The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[camilleathome]

Camill,

You have many options..

First you need to find the cause. Chickens eat feathers for a reason..they are lacking something or they are sicks, or bored. So you need to find out why. I think I know your set up. You have enough room unless you got a ton more birds that I do not know of.

are you still feeding FF?
ACV in the water?

I would take a sample of poo to the vet and check for worm load and cocci

This is our coop.

I stopped offering the fermented feed after it got mouldy a third time. I havent given them acv in a while I need to start adding it back into the water. I will try offering meat. I was also suggested for the badly plucked two to use blue kote. Im hoping its not that there isnt enough room. They are always scratching and active and seem to enjoy themselves.

 

[520farmer]

thanks kassaundra! where did you get your roaches? I love the NNs too my wife and I got one a few years back and feel in love with her. there so docile and lay big eggs, and are just fun to watch lol

 

[Kassaundra]

thanks kassaundra! where did you get your roaches? I love the NNs too my wife and I got one a few years back and feel in love with her. there so docile and lay big eggs, and are just fun to watch lol

I got mine from the roach guy, he had a great reputation on every site I researched and comparable prices.

For those of you that cringe at the thought of roaches these are nothing like the pest roaches, can't climb well or fly, are easily contained. The only way they are going to escape is if you turn the container over and let them out. And if for some reason they do escape they cannot survive temps below 60 degrees, they are absolutely tropical.
This thread has pics of my set up, the latest pics are in the last few pages
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/412070/raising-feeder-insects/240#post_11218294




About the snake ............................................ I know they eat chicks and eggs given a chance, but I still prefer a live snake and a dead rodent.

 

[off-grid hen]

Hello everyone, it's been a while! I feel like I'm that really bad friend who just shows up when they need something.

Rewind to february... I was going to order some chicks to raise for meat. I didn't want Jumbo CX, but I didn't really know what I wanted since it is my first time. Someone approached me saying that they wanted to order some chicks for her daughter to show for 4H, and wanted me to help backfill to meet the minimum. She ordered late, so the only meat birds mcmurray had were jumbo Cornish crosses. Ok well, I was helping out a friend. Then she only ordered six for me. Lol. Lotta trouble just for a few birds, but whatever. They sent 10.

I use an ecoglow brooder. I am using Poulin chick starter and just switched to flock raiser. The chicks arrived on the 29th of April, so makes them 3 weeks old this weekend. I lost one at 1.5 weeks, it was half the size of the others. Seemed internal. Chick was lethargic for two days before death. 9 chicks left. Yesterday morning, my husband showed me a dead chick. He said it was in the corner by by the door. 8 chicks left. This morning, one was in the corner by the brooder. 7 chicks left. All birds seem zippy and fine, not like the lethargic chick I lost at 1.5 weeks. No bloody poops, no respiratory symptoms.

Are they piling? Am I feeding the wrong feed with too much or too little protein? The dead are not flat. I've never actually seen piling deaths, so I don't really know what it looks like. I have read that CX just die. This is an unpleasant experience with these Franken-chickens.

 

[salt and pepper]

Ok, I did research on sun flower seeds. If given in limited amounts it boost laying production, help weight gain, and keep the bird's feathers healthy, BUT they are extremely low in energy, and are absent in lysine. And if the meal is to be used for feed you would have to somehow extract all of the oils. You can use whole sunflower seed for up to 30% percent of a hen's diet, but after that you will start seeing bad affects. But even giving that much, your eggs will have a loss of color, and higher cholesterol.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Ok, I did research on sun flower seeds. If given in limited amounts it boost laying production, help weight gain, and keep the bird's feathers healthy, BUT they are extremely low in energy, and are absent in lysine. And if the meal is to be used for feed you would have to somehow extract all of the oils. You can use whole sunflower seed for up to 30% percent of a hen's diet, but after that you will start seeing bad affects. But even giving that much, your eggs will have a loss of color, and higher cholesterol.

Yep...I read the same article

Now I want to look at a few other things before I make a final judgement. You can't feed the "meal" in organic because of the way it is processed but I'm talking about whole, not meal.

Too bad they don't ban soybean meal from organic,,,but there's a larger financial gain and too many politics involved in that one

 

[RedRidge]

Too bad they don't ban soybean meal from organic,,,but there's a larger financial gain and too many politics involved in that one

Another common ingredient around here where many folks grind and mix their own is cottonseed meal.

I use fish meal for the added animal protein for the chicks who are free ranging yet, but boy is it pricey.
Would love to find other sources of animal protein that aren't gmo...

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-ale...pOjA7czo2OiJseXNpbmUiO2k6MTtzOjU6Imx5c2luIjt9

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: Delisha
Wow..just saw the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio in sunflower seed and it is WAY out of balance if this chart is correct http://www.happycow.net/table-nuts.html

Seems like I keep coming back to the same old conclusion... protein from animal sources is what we (and the chickens) were designed to need.

Now I want to see if the fat content is changed any by sprouting or fermenting them.

 

[NanaLynn]

CountryGirl: Here are pics of our Blue Splash Cochin (Gizmo) and she is 13 weeks in the pictures, much smaller comb and wattles then your guy (I think you have a Blue Splash too?) and she is a wide round ball of fluff, really wide. She seems to want to mother our new chicks too. Although the new chicks want nothing to do with her.