The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Sally,I really don't think the vinegar was an issue. Sometimes a chick just isn't strong and healthy.

Jus FYI...
I don't use vinegar when I make ff as it's not needed...the bacteria excrete lactic acid so I don't feel that the feed needs more acid (acetic acid in the case of the vinegar). If I feed ACV I either ad a SMALL amount to their water OR a tiny bit to the FEED BOWL of ff after it's out of the ferment container.

Maybe if you make a batch of ff without using the ACV you would feel better about giving it to the chicks.

Here's a link to the way I ferment and why. Maybe it will be helpful.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/4270#post_10304875

 

[delisha]

1. You can feed a chick straight vinegar and you will not hurt it.


2. If you did not cover your feed with water you are not fermenting,if you do it for weeks all you are feeding is wet feed with vinegar and not really FF, but wet feed is better for the chicks than dry, they get more moisture.

3. That breed of bird is very delicate. It is not accustom to this environment. It is not strong enough yet and will take years. You are helping in natural culling. Eventually your birds will be strong, and unfortunately when a new breed starts in the states it takes patience and heartache.

From what I read that breed needs raw meat from hatch to be strong.Mille fleur d'uccles

 

[Leahs Mom]

3. That breed of bird is very delicate. It is not accustom to this environment. It is not strong enough yet and will take years. You are helping in natural culling. Eventually your birds will be strong, and unfortunately when a new breed starts in the states it takes patience and heartache.

From what I read that breed needs raw meat from hatch to be strong.

I presume you are referring to the mille fleur d'uccles?

 

[delisha]

Ok..Pictures..
Update of mom with chicks

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks for the pics!!! Looks like she's keeping them warm in this cold weather!

 

[midnightroo]

Delisha, so cute. The chick in the second to last photo looks like an opera singer in the middle of the song.

Sorry atmaclean to hear about your chicks.

 

[Mumsy]

@PeepsCa: That Blue Slate in your picture is beautious!
It's going to be a struggle on butcher day for sure. The reason I will try to keep a breeding pair is to help cope with that. My son, son-in law and husband are experienced hunters. They will be doing the hardest part. My daughter, Grandsons, and I will dunk, pluck, and help process. The Grandsons are twelve and nine years old. They have been duck and turkey hunting with their dad and know the score where meat comes from.
@del: Love love love the chick pic's!

My new chicks are eating FF since coming out of the bator. A couple drops of Un-ACV with mother in the water too. Filled the brooder tub bottom with DL from the barn kept in an unused pen out there. I stir it a couple times a day for them to snuggle and play in.

Had to euthanize a Johnny bumpkin kid this morning. Failed to eat and drink on it's own. It started going down hill yesterday so I stopped it's suffering. Surprisingly, this didn't put me over the edge emotionally. I stepped up and did what had to be done.

This is my question for del or others on here that have done a lot of incubating. It is a mystery to me why a chick that made it to hatch on it's own and appears perfectly healthy for two or three days, does not eat or drink on it's own. I will dip beaks but that's as far as I'll go to help. Sometimes I see this happen in a draggy hatch. But this chick hatched on time and appeared fine on the outside.

It seems every so often a hatch of chicks has one of these 'fail to thrive' babies. I personally think it is neurological and happens in the egg during the incubation. But I don't know the answer to this mystery.

Charging my batteries for chick pic's now. These buff babies are pretty little things.

 

[gram of five]

Justine, I first want to send my condolences for your loss. Sending my prayers to you and your partner. I am thankful that you are posting and updating here for us to see. I hope that will help you in your healing process. Thank you for all I have learned from you in this post.

I do have a question re ff if any of you have a moment to listen. I have been making kefir and kombucha for about a year now and I use the whey from my milk kefir to ferment the chicks food. I don't saturate the food, but I do pour the whey in and stir it up and let it sit a day or so. It is in a room in my house that is pretty chilly and I can feel the heat from the contents thru the plastic bucket. Is that the same as fermenting their food or do I have to soak it in water and filtered ACV?

I have also been using my spare scobys from my kombucha to mix into their ff when I feed them. (I grind it up in my food processor) I read in one of BeeKissed posts that giving them pro biotics would help keep them healthy.

Last week, I lost a 20 month old barred rock for no apparent reason. I also have another barred rock that is going thru what I think is a very sever molt right now, however I don't know that for sure. Altho she is loosing lots of feathers and pretty skinny she is eating and acting normal.

The only thing I would guess is that I was giving them too many "treats" which caused them to not get enough of the nutrition they needed from their food. The treats would be oat, barley and wheat flakes mixed with whey or yoghurt. And yes, a small amount of left overs from our table.

That is why I began fermenting their food in the hope that the others would benefit from the ff. Can anyone tell me if my method is the same as fermenting with ACV?

Thanks

 

[delisha]

Quote: yes..that is what I am referring to.

 

[Ashdoes]

@PeepsCa: That Blue Slate in your picture is beautious!
It's going to be a struggle on butcher day for sure. The reason I will try to keep a breeding pair is to help cope with that. My son, son-in law and husband are experienced hunters. They will be doing the hardest part. My daughter, Grandsons, and I will dunk, pluck, and help process. The Grandsons are twelve and nine years old. They have been duck and turkey hunting with their dad and know the score where meat comes from.
@del: Love love love the chick pic's!

My new chicks are eating FF since coming out of the bator. A couple drops of Un-ACV with mother in the water too. Filled the brooder tub bottom with DL from the barn kept in an unused pen out there. I stir it a couple times a day for them to snuggle and play in.

Had to euthanize a Johnny bumpkin kid this morning. Failed to eat and drink on it's own. It started going down hill yesterday so I stopped it's suffering. Surprisingly, this didn't put me over the edge emotionally.   I stepped up and did what had to be done.

This is my question for del or others on here that have done a lot of incubating. It is a mystery to me why a chick that made it to hatch on it's own and appears perfectly healthy for two or three days, does not eat or drink on it's own. I will dip beaks but that's as far as I'll go to help. Sometimes I see this happen in a draggy hatch. But this chick hatched on time and appeared fine on the outside.

It seems every so often a hatch of chicks has one of these 'fail to thrive' babies. I personally think it is neurological and happens in the egg during the incubation. But I don't know the answer to this mystery.

With our first 6 chicks we had a Polish that arrived peppy and happy, but started to decline on the second or third day. At the time I thought it was something I could fix, had I known what I know now, I would have culled the poor thing. It had no signs of poor health, no pasty butt, not lethargic and ate really well. I'm not sure the cause, whether it's in the egg or the trip in the mail. It's hard though, and I told my husband that day we wouldn't be getting more Polish for a while.