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

[fishnet1971]

Sweety, the Storey's book is the root of all chicken evil...it would only compound those chicken's misery. Toss it quickly if you have it in your home before it taints your husbandry methods.

GREAT Bee.... I have read that book inside and out forward and backwards a dozen times. no wonder my girls are in bad shape... (just kidding) seriously though, what's the bad part of the book? I tossed it off my office shelf just a second ago just for you, but how come I did it?

"It is USDA approved book on raising chickens....in other words, nothing to do with actually how one is to raise livestock in any way, shape, or form. The lady who wrote it has only had chickens for a few years and she doesn't even do the hands on care for them....one of the OTs~a very trustworthy and honest fellow~is her neighbor and knows exactly how much she knows on chicken husbandry. Pretty much zip. No self respecting OT would ever recommend following the book's advice on raising chickens, in other words.

I picked it up one day at the library, read a few paragraphs, snorted and placed it back on the shelf. That's all the longer it took for me to discover that the author had never really successfully raised chickens for any length of time. "




Bee,
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL No wonder everyone in my office looked at me funny when i tossed it in my garbage can. I work for the USDA......

!!!!!! guess I will just keep on keeping on with how I do my chicken care and loving. from your guys advice on here and the 30 years, oops, I mean 40 years of raising chickens experience....

 

[fishnet1971]

Update? Here's Hope after day 21! FF for a week now. I do think feathers are growing al ittle quicker Bee.




Aoxa, does 'busty' count as fat? I need to put my Cochins on a diet if they are to look as pretty and fit as yours.

 

[armorfirelady]

Ok I have a question for you guys. You are talking about protein levels and how they need to be higher/lower. I am not good at math. I do read the labels to see what the protein levels are in the feed (tho those #s leave my brain as soon as I close the chicken binder

) And I have Bees list of foods with protein levels as reference as well & bruce's recipe he uses.

What is the normal protein level that hens should be getting? When should it be higher or lower? If they are not laying what level should it be?

But how do you figure out how much protein the hens are getting from the food you give them? I dont measure anything....just a little bit of this, pinch of that, glug of that

For the FF it consits of layer pellets, BOSS, oats & scratch (cracked corn, milo &?) Sometimes I throw in some alfala pellets.
once or twice a week they will get some extra BOSS/cracked corn when my mom stops over to put them in for the night.

(She likes when they come running & talking to her when she comes in the back yard.

Bee- dont roll ur eyes to bad lol .....she went and got a trunkful of pumpkins she found at the curb & sent me a text *who is the hens favorite Grandma now* I thought it was funny.......we used to live in farm country so she knows their not pets & no qualms about culling them-hens are set for winter with pumpkins tho !!)

They have been working on a giant pumpkin since Thanksgiving & get the left overs from the bird feeder that hangs in a tree in their run. Which honestly isnt all that much....my wild birds usually on ground picking up leftovers as fast as the ones in feeders knock it out.

They get veggies almost every day. I have to say I havent given them many leftovers from the fridge like others do. I thought about giving them french fries yesterday but thought nah.....they happy foraging in the yard.

Oh and they get some *Johnny cakes* I made up for them as well. They have scratch, BOSS, wild bird seed, sunflower hearts & seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, alfalfa & granola in them. (Not all in one suet- thats ingredients I use to make different varieties.) But not every day. Once a week is what I am going for....especially when the snow sticks and they cant keep foraging in the runs for grass bits & such.

Any idea how I can SIMPLY figure out approx. how much protein these hens are getting daily? I am only feeding 4 hens. (and I read the labels from the pellets & scratch....all vegetable proteins.....thats why I figured the suet cales were a good idea with the animal fats)

THANK YOU

 

[off-grid hen]

Fat cells never leave. They don't convert to muscle, you can just build more muscle tissue which burn more fat to maintain. That is why once one is obese, say, starting as a child, it is a lifelong battle. The suitcases are always waiting to be filled. And they constantly call to be filled again for quite some time. After a while, the cravings become less severe, but the fat cells will immediately fill up once there is a surplus. This is why people only keep the weight off if they maintain a constant lifestyle change in today's world, where we don't have the cycle of feast vs. famine. People can keep weight off for years, but then as soon as they slip, the weight goes right back on.

I really don't how this would apply to chickens, other than to let them have a bit of natural weight loss when they naturally would. I don't think starving them in the winter would be good, but feeding them about the same amount of rations in the winter, they'll burn off the excess while trying to keep warm. They wont have the added calories from foraging. Does that sound right?

 

[Leahs Mom]

LOLOL No wonder everyone in my office looked at me funny when i tossed it in my garbage can. I work for the USDA......

!!!!!! guess I will just keep on keeping on with how I do my chicken care and loving. from your guys advice on here and the 30 years, oops, I mean 40 years of raising chickens experience....

Okay... I know Bee doesn't like some of Harvey Ussery's philosophical views on life but.. I usually recommend his book

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1603582908...vpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_2ug4v0ra02_b

So far it's the best one I have on my shelf. There is the issue of the botulism due to the maggot buckets. http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Feeding-Chickens-Maggots.html

However, I have found that he does state that he has made mistakes and is learning ... and as he becomes aware of them he makes them known to correct them.

For me, so far, this book is the closest thing to the OT wisdom I've come across.

 

[aoxa]

Update? Here's Hope after day 21! FF for a week now. I do think feathers are growing al ittle quicker Bee.




Aoxa, does 'busty' count as fat? I need to put my Cochins on a diet if they are to look as pretty and fit as yours.

Busty! Love that name Fits her well.

Yeah she's plump, but I think it's normal for cochins.. Though she could stand to be smaller. Mabel never seemed like she was eating too much. I rarely see her hang around the food.

Hope is looking better!

 

[fishnet1971]

Okay... I know Bee doesn't like some of Harvey Ussery's philosophical views on life but.. I usually recommend his book

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1603582908...vpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_2ug4v0ra02_b

So far it's the best one I have on my shelf. There is the issue of the botulism due to the maggot buckets. http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Feeding-Chickens-Maggots.html

However, I have found that he does state that he has made mistakes and is learning ... and as he becomes aware of them he makes them known to correct them.

For me, so far, this book is the closest thing to the OT wisdom I've come across.

I have it and have read it as well.

 

[Leahs Mom]

On the fat issue...I also think that getting some ANIMAL protein into them would be helpful. Even though grains have some protein, it also has a high level of carbs. It's my opinion that protein from animal sources is much better for them and you won't have the same issues you have with the grains.

During the winter when they can't get the bugs, I'm trying to be sure they get some meat during the week. (I usually use venison as that's what I have.) I had found some venison that was hiding in the back of my freezer from 3+ seasons ago. Right now I'm chopping that up into very small pieces and throwing it on the ground for them on occasion. It's a big hit. Also have thrown down small bits of ground as well. They like to scramble for it.

I noticed that the OTs had a little conversation about the animal protein as well a couple weeks back and seem to agree with my OPINION so I'm thinkin' I'm on the right track w/that.

 

[aoxa]

Okay... I know Bee doesn't like some of Harvey Ussery's philosophical views on life but..  I usually recommend his book

  http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Feeding-Chickens-Maggots.html

However, I have found that he does state that he has made mistakes and is learning ...  and as he becomes aware of them he makes them known to correct them.

For me, so far, this book is the closest thing to the OT wisdom I've come across.

I have it and have read it as well.

This one is my favourite.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Fat cells never leave. They don't convert to muscle, you can just build more muscle tissue which burn more fat to maintain. That is why once one is obese, say, starting as a child, it is a lifelong battle. The suitcases are always waiting to be filled. And they constantly call to be filled again for quite some time. After a while, the cravings become less severe, but the fat cells will immediately fill up once there is a surplus. This is why people only keep the weight off if they maintain a constant lifestyle change in today's world, where we don't have the cycle of feast vs. famine. People can keep weight off for years, but then as soon as they slip, the weight goes right back on.
I really don't how this would apply to chickens, other than to let them have a bit of natural weight loss when they naturally would. I don't think starving them in the winter would be good, but feeding them about the same amount of rations in the winter, they'll burn off the excess while trying to keep warm. They wont have the added calories from foraging. Does that sound right?

Yes, that sounds good to me (I had wondered about the suitcases never going away and really didn't think they did either..thanks) Now, for us in the south, it's not getting real cold anytime soon ...so..they are not using up their "warming layer" .... but then who knows what will happen in a couple of weeks. Bare with me, I'm just trying to work this all out in my head...definately don't want to put them into "starvation" but just put the breaks on a bit now and wait and see what happens over the winter. I have found a good set rate of food for my corgi, vs. his exercise rate and he's not fat. Wonder if there is a Body Mass test for chickens? LOL...don't think they'll let me pinch an inch!