The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Aoxa - I do think there are other items you can use in your feed. I don't use kelp but I do use fish meal. I think there are options to replace the fish meal with another insect/animal protein. And yours range during the summer which makes a huge difference during that time.

 

[RedRidge]

I don't use kelp very often, I use alfalfa meal instead (in the winter when they don't have forage).
Nutribalancer has been covered by LE - thx. I use nutribalancer because I am anal and want to assure they are getting everything they need.

Good point about wheat and oats, I limit mine to 10% of my ration.

Also ferment... You can get a significant protein increase (rumor has it up to 3% but I have not seen that confirmed) by fermenting your grains.

Fish meal, if you agent eating your eggs you can increase the % but is pricey. But if you just have a few birds is not a huge impact. I'm hatching every days right now and that much fish meal would kill me financially. At most I used 3.5-4% fish meal for adults depending on the amount of BSF I have. Feed ground liver to chicks or increase fish meal.

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa - I do think there are other items you can use in your feed. I don't use kelp but I do use fish meal. I think there are options to replace the fish meal with another insect/animal protein. And yours range during the summer which makes a huge difference during that time.

Our only options for grains are:

Oats, Wheat, Barley, Corn, BOSS, Sunflower Seeds, Millet, and I think there is whole flax... I am going to add some flax to my feed, but I will grind it myself first. I am not taking the chance of it going rancid buying it pre-ground. I'll only add it in the winter. My yolks aren't that beautiful shade of orange any more

 

[RedRidge]

Can you get alfalfa meal?
Also, I have a friend using dandelion with good results in both yolk and leg color. It's something I wanting to investigate more. Anyone here feeding dandelion?

 

[aoxa]

Can you get alfalfa meal?
Also, I have a friend using dandelion with good results in both yolk and leg color. It's something I wanting to investigate more. Anyone here feeding dandelion?

We won't have dandelion until May at least.

I have been using rabbit pellets in their fermented feed, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference in the yolk colour. I was spoiled by their yolks all summer and fall. Now they look pale.

Eggs still taste delicious, but I like the deep colours!

 

[aoxa]

Gatsby 29 weeks.

Isn't he a stud muffin?

 

[RedRidge]

Gatsby 29 weeks. Isn't he a stud muffin?

ROFL... Hadn't heard that term in years. Yes he's sure one handsome dude.

 

[RedRidge]

But what's that white stuff he is walking on? My chickens don't even know what that is...

 

[aoxa]

But what's that white stuff he is walking on? My chickens don't even know what that is...

It took weeks and weeks to convince them to go outside. They don't go far, though some of the Pennies were all the way up to the house the other day. I was shocked.

 

[lazy gardener]

it took a little while to get my homemade incubator straightened out.
I have a good thermometer in there.
No hydrometer. Small cup of water in the past away from the eggs.
I can't throw them out, they're my son's.
I candle them tonight. One of them is completely dark, except the air sac. Another looked almost completely dark. A third looked pretty close to the second one. The rest I think are quitters.
I'm giving them a few more days, but if there's nothing by Wed, I'm going to stay opening them up to see what's going on.

Beware Tea Chick. There is NOTHING, and I do mean NOTHING in this world that smells worse than a rotten egg. A rotten egg coming out of the incubator will explode if you so much as look at it wrong. I had that unfortunate experience in 6th grade when a goose egg exploded in my hands. We had to evacuate the entire wing of the school for the remainder of the day. I do recommend that you do an egg-topsy so you can get an idea what went wrong. But, please, do it outside!

ROFL... Hadn't heard that term in years. Yes he's sure one handsome dude.

And by the smug look on his face, he is well aware of his good looks!