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

[aoxa]

Aoxia,
Those are outstanding pictures. I love your scovie, and your barred. I love my scovies too. Your land is beautiful...I just love all that open space and the woods that come up and just hug every thing.

 

Thanks Delisha Characters those muscovies! I love how quiet they are.. and how they wag their tails.. Hoping Macy will raise me some call ducks next spring. She went broody 4 times this year. I couldn't find any fertile duck eggs, but now I have a trio of calls to let her hatch babies of.

I like how you described my property

Aoxa ,Great pics ,wish I could find some land like that

Pete

Thanks! We're very blessed.

and we are Bee Thankful too

 

[Beekissed]

This isn't the first time I've gotten emotional over this thread....I have a soft spot in my heart for all you folks and you make me cry while I'm laughing and smiling sometimes and I ain't ashamed to admit it!

Pssst! Don't tell Al!

Melabella, that was just the cutest video!

 

[bobbi-j]

Oh. My. Word. You people have been busy today! I thought I was never going to catch up. Every time I finished a page, I saw that there was another one to read!!

"Give us this day our daily thread" "Forgive us our threadpasses..." You all are so entertaining!

And now that I've caught up, I need to go to bed. I'm all tuckered out.

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

Well, just last night I was whining about not having any buckets, tonight, I have 3 new ones!!!

Also, side note, I have converted a couple of people to the Bee Principal of FF. One has already started their batch, and one is headed to the FF thread for Q&A.
So happy!!!

 

[mrsamplias]

Beautiful photos, Aoxa!! Thank you for sharing.

x2. I love the property and the animals....

 

[Beekissed]

Going to talk a little about natural feeding cycles tonight before hitting the hay. I've brushed on this subject a time or two but it came up on the OT thread and I think it's an important part of the natural health for chickens. Over the years I've noticed certain things about how chickens live on free range and the trends in their production levels and such, so I try to mimic those trends and cycles as much as possible and it makes for a predictable flock.

In the natural diet of birds, their lives are pretty much focused around survival of the species according to how much nutrition they can find at any given times of the year. Do you ever wonder why birds only produce offspring in the spring? Or why most wild animals don't give birth in the fall or winter? It has to do with food abundance and survival instincts that are deeply ingrained.

In the summer there is plenty of food clear up into early fall. In the early fall is when much food is available that will put fat onto an animal...seed dispersal from trees, fruit trees go to seed as well in the form of fruit, fall fescues and other perennial grasses, etc. This allows animals to go into winter with a good layer of fat to sustain them when food sources are lean.

As late winter moves into very early spring the food slowly becomes more plentiful as new buds arrive, insects come out of larval stages, and new grass begins to grow. You all know that and it goes without saying...unless I am trying to relate it to my own flock's nutrition levels that I provide.

At this time chickens go into their peak egg laying production and they will lay better in early to late spring better than any other time of the year. Food supplies in the wild are plentiful and wild birds are hatching young. There is an abundance of food for energy to feed young birds. This is when chickens who are raised on this natural rhythm will go broody the most.

This is also the time I usually go to a 100% laying ration to support the cycle of reproduction and I normally keep that all through spring and into part of the summer, then in late summer I start to taper off on the layer ration as the birds go into a natural slowdown, but I leave enough of the layer ration to help through the worst of the molt and I add a little BOSS...not too much but a little. This adds some fats into the supplemental feeds.

In late fall and early winter I go to 40% mash, 60% whole grains but taper off on the BOSS. By January I am feeding no BOSS but still the mixed ration as to simulate that lean time of the year and in mid Feb. I start to taper off of the whole grains and work my feed mix back towards the 100% layer ration to do it all over again.

By the time the girls are in full swing of lay and wanting to hatch chicks, they are eating high on the hog outside while I supplement with 100% layer ration.

I said all that to say this~if you are wondering where your chicken's nutrition should be, whether they be coop/run dwellers or out on free range, always look to nature for your answer. You don't have to worry about exact percentages of this or that because you know that formulated layer feeds have all the essential nutrients needed for high production in laying.

Whole grains have a less total nutrition than the layer ration so cutting your layer mix with them will bring your nutrition levels down a little but that's okay. When you feed this mix you will find the birds actually consume less feed, which seems contrary for winter time but it just works that way. No matter the whys but I'm thinking it has to do with more fiber in the diet and they have lower activity levels to support.

In conclusion, looking to nature will tell you when to feed what to your chickens if you are providing more than half of their total nutrition, which most of you~if not all~are doing. More nutrition when they are in reproduction mode/months, less nutrition when they are in survival mode/months, with a slow tapering into each season so as to let them transition as they would in the wild.

What I am seeing on BYC is a lot of people hopping up their nutrition during the winter months to keep their chickens "warm"~which is totally unnecessary. Do wild birds have high pro and fats in the winter? No, they don't because they simply don't need it~they are living off their stored fat from late summer/early fall. I am feeding the lowest level of nutrition at the same time everyone else is increasing theirs~ and feeding higher levels when everyone drops theirs, because they think the birds don't need it as much when the warmer months have arrived.

Then there are the groups that overfeed nutrients throughout the year because they just love overindulging their pets. Those are the folks who are not managing flocks, they are feeding pets.

I believe this trend to feed the wrong level of nutrients during the wrong times of the year is another reason why people are not getting maximum laying, are having erratic laying cycles and reproductive problems in their birds, having broodies in the fall and winter, having health problems in their flocks.

I wanted to point out that my increasing the nutrition for this flock into late fall and providing extra fats in the form of suet cakes, calf manna and BOSS was only due to their weakened and underweight status upon their arrival. I didn't want those following this thread to think that this regimen should be a normal part of a flock's nutrition at this time of the year.

Before this incident, I don't recall ever feeding suet or calf manna to my flocks. Just didn't need to and a normal flock doesn't need them at any time of the year. Just plain layer rations and whole grains usually suffice, with a little lacing of BOSS in the early fall. This method has kept my chickens healthy for all these many years and my laying at peak production, with no health issues to speak of.

Sorry if this ran on a little long but I thought it needing saying.

 

[aussie pete]

very clear ,even us newbies should be able to follow that Bee

Pete

 

[armorfirelady]

I say we all chip in for a vacation to Aoxa's for a little field trip & stay in her bed & breakfast

Maybe we could sneak out a few birds when we leave as parting gifts?

I love the pics Aoxa....I love the BR's....its what I would like to add to my flock. I love the barred look of them.


Thank you Bee for your words of wisom yet again.

Now here is a quick question for you or the other OT's......You said you cut the layer rations back this time of the year. I understand the theory for that. As of now I have been giving half layer pellets & half scratch,BOSS, Oats mix. Since one of the hens just started laying should I increase the layer rations some in the FF? I know this time of the year most hens start slowing down laying eggs but I didnt know since mine just started laying that maybe they will need more of the nutrition in the layer pellets in their foods? Or should I just leave the mix the way I have it for the winter? I would think I should continue the layer pellets through the winter since they will be just starting to lay? And then increase it in February or March when they start laying more?

Thanks

 

[Miss Lydia]

The feeling is mutual for all of us Bee! Like I stated last week, some days, this thread is my solace,, my calm, my curiosity, and a safe place to come to when reality is using me for a sparing partner!

Hey,,, just saw this,, and I was giggling at the computer the whole time. A friend posted it on my FB page. It has two animals that are in my life. Chickens, and the same breed of dog as my Jack.. the wonderful English Shepherd. Watch how clever and talented these two youngins are in this lighthearted Christmas Video....

That video was so sweet.

 

[Miss Lydia]

x2. I love the property and the animals....

X3 Aoxa