The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

LW...you need to stop that DL right now!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I feed more bagged feed in winter since most of these are not available at the mill during winter. Usually by late November they are running low. My feed mill does not refill any of the bins after Novembers last harvest. I try really hard not to purchase more than I can feed in a month. I think feeds attract to many rodents. I refuse to feed my hens mouse poop on purpose.



4 cups oat groats(Or steal oats if they are out)great for sprouting
4 cups black oil sunflower seeds(never out and great for sprouting)
4 cups hard red wheat berries(they run out)
2 cups soft white wheat berries(never out)
2 cups kamut(grass seed and great for sprouting)
2 cups millet..they do not like it and its the last to go I will substitute bird seed.
1 cup lentils (grocery store when they are out this also is a good sprout)
1/2 cup sesame seeds...expensive and I do not buy in the store or replace
1 cup flax seeds(crushed or ground in a large container when they are out)
1/4 cup kelp /spinach(frozen in my freezer)
I have also added the alfalfa cubes

I read on HU's site in the feed area that he recommended keeping total oats and barley (separate or combined) no higher than 15% ot total feed. What he said was that their stools become runny when he did.

I don't know the "why" of that...its just a statement he made.

Do you have any issues w/the oats? Where do you purchase your kelp?

 

[Leahs Mom]

I just found a Fertrel dealer that is really close to me. He has the organic nutribalancer, organic fish meal, organic crab meal, kelp, and a variety of other things. I have to purchase in 50 lb bags. Think of that with how low the percentages are for fish meal, nutribalancer and kelp

I'd like to go to mixing my own totally so that I don't have any "ground ahead" items in it. I'm trying to figure out if kelp, fish meal and nutribalancer could be kept in the freezer and for how long.

 

[loanwizard]

LW...you need to stop that DL right now!

 

[mlowen]

New ad going on Craigslist. Could use some opinions.
Thanks in advance!




https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...s-from-a-natural-perspective/40#post_10905003

Effective ad. If I were closer, I'd want a "Bit!" If I had a farm, I'd want a "Seed." You have to think of a name for the "you feed 'm" stock.

 

[loanwizard]

Effective ad. If I were closer, I'd want a "Bit!" If I had a farm, I'd want a "Seed." You have to think of a name for the "you feed 'm" stock.

Bacon Seeds, Bacon Bits and Hamlets

 

[BlueMouse]

In today's chicken adventure, my 5 week old leghorn flew over a 4 1/2 foot fence, and was hanging out with the rooster. He was showing her where all the goodies were.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

In today's chicken adventure, my 5 week old leghorn flew over a 4 1/2 foot fence, and was hanging out with the rooster. He was showing her where all the goodies were.

She'll figure out soon enough it is all a ploy on his part....Here my dear, a nice tasty morsel for you...and you won't mind a bit if i just.....get to know you better? My leghorn is quite the flyer too.

 

[BlueMouse]

I read on HU's site in the feed area that he recommended keeping total oats and barley (separate or combined) no higher than 15% ot total feed. What he said was that their stools become runny when he did.

I don't know the "why" of that...its just a statement he made.

Do you have any issues w/the oats? Where do you purchase your kelp?

I read the same thing and I was concerned, but I had already mixed my feed, so I decided to go ahead and see what happened. All I can say is oats and barley are a little less than half of my feed, and no problems in 8 weeks. my unsubstantiated hypothesis is that the fermenting makes this a non issue by making the nutrients more available, and populating the intestine with the "good guys". I asked over on the fermented feed thread and never got a great answer, but nobody had any problems either. I'll continue to be a "poop watcher" and if I start noticing runny poops the first thing I'll try is decreasing the oats and barley percentage. Also I think it would depend on how much of their diet is really composed of grains? If they're getting free range in the summer, I would think evenn with a relatively high percentage of oats/barley in the grain, grain would still make up considerably less than half of their total diet, so it folows that oats/barley becomes a much smaller percentage of total feed consumed (think for example: 75% free range, 25% grains. if 50% of the grains are barley/oats it still is less than 15% of Total Feed.). Therefore the percentage may be more of a concern in winter than summer when a higher percentage of total feed consumption is made up of grains. I still think the ferment may take care of it though. Guess I'll find out this winter!!

 

[lalaland]

The "littles" can fit through the fence posts but the adults can't fit through!

seems like a great idea! reminds of delisha's pigeon feeder upside down for her then smaller chicks.

Just finished cleaning the coop out totally - pulled out all the dl, swept the cobwebs and dust off the window edges, scraped dried on poop, hauled a zillion wheelbarrow loads to the compost bin, dumped the nest box hay under the coop (still trying to recover that barren ground), and replaced it all with fresh hay. its a filthy job!

Figured better get it done as snow is coming tomorrow and I've got spotter training this weekend.

6 weeks til 16 chicks, gotta get cracking on rehabbing the second half of the trailer.

gotta go, have to make my grandfather's fudge recipe for my 91 year old dad's birthday.