The Old Folks Home

[tcmstalcup]

Well, yuck!!! I have a cold and had two extra roosters that had become loud and bothersome to the point the hens and I were tired of them. This combined with me not having any chicken in the freezer led to their timely death this morning. I feel terrible and have a broken blood vessel in my eye but the job got done. Always thankful I can feed my teenage son meat that is healthy even when mama is not!!!

 

[ozexpat]

Oz, Chicka, others - Does the fish meal show up in the taste of the eggs or meat?

As Ron says

I feed the highest concentration to chicks - 20% layers get 5%

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A friend recruited a poultry nutritionist at a university to help her make up her own feed. He told her to limit fishmeal to 5% of the diet.
Not only is it high in protein but also calcium. Another reason to limit its inclusion.

 

[ozexpat]

A friend recruited a poultry nutritionist at a university to help her make up her own feed. He told her to limit fishmeal to 5% of the diet.
Not only is it high in protein but also calcium. Another reason to limit its inclusion.

Indeed - for long term feeding

 

[chickadoodles]

Oz, Chicka, others - Does the fish meal show up in the taste of the eggs or meat?

I have small hands Wisher and I cup both hands together and scoop up the fish meal and add it to a 5 gallon bucket and mix it in. When I did to much all my turkey and chickens heads turned red. So I got it down to 1 scoop which is probably 1 cup maybe. And I cannot taste anything but wonderful eggs! I do not eat fish so I would be able to tell! lol

 

[IAFarmGirl]

I need some chicken feed expert advice please! I went to a new feed mill and co-op today and was checking out their feed and prices and the man gave me this website for the company he buys his feed from.
Please tell me if you think this would be a good feed for my birds as there is no meat products just vegetables.



GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein, Min. 20.00%
Lysine, Min. 1.00%
Methionine, Min. 0.41%
Crude Fat, Min. 5.00%
Crude Fiber, Max. 4.50%
Calcium, Min. 0.75%
Calcium, Max. 1.25%
Phosphorus, Min. 0.75%
Salt, Min. 0.30%
Salt, Max. 0.40%
FEEDING DIRECTIONS:
5-Star F-R-M ABF All Vegetable Chick Starter Crumbles is a complete and balanced diet for starting chickens from egg-laying breeds. Begin feeding as the only source of feed after hatch to 6 weeks of age, then switch to 5-Star F-R-M ABF All Vegetable Pullet Grower. Always provide plenty of fresh, clean water.
*Note No antibiotics have been added independently to this feed. There may be a detectable residual level in DDGS, which is contained in this feed.
**No meat byproducts have been added to this feed.

This co-op does not have any other customers that buy chicken feed so he would have to buy 5 tons of it to get it delivered to him. Which means I would have to buy and use it all, not all at once but all!
So I really need some help here please!

Chickadoddles,

This is very close to the Purina Flock Raiser. Not much difference at all between them. I just happened to have the tag from one of my bags sitting next to the computer!

 

[chickadoodles]

Chickadoddles,

This is very close to the Purina Flock Raiser. Not much difference at all between them. I just happened to have the tag from one of my bags sitting next to the computer!

Thank you IAFarmGirl!

 

[IAFarmGirl]

Can they be trained to guard the chickens? There was a big hawk eyeballing the run today. I heard my flock sounding the alarm and saw it in the tree line before it flew away. We also get possums, foxes, racoons and coyotes here, though the loud barking of Daisy usually keeps all but the possums out of the yard. Daisy is confined to the house and her own yard.

Actually he will probably naturally gravitate to the chickens. Both of my borders do. He will also want them to stay together in a group so he can watch over them. You will not want to leave him alone with them until he understands that he can't grab them. Watch him most closely when they try to run or fly as that is when he will try to stop them and possibly hurt them. Once you get him to not react to their fast movements then he will naturally guard them. He will see them as his birds and protect them from anything that comes around. Catahoulas are not just bred for herding but also to hunt and I have seen several that were used to hunt coyotes. They are very good at it and can take a coyote down which is very difficult to do. A coyote is very viscous when attacked. If he understands that the hawk is not a chicken and that it will hurt one then yes he will stop it from hurting his chickens. Like I said they are very smart and quickly figure these difficult things out if you keep a close eye on him until he does. My dogs did run off a fox here that was getting to close to the chickens. The fox lost some of his/her tail in the bargain and hasn't been back.

Here is a pic of one of my borders fascinated by the baby chicks. He would stare at them for hours! Still does actually.


Here both of them are watching what the hens are doing in the coop.

 

[tnspursfan09]

Reassuring posts from everyone. I'm feeling more optimistic about Jax. DH has been working with him there in Houston, too. Mainly with his chewing issues. He's a bored little dog, I'm sure. Both In-Laws work (CFP's) and he spends a lot of time alone in the back yard. I'm always home, so boredom and lack of companionship shouldn't be a problem.

FIL's surgery went well, it was postponed until yesterday...so far there has been no more talk of transplants. The clamps seem to be holding. They did have to suction a mucus plug from his lungs this morning. Getting constant updates from DH.

 

[IAFarmGirl]

Great news about your FIL tnspursfan09! The chewing issues for Jax will also go away when he has something to keep him occupied. Get him some rawhide chews so that he has something to chew. It will help clean his teeth and keep him occupied when you have something else to do.

See I knew that once you calmed down and thought things out that it wouldn't be as bad as you feared!