The Middle Tennessee Thread

[pacnu]

Who would have thought such tiny little things could eat so much? I'm beginning to wonder if we got feathered pigs and not chicks.

 

[debid]

Who would have thought such tiny little things could eat so much? I'm beginning to wonder if we got feathered pigs and not chicks. 

They eat like my kids do during a growth spurt. Of course, chicks grow almost fast enough to see it happen! I just got four a week ago and they've gone from tiny 3-day old peeps to zooming around and starting to fly up on things. It's crazy how fast it goes.

 

[DMRippy]

You have not seen anything yet. That age between 2-4 months old WOW they can pack some food away.

 

[debid]

I remember that too. I bought a 50lb. sack for four chicks because they're going to eat it all...

 

[chickenlover478]

Debid I was talking to the guy at the poultry house and he said they have ducks and laying hens in April.hope this helps!

 

[Seaarla]

Hey everyone. I was hoping someone may be able to answer a question concerning brooder bedding for me or point me in a glove direction. I'm using a iPhone with spotty service so researching is slow and there was 12000+ threads so I turned here with hope. I knew most everyone here would know what chert rock is. I have read a few threads in regards to using sand as a bedding and it got me thinking if using chert as a bedding would be alright. On Wikipedia it says there are trace minerals in chert. Anyone know if that would be a problem? I have 8 day old. SLW-BBA and BO in the standard chick brooder and assorted 3 day old Bantams in the other. I haven't raised chicks in eight years and never this many. As I newbie to BYC I am sorry if I've posted this in the wrong place. I'm a working hard on learning the site, but it's going slow. Hopefully my home computer will be fixed soon and make navigating and finding answers easier. Until then I would be so grateful for any help to that question and a few more. I am working on brooders today if anyone has knowledge or opinions about using white chert as a bedding I could use the help. Thanks and hope you all are having a great day.

 

[DMRippy]

I would just use pine shavings. I know some people use sand but i dont know how you clean that. Would you just toss it? The pine shaving work ok in a compost pile..... not sure about chert. My hubby thinks that might be sharp but i dont know.

 

[Seaarla]

I would just use pine shavings. I know some people use sand but i dont know how you clean that.
Would you just toss it? The pine shaving work ok in a compost pile..... not sure about
chert. My hubby thinks that might be sharp
but i dont know.

From the way I understand it you just sift it off the top. Good
heads up about it being sharp. I collected a
bucket we where we had a load dumped at
the barn to level stalls and it's feeling kind of
soft now because it's damp I think. I was
going to put it in the oven to kill anything that
may be harmful or living in it but I bet when It
dries out it will be rough. Idk-
Thank you for replying.

 

[debid]

I've never heard the term chert so I'm no help.

I use chopped straw and usually toss it in the compost pile when it needs changed. Sometimes I mulch the fruit trees with it. I've been known to mix a big pile of it into an area I intend to plant in a couple of weeks... I keep reading about how hot it is but I haven't managed to kill anything yet. . I am more careful around the food plants.

Oh, and don't tell my hubby there are ducks in April! He's brought up getting some a number of times but he thinks they could just live out in the yard like they're wild. We're on the lake so he has this idea they'd swim and be cute. What he fails to consider is finding their mangled bodies because we have predators galore or that they would likely use the same path to the water that we do and cover the area with their droppings. No thanks!

 

[debid]

Oh, and I am wondering where the picture is of the PINK sink?