The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!
- Thread starter Bulldogma
- Start date
that is how I count them..... 15 stay over here...30 over here...etc. All by memory....gotta kill more roosters soon. Too many annoying ones.....
8 roosters being dispatched tomorrow morning. We're having my aunt and her boyfriend and son over for a farm visit at 2pm. What time should we start?
Ok here are the egg pics:
These are the eggs I got the last 3 days (minus 2 we ate) the pyramid made it easy..... Eggs in each row are eggs laid that day. Now as a newbie my guess would be all 4 are laying since I see 4 different types of eggs. Would the OTs agree?
Since the hens started laying on December 6th I have collected 33 eggs and have only had 2 days that no eggs were laid. Hens are 33 weeks old. All have red combs & wattles. I can identify 2 who are laying by their looks.
Will their laying also increase once spring comes? I am guessing so since winter most hens slow down. And will egg size change as they get older?
Here are today's 2 eggs I collected. Should get one more since one hen lays in afternoon.
I also picked up 3 hens today to try & feel an egg..... They hadn't laid yet this morning. I only felt their bottom from outside. Soft nothing hard I could feel. Delilah did u mean an internal exam to see which hens were laying? I do know 2 of the girls squat when I reach a hand towards them and 1 is a confirmed layer.
And for your laugh for the morning I added this pic:
I had shoveled a path for them yesterday and they were following me in the run as I widened the path. Apparently they didn't like the flying snow and all 4 flew into snow drifts....... She probably sat her for 10 minutes watching me shovel. I picked her up when I was done. She was warm as toast even her feet. The other 3 were in different area in the same position till 2 realized they could hide under a chair
.
They have been out all morning scratching through the snow and leaves in the garden. I don't know what they are finding to eat but they are content & there is still half a bowl of FF left from this morning so must be still something good in those leaves
These are the eggs I got the last 3 days (minus 2 we ate) the pyramid made it easy..... Eggs in each row are eggs laid that day. Now as a newbie my guess would be all 4 are laying since I see 4 different types of eggs. Would the OTs agree?
Since the hens started laying on December 6th I have collected 33 eggs and have only had 2 days that no eggs were laid. Hens are 33 weeks old. All have red combs & wattles. I can identify 2 who are laying by their looks.
Will their laying also increase once spring comes? I am guessing so since winter most hens slow down. And will egg size change as they get older?
Here are today's 2 eggs I collected. Should get one more since one hen lays in afternoon.
I also picked up 3 hens today to try & feel an egg..... They hadn't laid yet this morning. I only felt their bottom from outside. Soft nothing hard I could feel. Delilah did u mean an internal exam to see which hens were laying? I do know 2 of the girls squat when I reach a hand towards them and 1 is a confirmed layer.
And for your laugh for the morning I added this pic:
I had shoveled a path for them yesterday and they were following me in the run as I widened the path. Apparently they didn't like the flying snow and all 4 flew into snow drifts....... She probably sat her for 10 minutes watching me shovel. I picked her up when I was done. She was warm as toast even her feet. The other 3 were in different area in the same position till 2 realized they could hide under a chair
.
They have been out all morning scratching through the snow and leaves in the garden. I don't know what they are finding to eat but they are content & there is still half a bowl of FF left from this morning so must be still something good in those leaves
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Aoxa- On the FF
On the "energy" issue...a couple things. If you read much about nutrition you'll find that a person CAN survive quite well with little or no carbohydrates (or "energy" as Chris calls it). Our bodies are designed to derive energy from the foods we eat - not just carbs. Interestingly enough, what research has found that we must have for healthy survival are FATS and PROTEINS; carbs are kind of like "icing on the cake" as the body can create all the building blocks it needs without them although perhaps not optimal. In fact, most health-conscious folks are finding that excessive carbs are often times at the root of most diseases.
One of the cool things about eating meat and milk products from animals that are grass fed, is that the ruminant is specially equipped to digest - with the help of other microorganisms in their digestive system - vegetable matter that HUMANS CAN'T PROPERLY DIGEST AND USE as they aren't as "bio-available" to us and we lose a lot in the transaction(!) When we eat meat and milk products from the grass-fed animals, however, we get the SAME nutrients in a form that we CAN digest and are able to assimilate at a much greater rate than if we ate the grass ourselves.
Now back to chickens - As you are observing and shared in the comments you made, it's obvious that your chickens are thriving on you ff. Here are a couple other quotes from all the conversation:
Quote: Leah's Mom
Quote: Aoxa
In your quote above, you make my point in the quote above that. Most of us only have our feed fermenting for such a short time there is a lot of carbohydrate left in there anyway. (Was the person's name Chris? ) stated that it is not fermenting but soaking. At one level he/she is correct...it doesn't have the chance to fully ferment in that short of time. However, many of us keep adding new feed back to feed that has been fermenting longer so there will be some percentage of the feed that is more fermented.
When you smell that "pickle-like" smell in there it means the bacteria and/or yeasts are putting out the acids aforementioned. The process is happening, there are good bacteria in there, there is lactic or acetic acid in there, there are yeasts in there, there is new feed-source in there with plenty of carbs left...so actually you have a lot going on in there!
Even after all that, I leave a little non-fermented dry feed available at all times. Again, observation is telling me that they prefer the ff (or in this case "partially ff"
) to the dry although they do pick through the dry occasionally and do pick up sprouts and a little unsprouted grain from time to time.
All this to say that I don't think you need to worry a bit about giving too much ff!
On the "energy" issue...a couple things. If you read much about nutrition you'll find that a person CAN survive quite well with little or no carbohydrates (or "energy" as Chris calls it). Our bodies are designed to derive energy from the foods we eat - not just carbs. Interestingly enough, what research has found that we must have for healthy survival are FATS and PROTEINS; carbs are kind of like "icing on the cake" as the body can create all the building blocks it needs without them although perhaps not optimal. In fact, most health-conscious folks are finding that excessive carbs are often times at the root of most diseases.
One of the cool things about eating meat and milk products from animals that are grass fed, is that the ruminant is specially equipped to digest - with the help of other microorganisms in their digestive system - vegetable matter that HUMANS CAN'T PROPERLY DIGEST AND USE as they aren't as "bio-available" to us and we lose a lot in the transaction(!) When we eat meat and milk products from the grass-fed animals, however, we get the SAME nutrients in a form that we CAN digest and are able to assimilate at a much greater rate than if we ate the grass ourselves.
Now back to chickens - As you are observing and shared in the comments you made, it's obvious that your chickens are thriving on you ff. Here are a couple other quotes from all the conversation:
Quote: Leah's Mom
Quote: Aoxa
In your quote above, you make my point in the quote above that. Most of us only have our feed fermenting for such a short time there is a lot of carbohydrate left in there anyway. (Was the person's name Chris? ) stated that it is not fermenting but soaking. At one level he/she is correct...it doesn't have the chance to fully ferment in that short of time. However, many of us keep adding new feed back to feed that has been fermenting longer so there will be some percentage of the feed that is more fermented.
When you smell that "pickle-like" smell in there it means the bacteria and/or yeasts are putting out the acids aforementioned. The process is happening, there are good bacteria in there, there is lactic or acetic acid in there, there are yeasts in there, there is new feed-source in there with plenty of carbs left...so actually you have a lot going on in there!
Even after all that, I leave a little non-fermented dry feed available at all times. Again, observation is telling me that they prefer the ff (or in this case "partially ff"
All this to say that I don't think you need to worry a bit about giving too much ff!
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8 roosters from pen to fridge working by myself is about a 3 to 4 hour job. But I'm doing it alone.
8 roosters being dispatched tomorrow morning. We're having my aunt and her boyfriend and son over for a farm visit at 2pm. What time should we start?
Don't you think that the more people that around sometimes makes a job way longer than just one or 2 as far as efficiency is concerned?
As I almost always have to do the job alone, I wish I knew if more hands make it more or less efficient!
Though, when Auntie and Uncle OT came to tutor me, only one helped "hands on". The other stepped back and only offered verbal assistance (ie, what to look or feel for, etc)
Ok here are the egg pics:
These are the eggs I got the last 3 days (minus 2 we ate) the pyramid made it easy..... Eggs in each row are eggs laid that day. Now as a newbie my guess would be all 4 are laying since I see 4 different types of eggs. Would the OTs agree?
Since the hens started laying on December 6th I have collected 33 eggs and have only had 2 days that no eggs were laid. Hens are 33 weeks old. All have red combs & wattles. I can identify 2 who are laying by their looks.
Will their laying also increase once spring comes? I am guessing so since winter most hens slow down. And will egg size change as they get older?
Here are today's 2 eggs I collected. Should get one more since one hen lays in afternoon.
I also picked up 3 hens today to try & feel an egg..... They hadn't laid yet this morning. I only felt their bottom from outside. Soft nothing hard I could feel. Delilah did u mean an internal exam to see which hens were laying? I do know 2 of the girls squat when I reach a hand towards them and 1 is a confirmed layer.
And for your laugh for the morning I added this pic:
I had shoveled a path for them yesterday and they were following me in the run as I widened the path. Apparently they didn't like the flying snow and all 4 flew into snow drifts....... She probably sat her for 10 minutes watching me shovel. I picked her up when I was done. She was warm as toast even her feet. The other 3 were in different area in the same position till 2 realized they could hide under a chair.
They have been out all morning scratching through the snow and leaves in the garden. I don't know what they are finding to eat but they are content & there is still half a bowl of FF left from this morning so must be still something good in those leaves
very cute and funny!Ok here are the egg pics:
These are the eggs I got the last 3 days (minus 2 we ate) the pyramid made it easy..... Eggs in each row are eggs laid that day. Now as a newbie my guess would be all 4 are laying since I see 4 different types of eggs. Would the OTs agree?
Since the hens started laying on December 6th I have collected 33 eggs and have only had 2 days that no eggs were laid. Hens are 33 weeks old. All have red combs & wattles. I can identify 2 who are laying by their looks.
Will their laying also increase once spring comes? I am guessing so since winter most hens slow down. And will egg size change as they get older?
Here are today's 2 eggs I collected. Should get one more since one hen lays in afternoon.
I also picked up 3 hens today to try & feel an egg..... They hadn't laid yet this morning. I only felt their bottom from outside. Soft nothing hard I could feel. Delilah did u mean an internal exam to see which hens were laying? I do know 2 of the girls squat when I reach a hand towards them and 1 is a confirmed layer.
And for your laugh for the morning I added this pic:
I had shoveled a path for them yesterday and they were following me in the run as I widened the path. Apparently they didn't like the flying snow and all 4 flew into snow drifts....... She probably sat her for 10 minutes watching me shovel. I picked her up when I was done. She was warm as toast even her feet. The other 3 were in different area in the same position till 2 realized they could hide under a chair.
They have been out all morning scratching through the snow and leaves in the garden. I don't know what they are finding to eat but they are content & there is still half a bowl of FF left from this morning so must be still something good in those leaves
All 4 hens are laying. Your have 4 different eggs. You are not palpitating correctly. If they had not layed for the day you should have been able to tell they had not layed yet. You will be able to tell as you do it more often. There is a huge difference in the feel of a hen that just layed to a hen who is yet to lay.
Aoxia..
Feed your guests, give them coffee, and then hand them the ax.
Feed your guests, give them coffee, and then hand them the ax.
I too have trouble counting all mine. I count them on the roost. Unlike some on here though I don't recognize every single one of them, but I would probably recognize about 20 different ones. You illustrate the point pretty much though that chickens are low on the food chain, thus no matter what you do, there may be some loss. I guess that is why they are prolific egg layers and only take 21 days to hatch.
I still haven't decided how many I will hatch this year. Thought about 150 or so, so that I always have 75 good steady layers every year. That is a lot of processing and canning though.
Incidentally, what is the reason for the 30 penned birds? Apparently they are special. For what purpose? Breeding?
Thanks,
Shawn
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