The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Melabella]

When I think of folks wanting to do their own feed, I think of Harvy Ussery's book: The Small Scale Poultry Flock. He has lots of ideas and his goal is to be able to grow most of his own feed. So far it's my favorite book on raising chickens.

His web site has several articles on raising your own food that may be of interest: http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Feeding.html

Wow, thanks for posting this Leahs Mom..I haven't really dove in, but love his mention of feeding non soy products. I am pleased to tell you that my chickens are completely soy free, and there fore so are my eggs. There are many reasons for this the biggest one being a desire to not expose myself to phytoestrogens that are associated with eating anything soy. Not to mention soybeans are one of the most heavily sprayed crops in America.

Thanks again!

MB

 

[delisha]

Ok so after reading this thread I think I want to start fermenting some feed. All I need to do is to put in enough feed for a few days..a glug or two of Asv...stir couple times a day. Can this sit outside? What I usually give mine is layer crumbles, mixed in is stratch, oyster shell. They seem to enjoy it, ive been thinking about giving them some night crawlers, cricket's, some extra protein. They do get out in a covered run when the weather allows.

It seems like to worm farm is easy to do. I would love to learn about being able to feed my chickens all natural goodies and be able to do it myself, feed bill is killing me!!!!!!! Any suggestions would be great

I am not familiar with your weather. I would think it would be beautiful and they spend a lot of time in the run. You might consider dumping your litter at clean out time in the run and putting a bale of straw in the corner of the run to break down to encourage worm growth. Free feed The extra bugs are delightful and a great idea. Your bucket could set outdoors as long as the weather stayed above freezing.

Welcome to the group!!

 

[aoxa]

Have any of you guys ever read "You can Farm" by Joel Salatin?

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]Wondering if it's worth a read. [/FONT]

 

[Bulldogma]

hope she's on the road to recovery!!

Good Morning everyone!!

BDM..hows the pullet?

Good morning everyone - late start today. My pullet is EATING like a... well, almost like an Orpington! Hooray!! Not so hunched up today either. I think I'm going to do another oil / garlic / oregano / yogurt treatment down her throat and another massage today and see how she does. her comb is still really pale (Lavenders have more pale/bluish combs anyway, but hers is looking almost a light tan) so I want to see that color up a bit more before I toss her outside. The way she was eating this morning, I'll bet she colors up soon!

Hi, I would like to introduce myself ....I'm Hollie !

Photo: although it is finished differently now (this was an early photo) this is what that ramp looks like. This is an 11 week old hatchery RIR going up the ramp. It's a long way down/up for a tiny little one in cold weather if they get out there!

If you're worried about the chicks not being able to get up the ramp, get some of that rubberized, mesh-like drawer liner - they sell it at grocery and hardware stores. You can just wrap a small section around your ramp and duct tape or zip tie it in place. (If you use duct tape, wrap the liner all the way around like a present so you don't put the duct tape on the wood - that sticky stuff is a bear to get off!) It provides great grip and won't slide off your ramp, either.

Ok so after reading this thread I think I want to start fermenting some feed. All I need to do is to put in enough feed for a few days..a glug or two of Asv...stir couple times a day. Can this sit outside? What I usually give mine is layer crumbles, mixed in is stratch, oyster shell. They seem to enjoy it, ive been thinking about giving them some night crawlers, cricket's, some extra protein. They do get out in a covered run when the weather allows.

It seems like to worm farm is easy to do. I would love to learn about being able to feed my chickens all natural goodies and be able to do it myself, feed bill is killing me!!!!!!! Any suggestions would be great

Welcome to the thread!! Arkansas is pretty darn cold this time of year. Your FF will ferment best at 60 F and above. I keep mine in my laundry room. Other folks put it in a garage with a little heater. It doesn't take up much room, and it's worth the effort.

 

[aoxa]

BDM,

How much did she poop last night?

So good to hear she is feeling a bit better!

 

[stonykill]

Have any of you guys ever read "You can Farm" by Joel Salatin?

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]Wondering if it's worth a read. [/FONT]

I haven't ....yet. I was wondering the same. All of the one liners from him on FB are good. But I wonder if it is more than that?

 

[Bulldogma]

BDM,

How much did she poop last night?

So good to hear she is feeling a bit better!

Poops finally had some solid matter, but still a high percentage of urates. I think a lot of this was because she hadn't been eating properly for a few days. I'm going to be checking her "output" regularly throughout the day. She won't be turned loose until I'm quite certain she's on the mend... she's hard to catch, even when she's unwell. Of course now she's in a cage, she lets me reach right in and handle her... stinker!

 

[aoxa]

I haven't ....yet. I was wondering the same. All of the one liners from him on FB are good. But I wonder if it is more than that?

I may order it. I do like the guy. He seems very knowledgeable.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Poops finally had some solid matter, but still a high percentage of urates. I think a lot of this was because she hadn't been eating properly for a few days. I'm going to be checking her "output" regularly throughout the day. She won't be turned loose until I'm quite certain she's on the mend... she's hard to catch, even when she's unwell. Of course now she's in a cage, she lets me reach right in and handle her... stinker!

Great news about your girl BDM

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Have any of you guys ever read "You can Farm" by Joel Salatin?

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]Wondering if it's worth a read. [/FONT]

I think BK had some things to say about this on the GB thread (if I remember right)