The Old Folks Home

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Wayy better than a curtain.... you could leave those up perminantly too. If you wanted.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: We really need to make a place to store a big load.

-Kathy

If you have the square footage somewhere for it Tarping is a viable option.... I cant climb more than three bales high but the boarding stables I have used would get a whole semi load... they d break it down to manegabel stacks and put pallets under.... then tarp the heck out of it.

You know those spiral stakes they use to tie dogs out? you can screw them into the hay and fasten your bungees to that...

For what its worth you can get used bill board tarps they are much much heavier than what yoiu can get at a farm store or hardware store.

deb

 

[vehve]

Can't leave the plastic up over the summer, it get's too hot. This stuff is coming down in March or April at the latest. Plus it's a bit uglier than just the net, I want my coop to be pretty

Alaskan, beautiful pictures.

Took a while for me to notice it was balloons too, that's a nice view.

The concentrated feed is 27%, but I'd estimate they're eating a diet of about 20-22% feedwise, don't know what they get from their foraging, but they seem to be doing a pretty good job of picking what they like and feel that they need. They also get a bit of meat every once in a while. When we do get eggs, the shells have been good, yolks have had a spectacular color, and the birds seem healthy, they're active and they aren't suffering from parasites. Poop was salmonella clear, and the consistency is good.

 

[perchie.girl]

Can't leave the plastic up over the summer, it get's too hot. This stuff is coming down in March or April at the latest. Plus it's a bit uglier than just the net, I want my coop to be pretty

Alaskan, beautiful pictures.

Took a while for me to notice it was balloons too, that's a nice view.

The concentrated feed is 27%, but I'd estimate they're eating a diet of about 20-22% feedwise, don't know what they get from their foraging, but they seem to be doing a pretty good job of picking what they like and feel that they need. They also get a bit of meat every once in a while. When we do get eggs, the shells have been good, yolks have had a spectacular color, and the birds seem healthy, they're active and they aren't suffering from parasites. Poop was salmonella clear, and the consistency is good.

I just meant the stuff at the top.

deb

 

[vehve]

I just meant the stuff at the top.

deb

Hmm, that could work... wouldn't do much good during the summer though. But as a permanent thing, I'd go with some painted plywood probably. But it's something to consider in case the snow starts blowing in.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The debit card sort of cuts out the risk of check fraud. But checking them like that would work too, I suppose. Loads of excess paper though.

Thanks for the input on feeding guys, too much to respond to individually, because I'm exhausted. But I've got 40kg concentrate and about 70 kg of different grains and grain mixes, so I think I won't be making drastic changes to their diet for a while, that will take 7 birds quite some time to eat.

Here's what Karin and I have been up to all afternoon:

Half way through:


The girls seem to enjoy the protection from wind.






We left the top open for ventilation, I hope I won't be getting too much snow in through there.

Looking good, a little snow inside won't hurt unless it makes things really wet if it melts.
I'm sure they do like the wind break this time of year.

Hay bales run between 100 to 125 lbs depending on the time of year and the type of hay. Draft horses are easy keepers because they have low twitch muscles. Therefore pound for pound they eat less than light horses. Light horses need up to 1.75%-2% of their body weight per day in the form of forage... This is for horses that dont work and are not producing babies.

Draft horses on the other hand are more efficient... only requiring 1.5% of their body wieght in the form of forage. Or about 30 pounds of hay per day.... So each bale is good for three days with a little left to mess around with. Horses are grazers and designed to be eating constantly.... So if they dont have a daily job and nothing to graze on all day neurotic behavoirs occur..... So She gets a Whole bale of hay dumped in her feeder and she nibbles on it for three days.

So the 160 +- a month I spend on hay is good. If I were boarding her at a boarding ranch the cost per month would start at 300... I payed 400 the last place I boarded.

deb

We baled a lot of hay when I was a kid. We had one field of alfalfa. The others were mostly timothy, orchard grass and ladino. The latter were about 75lbs. and the alfalfa was usually about 100. Back then, most hay was $2-3 a bale and alfalfa was sometimes as high as $5.

Depending on what you feed the weight will be different..... I feed straight Bermuda. Its the least expensive and lower in calories than other feeds. My girl is an Air fern.... So a bale is three feet long 18 inches wide and about 15 inches deep. Which is the size for a three strand bale here in California.
Bermuda will be around 100 lbs sometimes up to 125 lbs
Alfalfa will be around 110 lbs sometimes up to 130 lbs.
Oat hay I belive can be as small as 75 lbs up to 100 lbs a bale
Alfalfa is a legume and much much richer than Bermuda.... its not a prospect for free feeding. When I am there at the house I usually feed a slim flake of alfalfa twice a day on top of the free feed of Bermuda... It balances the calcium/phosperous ratio. the cost for feeding all together would go down If I were able to do that.

deb

oat hay or straw?
Around here oats are threshed and then the stems make straw.
We use it for bedding.

...
$75 here for a a big round bale, Timothy mostly, $50 for 600 pound round and I get free 60 pound square bales from my eccentric neighbour. I give him eggs and salsa so make up for the free bees
...

Good trade.

Board here is a simple affair.... a 24 x 24 foot pipe corral with over head shade. Automatic waterers and the corrals are raked every day. the horses are fed twice a day at most places Three times a day at some of the better places.

We dont have snow or the expense of maintaining a wood barn to deal with. Most places that have alot of snow will have an indoor arena to exercise your horse....

We dont have pasture board here in Southern California.... Oh it exists but its pretty rare. And No matter how big the pasture is you still have to buy hay. Especially now.... with the drought.

The last boarding facility I had my horse at had almost 160 horses. The board was 300 but I payed more for a 24 x 48 for my girl. She was one of four draft horses on the place and the owners owned one. So they built a row of Super sized pipe corrals. Those cost 100 more per month.

deb

That drought has to be depressing. I remember one year that was so dry here we had to feed hay in the summer.

Taken right now..... Looks super cold and fall-like dontcha think?

Snow right around the corner.

When in Europe (London) a few decades ago I stopped into a burger joint to grab a bite. The first bite in I could tell it wasn't an all-beef patty. My first and last foray into equine edibles.... People tell me goat is delish, but I've had too many caprine friends to willingly partake. To me it would be kind of like eating dog meat.

Goat is great and common in Caribbean, Mexican and many other cuisines.
There's a huge combo Asian/Latin market nearby that has all cuts of goat.

Cool, crisp, and those at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta that were grounded by high winds yesterday got antsy and decided to take a float-about today. This was the view out my kitchen window this morning....

I heard about that on the news the other day.

Can't leave the plastic up over the summer, it get's too hot. This stuff is coming down in March or April at the latest. Plus it's a bit uglier than just the net, I want my coop to be pretty

Alaskan, beautiful pictures.

Took a while for me to notice it was balloons too, that's a nice view.

The concentrated feed is 27%, but I'd estimate they're eating a diet of about 20-22% feedwise, don't know what they get from their foraging, but they seem to be doing a pretty good job of picking what they like and feel that they need. They also get a bit of meat every once in a while. When we do get eggs, the shells have been good, yolks have had a spectacular color, and the birds seem healthy, they're active and they aren't suffering from parasites. Poop was salmonella clear, and the consistency is good.

The yolk color is from carotenoids in the diet that the chickens can't assimilate so the color ends up in the yolk. During winter our yolks lighten up a lot.

It's really hard to determine what they get when foraging but I think it's good. We're starting to see a drop in bugs so I'm sure the free protein is lower than most of the spring and summer.

 

[Wisher1000]

@casportpony

Howdy, Kathy! Great to see you in the Home! I didn't notice if there were any other new-Old-young Folks, but if so, great to have ya' over!

 

[casportpony]

@casportpony


Howdy, Kathy!  Great to see you in the Home!  I didn't notice if there were any other new-Old-young Folks, but if so, great to have ya' over!

Thanks!

-Kathy

 

[hennible]

Taken right now..... Looks super cold and fall-like dontcha think?

Looks nice, like my back yard. Great shots.

That's cheap hay...

-Kathy

Yeah it's a steal... Not sure why. Cattle country here, lots of competition maybe that's it. I use it as bedding can't get straw here, seasons too short.

Shows you can't believe everything you read on the internet.

A trap nest has a trap door that closes when the hen goes in to lay an egg. You have to release her but then you can get her leg band or wing band number so you can pedigree the eggs. That's currently the only way to do it unless you only have pairs in breeding pens.

Growing birds can make use of extra protein.
Feathers are about 90% protein so additional protein is really important during molt until the new coat is grown. That said, 20-22% should be sufficient.
Additional protein is also needed if a bird has an infection. Protein is needed to produce antibodies so during that time resistance is lowered if it can't get additional protein.
Otherwise adult hens do fine on 16-17% protein. Separate male diets can be as low as 9-10% protein without affecting viable sperm production. In fact, fertility can be improved 3% on low protein diets. Such feed is very expensive so usually isn't fed.
Excess protein is converted to uric acid and can cause gout.

While on the subject of protein, there's a concept called limiting amino acids. Chickens have 14 amino acids that are essential, just like humans have 9. If one of those are deficient, it's akin to the total crude protein being low. Animal protein usually has a complete complement of amino acids.
Also, tryptophan can have a calming effect on rooster aggression. 0.2% tryptophan is the normal level in breeder diets but levels as high as 0.75% can influence serotonin and affect behavior including hens that exhibit hysteria. I read that as some Mediterranean breeds.

Thank you for all the great info, all things in balance I suppose. I never believe every thing I read of the bat from any source. Everything I know is nothing because its all just what I know until I'm corrected
I good example of bad information recently came from stories guide to raising chickens. On the subject of green manure used in the garden they said that the plants cells could actually uptake the bacteria... Now I did not look for any other information but I'm pretty sure this is complete horse poop.
Off topic I wonder excess protein in humans can cause gout, it be really funny if you did because my husband gets gout and he's a vegetarian

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Men are more prone to gout as are the obese.
Beer, sugary drinks and veggies high in purines like spinach, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, and mushrooms can contribute but most vegetables clear the system of purines.
Good things are non-sweetened drinks, especially teas and coffee. Fruits, especially citrus are good.