The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[alana124]

HI! yes; i read that if you put apple cider vinegar in the chick's water 2-4 times a week, that it's a natural remedy against coccicidia ..also, i found a recipe you feed for immune support..it requires comfrey leaf, molasses, garlic and a couple of other ingredients.

 

[aoxa]

Thanks for the photos and info, Mumsy. Also Del for the link.

Justine - so sorry about the bunny. You mention taking precautions...what kinds of things would you do? (This will help us all learn, I hope.)


ETA: You (Aoxa) and I were typing at the same time on these posts.

Missed you around here Sue.

Electrolytes, I may get a mister. Frozen bottles in waterers.. Frozen berries.

 

[aoxa]

I'm an accountant by profession. I am really good with numbers and enjoy breaking things down. I wanted to know what we were saving by wetting our feed down so I could share it with you all.

We fed dry feed for one week and gauged our total feed provided during that week. The next week we did only soaking (fermenting not going so well in the heat).

These are the numbers:
I broke it down into what we are saving by soaking. Without soaking we would fill two feeders full of dry that would last 24 hours. Each feeder holds 2 scoops = 8 pounds of feed each. Plus one more scoop to feed the silkies, and another for the chicks in the brooders. Total to feed dry would be 24 pounds a day. Equivalent to 168 pounds of dry feed a week. That would cost us $62.16 a week to feed them. Feed here costs 18.50 a bag = .37 cents per pound.

With soaked feed we do 3 scoops of dry a day + 3/5 of scratch + 3 handfuls of BOSS = total cost of $35.98 a week. We are saving $26.18 a week by soaking it.

That is $1,361.36 a year!!!!

I’m excluding the grown birds being fed scratch in both scenarios, but to feed them 4 pounds of fermented scratch a day (one scoop) Costs us $1 a day (I am not 100% sure on the price per pound, but putting it at $15 for a 50 pound bag. I know it is less than this. I think it's $23 for 80 pounds, but again, not sure.. It doesn’t make our total savings by soaking it any different. However, it costs us a total of $36.98 to feed all of our birds a week. That is not bad! Not bad at all!

Note: We have at least 40 meat kings, 30 layer chicks, 21 adults, 2 geese, 1 duck, 20 Mottled Houdans that are 6-8 weeks old, 15 Easter Eggers that are 6-8 weeks old, 9 Silkies that are adults (in pens), 1 Margaret, 19 Rocks that are 3 weeks old, 20 Rocks that are 2 weeks, 15 bantams that are 4 weeks, 8 chicks that are 1-1.5 weeks, 16 Silkies that are 7-9 weeks, 5 Naked Necks that are 7 weeks, and 3 Sizzles that are adults in a pen (quarantine).

Sorry had to write that out to make sure I didn't miss anyone. That brings our total to 225 birds. (HOLY COW.) I shouldn't have calculated that LOL.

 

[Apdeb]

If you guys are serious business people why dont all of us work together to produce a better feed period
Its being done in dog food
Ps i didnt see any hipsters at ct chicken swap just a bunch of empty nesters like me

 

[aoxa]

If you guys are serious business people why dont all of us work together to produce a better feed period
Its being done in dog food
Ps i didnt see any hipsters at ct chicken swap just a bunch of empty nesters like me

I'm confused as to where this came from?

Please explain what you mean.

What is being done to produce a better dog feed?

The best thing you can do for your chickens in terms of feeding is to allow foraging.

 

[armorfirelady]

Aoxa maybe is you put the frozen water bottles in the bunnies fav shade places they would be able to lay next to them and help keep cool? Sorry you lost your bunny. Tis heat has been horrible.

Mumsy thank you for sharing your pictures. I'm sorry you had to cull her but it was the best for her since she was deteriorating.

Last night I had flies in the FF even with a cover on it. Those nasty things burrowed in the food. I got them all out and put a temporary netting over it & thought I would try a plastic baggy with water and a penny in it to see if it deters them. I also turned the DL. Nasty things are looking for cool places also.

I picked the wrong week to hand dig a trench down the length of my yard to get the water to flow away from where the coop usually is. Hopefully we get some rain so I can see if its going to work

 

[Apdeb]

I do allow foraging
It seems to me if people like laura who live in midwest dont like the commercial feed you could team up and create something better.
New business comes from filling a whole/need.
Thats all i meant. I do think a small quality feed would attract buyers. The hipsters thing was in regard to the negative press by nbc that hipsters are raising chickens and dumping in aspca shelters
Im in suburban ct on 3.8 acres no hipsters here!!! I am proud of my 8 week old barnies
You people have taught me a lot
I want happy healthy chickens!!!

 

[aoxa]

I do allow foraging
It seems to me if people like laura who live in midwest dont like the commercial feed you could team up and create something better.
New business comes from filling a whole/need.
Thats all i meant. I do think a small quality feed would attract buyers. The hipsters thing was in regard to the negative press by nbc that hipsters are raising chickens and dumping in aspca shelters
Im in suburban ct on 3.8 acres no hipsters here!!! I am proud of my 8 week old barnies
You people have taught me a lot
I want happy healthy chickens!!!

Who is Laura?

Hipster actually does not describe the appearance of a person, but rather someone that wants to do something because it's trendy.

A retired person can be a hipster as well

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...npr&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20130711

 

[Leahs Mom]

Aoxa maybe is you put the frozen water bottles in the bunnies fav shade places they would be able to lay next to them and help keep cool? Sorry you lost your bunny. Tis heat has been horrible.

Mumsy thank you for sharing your pictures. I'm sorry you had to cull her but it was the best for her since she was deteriorating.

Last night I had flies in the FF even with a cover on it. Those nasty things burrowed in the food. I got them all out and put a temporary netting over it & thought I would try a plastic baggy with water and a penny in it to see if it deters them. I also turned the DL. Nasty things are looking for cool places also.

I picked the wrong week to hand dig a trench down the length of my yard to get the water to flow away from where the coop usually is. Hopefully we get some rain so I can see if its going to work

I'm going to sound like a broken record (do you young folks know what that means?

) But... If you do the ferment as for lacto-fermenting with the layer of water over the top, you won't that that kind of issue.

 

[beccasev]

My rabbit did not make it through the night I thought for sure she would. Even dreamt that she was recovered. 

I will be taking more precautions when days are as hot as they were yesterday (did I mention 108 on our property?)

Poor thing...

Sorry about your bunny. When I was probably 6 years old, I had a favorite pet rabbit. During the summer, our job was to get frozen two liter bottles from the freezer and give them to the rabbits. This was in Arizona and they were caged but shaded. I forgot one day. By the time we remembered and got the bottles out there, it was too late. My little bunny died in my arms. Anyway, put the frozen bottles somewhere cool that they like to lay.they will lay up against them and keep themselves cooler that way. One for every bunny is best. Cool water to drink will help too, but they can only pant to cool off, so having the cold bottles to lean against really helps.