The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

Vivian is so cute!

 

[lalaland]

A SHORT PUMPKIN RANT (Subtitle: WHAT ISN'T GM NOW-A-DAYS?)

I've been contemplating for quite some time why my chickens wouldn't eat the pumpkins I got last year.

I got a whole pickup truck load and the birds wouldn't eat them. Not fresh; now frozen and thawed; not any way I tried. There was one exception - they did eat a specific type of pumpkin that I brought home only about 2 of. But they wouldn't eat the typical "field pumpkin". NOT EVEN THE SEEDS.

I keep reading about other people's chickens eating pumpkin and continued to wonder what the deal was.

Then, this morning, a little thought came to mind. I have read that animals will AVOID GMO products if they have any other choice of food. In the wild, they won't eat it from the fields unless they are starving.

So...I began to wonder if there are any GM pumpkins out there and if that might have been what was going on.

I should have known.

http://biotechnology-gmo.gov.si/eng/gensko_spremenjeni_organizmi/index.html
"Until now mostly genetically modified plants were put on the market. In 2008 there were 125 millions hectares planted with genetically modified plants. Genetically modified plants were grown in 25 countries, among them are 7 EU Member States. The most widened genetically modified plants are soybean, maize, cotton, oilseed rape, less widened are pumpkins, papaya, alfalfa and rice."


Enter growth hormones. Not only used on the plants, but on the seeds themselves. Another reason to grow your own stuff or know what the folks that are growing it are using - from seed to plant treatments.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabi...uash-GM-farmers-harvest-100-kilo-pumpkin.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...onorganic-watermelons-exploding-in-china.aspx

http://www.care2.com/causes/frankenpumpkin-growing-a-one-ton-pumpkin.html



Now I'm not 100% sure that was the issue with my pumpkins and the uninterested birds. But I'm guessing so. Not even any wild creatures would eat them.

depressing!

I had the same experience with corn - used to always be a favorite for chickens for a decade, picked out first from feed, etc, but in the last 4 or 5 years, it gets literally left on the ground! I quit buying scratch because of it, and just use my own blend of oats and boss and whatever is around.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: insulation isn't so much of the issue, as long as the coop is well ventilated and DRY. it's moisture in the air that causes frostbite.

for maine, I'd maybe suggest if it's not insulated, you could always just put a heat emitter (ceramic heating element that hooks into a light socket) to raise the temps a bit.

but depending on how many birds you have and how large the coop is, they may generate enough heat on their own. I know my coop is usually a lot warmer than the outside in the winter.

 

[delisha]

Sorry

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

A SHORT PUMPKIN RANT (Subtitle: WHAT ISN'T GM NOW-A-DAYS?)

I've been contemplating for quite some time why my chickens wouldn't eat the pumpkins I got last year.

I got a whole pickup truck load and the birds wouldn't eat them. Not fresh; now frozen and thawed; not any way I tried. There was one exception - they did eat a specific type of pumpkin that I brought home only about 2 of. But they wouldn't eat the typical "field pumpkin". NOT EVEN THE SEEDS.

I keep reading about other people's chickens eating pumpkin and continued to wonder what the deal was.

Then, this morning, a little thought came to mind. I have read that animals will AVOID GMO products if they have any other choice of food. In the wild, they won't eat it from the fields unless they are starving.

So...I began to wonder if there are any GM pumpkins out there and if that might have been what was going on.

I should have known.

http://biotechnology-gmo.gov.si/eng/gensko_spremenjeni_organizmi/index.html
"Until now mostly genetically modified plants were put on the market. In 2008 there were 125 millions hectares planted with genetically modified plants. Genetically modified plants were grown in 25 countries, among them are 7 EU Member States. The most widened genetically modified plants are soybean, maize, cotton, oilseed rape, less widened are pumpkins, papaya, alfalfa and rice."


Enter growth hormones. Not only used on the plants, but on the seeds themselves. Another reason to grow your own stuff or know what the folks that are growing it are using - from seed to plant treatments.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabi...uash-GM-farmers-harvest-100-kilo-pumpkin.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...onorganic-watermelons-exploding-in-china.aspx

http://www.care2.com/causes/frankenpumpkin-growing-a-one-ton-pumpkin.html



Now I'm not 100% sure that was the issue with my pumpkins and the uninterested birds. But I'm guessing so. Not even any wild creatures would eat them.

I've done a quick search and am not able to verify that GMO pumpkins are on the market. There are a lot of things they are working on "in testing", but don't sell yet. I did find one article (from 2011) that suggested that though GMO pumpkins might be able to produce more consumer-friendly pumpkins in terms of rich color and sturdy green stems, etc., they weren't in the works yet.

 

[camilleathome]

Camille, do you have a link to the dehydrator? We had one and it was terrible. We took it back.. Just did not like it

This was the one we had. It took FOREVER to dehydrate the contents. It was extremely loud too...

This is the one I got which the reviews are just as good as the excalibur http://www.rawnutrition.ca/en/equipment/dehydrators/nesco-fd-60kit-snackmaster-dehydrator-fd-60kit

 

[aoxa]

This is the one I got which the reviews are just as good as the excalibur http://www.rawnutrition.ca/en/equipment/dehydrators/nesco-fd-60kit-snackmaster-dehydrator-fd-60kit

Looks much better and less flimsy!
To be honest I don't like anything dehydrated, but Susan does... and I wanted to make chicken jerky for the dogs.

 

[Quailsong]

I'm 900 posts behind again! Yikes! That's what happens when autumn hits (along with a back injury, ouch!)

I've got great news for you all. My quail have started laying eggs of their own (since yesterday - Thanksgiving Day!). I'm sure some of you on another off-site forum have seen these pics already, but I just wanted to share here too since this forum is just as awesome [in it's own way!].



And for some humor, here's a pic of my quail eggs next to a BSLW egg.


My first project is to sweet pickle a bunch of quail eggs, I hear they soak up flavour VERY well.

 

[aoxa]

I'm 900 posts behind again! Yikes! That's what happens when autumn hits (along with a back injury, ouch!)

I've got great news for you all. My quail have started laying eggs of their own (since yesterday - Thanksgiving Day!). I'm sure some of you on another off-site forum have seen these pics already, but I just wanted to share here too since this forum is just as awesome [in it's own way!].



And for some humor, here's a pic of my quail eggs next to a BSLW egg.


My first project is to sweet pickle a bunch of quail eggs, I hear they soak up flavour VERY well.

What is their exact age?

 

[camilleathome]

Looks much better and less flimsy!
To be honest I don't like anything dehydrated, but Susan does... and I wanted to make chicken jerky for the dogs.

I love it because it helps so much with wastage and preserving. Lots of foods rehydrate perfectly if done right .