Simply stated, I can't use up a ton. Fertrell is tough to come by in middle TN. Johnnie has it, it can be purchased from Greener way in Antioch, TN--but they only order certain times of the year. PM me if you want the full education... Not something I planned to learn but was forced to.

 

[JKYoung]

I have not tried their feed yet--but starter should be ground on a 3/16 or 1/4 screen and layer on a 3/8 screen.  I know several farmers who swear by Johnnie and if he wasn't sooooo far away I would likely be buying feed from him.  I also know that he uses Soy Meal rather than whole roasted soy.  Where are you in TN?  There are several sources of Non-GMO feed available in middle TN that is not tucker.  I personally don't like tucker, but many do.  I use the same feed that polyface farms in VA use for my birds.  They're working off 30 years of R&D when it comes to feed.  I also follow Jeff [COLOR=545454]Mattocks closely.  Smith County Co-Op Makes my feed for me  but minimum order is a ton.  I recently drove through VA on a business trip and picked up my turkey starter from Sunrise farms in stuarts draft VA.  Simply stated, I can't use up a ton.  Fertrell is tough to come by in middle TN.  Johnnie has it, it can be purchased from Greener way in [/COLOR][COLOR=2C352B]Antioch, TN--but they only order certain times of the year.  PM me if you want the full education...  Not something I planned to learn but was forced to.[/COLOR]

Thank you so much rjohns! Good bit of education already! I do have one question( maybe I could Google it but this is more fun ) what is the difference between soy meal and roasted soy?

 

[BYC910]

Thank you so much rjohns! Good bit of education already! I do have one question( maybe I could Google it but this is more fun

) what is the difference between soy meal and roasted soy?

I can answer that . Soy meal is a by product of soy beans used for oil production . It one of the high protein supplements used in feeds .Fine ground for easy mixing Cottonseed meal is another . Roasted soybeans are roasted without the oil being extracted and ground for feeds . Which gives them a higher nutrient content. The protein content is close to the same in both . Dry bean grains in any form are harder for the digestive system to absorb and the finer ground the better. For that reason they are add only as a small portion to feeds to increase protein .I'm a little rusty on the protein content but it's around 40% . So a little goes a long way .

 

[rjohns39]

Also of note, there are two basic ways to get soy meal. One, the type Johnnie uses, is to press the beans, the other is a chemical extraction method with the use of toxic chemicals. Another advantage of whole roasted soy is shelf life. It lasts longer on the shelf than meal--but that's only before it goes into the feed. Once ground into the feed, shelf life is the same.

 

[JKYoung]

Thank you both so much very insightful. For some reason I am just weirded out by feeding powder instead of pellets or grains. O and I never answered my location, I am in Columbia, Johnnie delivers here

 

[debid]

Thank you both so much very insightful. For some reason I am just weirded out by feeding powder instead of pellets or grains. O and I never answered my location, I am in Columbia, Johnnie delivers here

The chickens can be weirded out, too, if you've been feeding pellet or crumble... haters of change that they are. If you moisten it just a bit, the powder becomes lumps and they'll scarf it down like it's a treat.