The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

You cannot believe the trouble I've had when trying to discuss feed with the feed store. I think now they all start to cry when they see me coming because they know I'm going to press them to perform with some degree of accuracy and I'm not likely to give up until they do.

For example ... I gave them a full year to order turkey starter for when the turkeys arrived this past spring ... they kept insisting it didn't exist. I kept printing out the marketing info from the companies that make it and taking it to them. They said the companies in question had never heard of those products. I told them a year in advance how many pounds of the stuff I'd want. That was 365 days to get it figured out. At the last minute, the store found/ordered for me what was probably the most expensive turkey starter ever on the face of the planet ... in 10 lb bags. One bag at a time.

During that process one odious little man at the feed store told me "You need to stay off the Internet." I walked him to the book shelf in his store, opened a book to the chart of what to feed turkeys at various ages, and told him it wasn't personal.

Trying to discuss the nuances of "all purpose poultry pellets" with them has been a different nightmare.

Ditto discussing niacin supplement for the ducks.

Ditto discussing animal-based protein concentrates.

Ditto discussing pellets vs. crumbles vs. mash.

Ditto asking about the protein sources for any of the feeds on their shelves.

I call ahead to order food for someone to pick up ... they come home with completely random things.


Over at the better feed store further out in farm country, with a proper mill attached, independently owned so they can special order anything, some extra miles away, it is the same story. Something as simple as asking for 3 bales of hay produces 3 bales of straw. I'd think anyone working in a feed store would know the difference. Nope.

What is up with this?

The silver lining is that I'm learning a lot more about poultry feed than I ever thought I'd have to.

I'm sitting here smiling... not because of your frustration re: not so bright feed store employees, and managers... but because I totally identify with you. You'd think that at least someone in the store should be able to carry on an intelligent conversation about their products.

Leslie and Laxy Gardner, this is sooo TRUE!
It doesn't matter which feed mill I go to...they look at me like I am some kind of city girl wacko. "this feed is good enough for Bob and he's been raising chickens for 50 years", yeah but Bob is giving layer to chicks.
I think the trick is most are raising chickens for two years or maybe just one year, and then slaughter. chicks every spring, butcher the roosters, and slaughter last year's hens.
And could care less about vegetarian or meat, or gmo or soy, and don't care to know what is in the feed.

I ask the ingredients, and they say, well x% plant proteins, and have no idea what "plants".
oh well!
phew, that felt better to rant a bit.

 

[chicalot]

The vetericyn was so expensive, 22+, and said for intact wounds.. huh?. I opted for coconut oil and sugar but my wound packing skills are horrible. Ill try to make it creamier next time. She's not eating. I was able ti get 2 mL of electrolytes in. Nustock should be here thursday. It's very hard to get a good look at the would nevermind getting a pic! DH thinks it was a hawk. There was one squawking in the woods this morning. Obviously whatever it was tried to take her head off. Pics below but I couldnt get the full extent of it.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Leslie and Laxy Gardner, this is sooo TRUE!
It doesn't matter which feed mill I go to...they look at me like I am some kind of city girl wacko. "this feed is good enough for Bob and he's been raising chickens for 50 years", yeah but Bob is giving layer to chicks.
I think the trick is most are raising chickens for two years or maybe just one year, and then slaughter. chicks every spring, butcher the roosters, and slaughter last year's hens.
And could care less about vegetarian or meat, or gmo or soy, and don't care to know what is in the feed.

I ask the ingredients, and they say, well x% plant proteins, and have no idea what "plants".
oh well!
phew, that felt better to rant a bit.

It is funny, and it does sometimes help me feel better to rant and commiserate.

 

[delisha]

The vetericyn was so expensive, 22+, and said for intact wounds.. huh?. I opted for coconut oil and sugar but my wound packing skills are horrible. Ill try to make it creamier next time. She's not eating. I was able ti get 2 mL of electrolytes in. Nustock should be here thursday. It's very hard to get a good look at the would nevermind getting a pic! DH thinks it was a hawk. There was one squawking in the woods this morning. Obviously whatever it was tried to take her head off. Pics below but I couldnt get the full extent of it.

Thank you for the pictures..

This is my personal opinion and I am not telling you what to do or if these are your only options:

Ware gloves when touching her.
Wash out the injury with anti bacterial soap and water. You can use a syringe and flush out that wound. She is going to need supportive care. You need to check her crop and all of her tubes going into her crop to make sure she has them. She is going to need antibiotics, heat, constant care. Dribble a drop of water at a time in her mouth and see where it goes first.

If she were mine, I would cull the bird..she probably had her crop partially removed by the look of the pictures. Pictures are not reliable so I am not positive.

 

[delisha]

Quote: The heart on this silkie was partially white..It was in a dark sack of fluids. I found it quite remarkable and odd to say the least. I took a picture and tried to open the heart to observe the valves and they were also white in color.

 

[chicalot]

Are the tubes to the crop on the front, underneath or side? I havent seen any damage to the front. When I syringed the water into her beak she drank it. She was raspy for a bit but that didnt last long. I thought I might have rushed her. I guess I know I should just "man" up. She has enough fight in her but if not eating that cant last long

 

[ki4got]

http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-9983-southern-states-tradition-poultry-maintainer-50lb.aspx

http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-9950-southern-states-all-grain-meat-bird-maker-50lb.aspx

Is one of these what I need to get to feed a mixed age flock? The only starter grower that they can get in 50lb is Medicated, which I don't want.... What is my best option?

see if they carry 'rockin rooster growth booster' pellets... it's basically a pelleted chick feed

 

[CedarAcres]

You cannot believe the trouble I've had when trying to discuss feed with the feed store. I think now they all start to cry when they see me coming because they know I'm going to press them to perform with some degree of accuracy and I'm not likely to give up until they do.

For example ... I gave them a full year to order turkey starter for when the turkeys arrived this past spring ... they kept insisting it didn't exist. I kept printing out the marketing info from the companies that make it and taking it to them. They said the companies in question had never heard of those products. I told them a year in advance how many pounds of the stuff I'd want. That was 365 days to get it figured out. At the last minute, the store found/ordered for me what was probably the most expensive turkey starter ever on the face of the planet ... in 10 lb bags. One bag at a time.

During that process one odious little man at the feed store told me "You need to stay off the Internet." I walked him to the book shelf in his store, opened a book to the chart of what to feed turkeys at various ages, and told him it wasn't personal.

Trying to discuss the nuances of "all purpose poultry pellets" with them has been a different nightmare.

Ditto discussing niacin supplement for the ducks.

Ditto discussing animal-based protein concentrates.

Ditto discussing pellets vs. crumbles vs. mash.

Ditto asking about the protein sources for any of the feeds on their shelves.

I call ahead to order food for someone to pick up ... they come home with completely random things.


Over at the better feed store further out in farm country, with a proper mill attached, independently owned so they can special order anything, some extra miles away, it is the same story. Something as simple as asking for 3 bales of hay produces 3 bales of straw. I'd think anyone working in a feed store would know the difference. Nope.

What is up with this?

The silver lining is that I'm learning a lot more about poultry feed than I ever thought I'd have to.

I hate talking to the feed store people. Mine told me it was too much trouble to order the food I wanted.. so I stopped shopping there. I spend a lot of money there, so if they can't accommodate me, then I'm not giving them my money. I have to go farther now, but at least the store carries more items. My favorite is when they try to make you feel like you don't know what you're talking about. I saw them sell people with chicks layer feed! Why would they be recommending that? I would be in there once a week, so everyone knew me.. and this lady starts trying to sell me started pullets. And I tell her no, I already have enough chickens, and if I wanted more, I wouldn't be buying started pullets anyway. And she kept following me around trying to sell them to me and explaining to me at what age they will start laying, totally ignoring everything I said. I sent my mom in there to pickup food for her dog with a chicken allergy.. they "helped" her pick out a food, and the first ingredient in it was chicken. Really?

 

[aoxa]

You cannot believe the trouble I've had when trying to discuss feed with the feed store. I think now they all start to cry when they see me coming because they know I'm going to press them to perform with some degree of accuracy and I'm not likely to give up until they do.

For example ... I gave them a full year to order turkey starter for when the turkeys arrived this past spring ... they kept insisting it didn't exist. I kept printing out the marketing info from the companies that make it and taking it to them. They said the companies in question had never heard of those products. I told them a year in advance how many pounds of the stuff I'd want. That was 365 days to get it figured out. At the last minute, the store found/ordered for me what was probably the most expensive turkey starter ever on the face of the planet ... in 10 lb bags. One bag at a time.

During that process one odious little man at the feed store told me "You need to stay off the Internet." I walked him to the book shelf in his store, opened a book to the chart of what to feed turkeys at various ages, and told him it wasn't personal.

Trying to discuss the nuances of "all purpose poultry pellets" with them has been a different nightmare.

Ditto discussing niacin supplement for the ducks.

Ditto discussing animal-based protein concentrates.

Ditto discussing pellets vs. crumbles vs. mash.

Ditto asking about the protein sources for any of the feeds on their shelves.

I call ahead to order food for someone to pick up ... they come home with completely random things.


Over at the better feed store further out in farm country, with a proper mill attached, independently owned so they can special order anything, some extra miles away, it is the same story. Something as simple as asking for 3 bales of hay produces 3 bales of straw. I'd think anyone working in a feed store would know the difference. Nope.

What is up with this?

The silver lining is that I'm learning a lot more about poultry feed than I ever thought I'd have to.

This is exactly why I only stick with the one I use, even though the other two are cheaper! Because the owners HAVE poultry and KNOW! The first one I went to was Shurgain.. I just started keeping chickens and they told me I needed layer, even though I had young birds not yet laying. What did I know at the time? I went with it.. I am very confident I lost a cockerel to liver failure because of it. I will not buy any feed from that store. I was so angry...

Also the other one has employees that are rude and make me feel like they look down on me because I am a female farmer. They think I'm a joke or something. I get that impression when I go in anyway.

The last one.. I love them. Great people. All pretty much know what they are doing. I really wanted a higher protein feed so that I could feed both my turkeys and my chickens and they really couldn't provide a game bird that fit my entire flock, so I just stuck with starter> the turkeys managed no problem. Probably helped because they were heritage turkeys.

You just can't beat good customer service. I'm willing to pay that extra 50 cents a bag to be treated properly (and because they have a drive through and load up my car for me!)

 

[aoxa]

Are the tubes to the crop on the front, underneath or side? I havent seen any damage to the front. When I syringed the water into her beak she drank it. She was raspy for a bit but that didnt last long. I thought I might have rushed her. I guess I know I should just "man" up. She has enough fight in her but if not eating that cant last long

A hawk did the exact same damage to a meat bird I had chicalot! I packed it with coconut oil and let it be. I made sure it wasn't visible to the other chickens, but it's still here today. Tomorrow it won't be

This happened 8 weeks ago