The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[pigeonguy]

Except - I may want to have my husband make me a wooden trough to feed from.

Stony - if you were going to make a wooden feed-trough, what wood would you use? I'm thinking a hard wood like maple or oak? Or...what?

Do you know what they make the old wooden dough troughs from?

Yellow jack pine they make a lot of skids out of it. Can't hardly drive a nail in it without splitting so when I build feeders or what not out of it I predrill the holes.

 

[PeepsCA]

BlueMouse,
Sorry you lost your keet.

IMO, there's WAY too much fiber in the contents of that keet's gizzard. And the fact that the keet had no grit in it's gizzard supports my previous statement about keets' gizzards are slow to mature.

Not sure why the liver is a weird color because I have never done a necropsy on a keet before, but it could have been due to a toxin build up from not being able to move enough food and nutrients thru the gizzard (just guessing tho).

Just to be safe, I'd keep them on processed, fermented and soft feeds only until they are at least 2 wks old. No grass, no oats or any other whole grains with hulls... I'd cut out any and all fibrous materials they will or can ingest.

Good luck with the rest, hope you do not lose any more.

 

[jendodd79]

My 3- 9 week old chicks are happily integrated in to the flock now! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my little frizzled cochin - she's so funny when she runs. My EEs chase them away from food, but the coop is big enough and they are starting to get smart at getting in there

 

[CoopChick719]

I'm on FB and there is a discussion about how raw meat should not be fed to chickens. Really? Are my birds the only ones who hunt and devour their uncooked victim? I don't understand..

I do understand not feeding chickens raw chicken from the store. Who knows what those birds have on them, but if you have a bird you processed yourself, and have scraps from said processing, what is so terrible about feeding it back?

Hmmm...I'm not supposed to give the chicks the leftover rotissiere carcass from dinner? BTW, which they picked clean in a matter of hours...the little vultures!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
PG - sounds like you do use wooden feeders?

 

[aoxa]

I disposed of the heads, feet and intestines waaaaay away in the woods. I didn't want predators coming in my yard and I didn't want to step on them either. I fed them the lungs, kidneys, pieces from cleaning up the heart and gizzards, and testes.

You know feet make GREAT chicken stock right?

 

[BlueMouse]

IMO, there's WAY too much fiber in the contents of that keet's gizzard. And the fact that the keet had no grit in it's gizzard supports my previous statement about keets' gizzards are slow to mature.

That's what I thought too, although I was unsure. I was surprised because I grind the grains fine before I ferment (texture of coarse corn meal or grits) for the chicks. I guess some of the hulls come through in shreds and the keets, or at least that one, just can't pass them. Odd. There was no grass or anything in there which also suprised me since they always have a sod block. They've been on commercial starter for almost a week and they'll stay on it until they're six weeks, between this incedent and the worries about getting the protien high enough I think it's the best choice. I'm putting molasses in the water today, I'm hoping that if any others are even partially bound up with oat hulls that will help them to pass it through. I think I'll also sprinkle a little chick grit on their food a couple times over the next week. I don't think either of those things will hurt anyone, and I'm hoping that they may help any other ones that might have the beginnings of a problem.

I wish I could find more information about what would cause the liver to be orange like that, but I've had no luck with searching for it.

 

[aoxa]

Hmmm...I'm not supposed to give the chicks the leftover rotissiere carcass from dinner? BTW, which they picked clean in a matter of hours...the little vultures!

Yes I do this constantly.. My in laws had cooked 2 turkeys for a turkey sandwich benefit at their church, and we fed back as much as they could eat, which wasn't much.. there are only 13 of them after all

 

[mamashomestead]

Hi natural friends i have nine bantams, two barell rock pullets, four brown pullets and tom the white and black dinner turkey which we'll probly never cull. we live in rural nys. have many questions. just saying hi :-D for now...

 

[NanaLynn]

free range by FDA standards and our standards are 2 ENTIRELY different things.

well...when you put it that way....very true