The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Howdy all! I hatched 13 of my own chickies last week. Can I feed them fermented feed? Will herbs hurt them, acv? What do u all feed them -fermented?


Thanks!

Take a quick read on this 3 part fermented feed series. It quotes the benefits of feeding chicks ff early........yes you can feed them ff right away.

 

[aoxa]

All told I lost 5 birds to the power outage/hypothermia. Three new SFH chicks, one 2-week old Dark Cornish chick and that beautiful splash Silkie. I'm heart broken... but so happy I have the 3 remaining new SFH chicks as well as the 2 that are 2 weeks old (and 3 more under the white Silkie broody).

Wasn't that splash silkie grown?

I am so sorry!!

 

[Arkansas81]

Take a quick read on this 3 part fermented feed series.  It quotes the benefits of feeding chicks ff early........yes you can feed them ff right away.

I put oregno, parsley, other natural herbs and spices plus acv in the bigger birds ff. Are those herbs -spices be ok? I'm going to start the process tomorrow.

 

[Pozees]

Lawdy Sally, don't get offended.... I am male and sometimes just spout off.

I have an idea what scratch is, but since about 6 months after I started when chicken math started to take over, I forgot. I just don't use it. Remember, I am the guy that feeds his birds hog feed.

I have a constant supply of oyster shell around WHEN I fear soft eggs. If I am gathering eggs and they break in my hands, time for a bag. Grit is for the gizzard. I don't use because I free range. You should, but the point of my rant was/is... They are chickens and adapt so well, even when the heat goes out.

Shawn

Whew ... okay, so, I mix my own scratch using cracked corn, whole wheat and oats, and wild bird seed, occasionally add extra BOSS if I have some around. I mix this with layer crumble for the FF my laying flock gets, and I give it as a dry treat maybe once a week or if I need to get the girls back into the run for some reason (like the day we had to dig up the septic tank - way more fun than it sounds like ... not). My local feed mill just told me last month they will now custom mix whatever I want, so when I run out of ingredients I may see how that works out cost-wise. It only takes a few minutes to mix up a bucket that will last a few weeks, so not that big a deal.

I tried the pre-mixed scratch and there is way too much milo in it, which my birds just don't care for. I have thought about adding barley, just waiting until I need ingredients again.

 

[Bulldogma]

Wasn't that splash silkie grown?

I am so sorry!!

No - the Silkie was only about 8 weeks old but it was just too much of a temperature change for her all at once I think. She didn't have any other symptoms and died the same time the others did. She was a sweetheart.

 

[aoxa]

No - the Silkie was only about 8 weeks old but it was just too much of a temperature change for her all at once I think. She didn't have any other symptoms and died the same time the others did. She was a sweetheart.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Someone asked about their chickens being turned loose in poison ivy and poison oak. The birds will love the berries, and in eating them will help disperse the seeds (just like the wild songbirds do). And the birds do not develop any skin or gastric sensitivities to the poison ivy or oak either.

 

[aoxa]

Someone asked about their chickens being turned loose in poison ivy and poison oak. The birds will love the berries, and in eating them will help disperse the seeds (just like the wild songbirds do). And the birds do not develop any skin or gastric sensitivities to the poison ivy or oak either.

Interesting!

 

[camilleathome]

I dont think it was mentionned on here so wanted to say a great big THANK YOU to aoxa for having picked up two dozen RIR hatching eggs for me as well as some indian runner and call duck hatching eggs. Spring is here(Though the snow is telling me differently)!!

 

[Mumsy]

I put oregno, parsley, other natural herbs and spices plus acv in the bigger birds ff. Are those herbs -spices be ok? I'm going to start the process tomorrow.

I use those plus powdered cayenne in my chick starter ferment. My twelve Catdance chicks are a week old have been eating it since day one out of the incubator. They've been outside in the chick house with one light bulb for heat since they were four days old.