The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[rosewolf22002]

I caught up! I was off for 2 days a week ago and I just caught up! Love the blog!

 

[nbchickfarming]

Took me a few hours, but I edited and organized the entire first 31 days of the Gnarly Bunch.

Check it out here!

Over the next few days... weeks... ahem... possibly months... I'll be adding other pearls of Bee wisdom, so be sure to check back regularly!

Great job, so much easier to reference...love the pics of FF set up.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I don't blame them.....hate peas!

You could always do what my mama always did...leave it there and don't feed them anything else until they eat them.

LOL! I took the peas out of my "recipe" after I saw how the girls hated them. Figure the girls are kind enough to make me breakfast, the least I can do is come up with a FF mix they enjoy. I tried the peas in the hope of giving them some type of "green" during the winter. Have replaced it with a handful of alfalfa/timothy pellets. Not sure it satisfies their green craving but it gives the FF a good consistency and they can't pick it out of the mix!

 

[maryhysong]

Your recipe isn't far from mine and I was adding split peas, too. BUT, those picky gal's of mine decided they don't like split peas and nothing I do will convince them otherwise.

After all the FF in gone, in one corner of the plate will be a small pile of very clean split peas. How do they do that?? Not even my children are as talented at removing and avoiding peas as these chickens!

Harvey Urssery was talking about that in his chicken book; he was feeding field peas instead of soy for protein; I think he finally ended up going to something else because he had to grind them to get the birds to eat them and even then they didn't really like them. http://www.themodernhomestead.us/

 

[aoxa]

LOL!  I took the peas out of my "recipe" after I saw how the girls hated them. Figure the girls are kind enough to make me breakfast, the least I can do is come up with a FF mix they enjoy. I tried the peas in the hope of giving them some type of "green" during the winter. Have replaced it with a handful of alfalfa/timothy pellets. Not sure it satisfies their green craving but it gives the FF a good consistency and they can't pick it out of the mix! 

My girls go wacky over peas! They like them as much as my ducks, and ducks LOVE peas.

I found that the less you feed treats, the more they appreciate things they didn't before. Last winter when my flock was 20 birds, they wouldn't eat anything but the corn out of the scratch. Now, it's gone in seconds once scattered.

Also - Every single bird I have LOVES the FF. I mean LOVE. No matter how much ACV I put in it They are used to it. I have always put a little more than what you normally would in their waters. Not really on purpose, but the water does smell a bit like ACV.

 

[delisha]

Quote: You can try an old trick..take a qt jar and add it half full of the peas, cover them with boiling hot water over night. Then add them the next morning.

 

[hedz82]

Hi, I am glad you took your chickens back and are giving them a second chance! They deserve it and you owe it to them! Think of it this way, if their genes weren.t so strong, they would have never survived that ordeal in the first place, so that was the ultimate test for their genetic fitness!
Please update us and send pics of how they are doing!!!
Were the guys quite tame in the beginning? do you think they recognized you?
I hope those other people never, ever even contemplate keeping another animal. I hope you gave them a piece of your mind??!!?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi, I am glad you took your chickens back and are giving them a second chance! They deserve it and you owe it to them! Think of it this way, if their genes weren.t so strong, they would have never survived that ordeal in the first place, so that was the ultimate test for their genetic fitness!
Please update us and send pics of how they are doing!!!
Were the guys quite tame in the beginning? do you think they recognized you?
I hope those other people never, ever even contemplate keeping another animal. I hope you gave them a piece of your mind??!!?

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:
All the above plus being the most consistent egg layers (when they're not brooding) way longer than most other breeds. I've had a large variety of breeds in past years and my silkies are the ones that I chose to be with me in my older age. (71)

Hi aoxa! Love your input!

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Flock Update: They have been getting FF for a bit over a month now and free ranging for the most part. I was a bit disappointed when the egg count dropped about 10 days ago or so. 'Specially since everyone was talking about how their girls were laying on FF and the 'production' remained up. Well, I had just blown it off to the shortening days and that they were taking a rest. Yesterday I found out why my count had dropped (after brief paranoia of bad things that cause chikens to stop laying)....the dreaded Secret Nest....under the first front porch step....18 eggs all piled up thanks to at least three to four of the girls.

...just like kids playing outside, they have been too lazy to walk all the way back to the coops to lay. Anyway the eggs all sank in cold water...
SO they have NOT slowed down laying...the sun finally came out and I was able to see how shiney their feathers are and no more foot problems, all seems well for now....and now I know where to look when the egg count seems off again.