Turkey Talk for 2014

[SilkieSensation]

 

 

 

My sympathies to your entire household, people and animals alike.  Moving is bad enough, but twice in 5 weeks, with all your animals, in this weather, has to be the worst!!  Hope everything is settled down for you now.

Just waiting on weather to cooperate now. All of my stuff is stuck in storage almost 2 hrs away until we can get a u-haul u the driveway. Our car has only been able to get out the driveway 4-5 days in the past 5 weeks. We really need a 4wd truck.

Geezz, that's even worse!!

It's better than the month right before moving here when we werr living in a 24ft camper with no running water. We had to haul water 1/4 mile back a very rutted lane by hand for us & all the birds. Luckily a friend took pity on us & let us take showers at her place.

THe pelleting process has an effect on the feed that is generally regarded as negative. IT is a heat drying process to make the pellets and fines are a natural part of the process. How much fines are in the product varies.  THere are trade offs with every kind of  presentation, if you will of the feed. In horses they use molasses sprayed ont he outside to reduce the " dust" .  I"m not longer convinced that pelleted feed is the best choice for  optimal health in any animal. We are all lacking greens in our diet in sufficient quantitiy to improve our health.  FOod for thought.  

I know, you're right, but I just hate feeding dry mash so much.  It's so messy, and my avian piglets gulp so quickly they choke and cough, and the water gets so slimy because there's powder all over their beaks when they drink and it comes off in the water.  The true crumbles are only a little better than dry mash mess-wise, and are just pellets that have been broken up, so they're not any better than pellets health-wise (lots of companies mislabel their dry mash as crumbles, but the processing is different).  The whole grains with the vitamin/mineral mix doesn't work well for me because the birds eat the grain and leave the powdered supplements on the bottom of the feeder.  The dry mash only works well if I add water to it (they love it cooked like instant oatmeal for a few minutes with either hot chilies or fruit juice added for flavor), but I don't always have time to do that, and they tend to overconsume and get fat if I feed that too often.  If I limit their portions than the dominant ones still get fat and the submissive ones don't get enough to eat.  So even though I know it's not the best, I still feed pellets and hope that free ranging and lots of fruits and veggies as treats make up for what's lost in the pelleting process. 

I ferment most of the year so the dust is only a problem in the winter when it's way too cold to ferment. Last winter was so mild I was able to keep fermenting all winter. I was not so lucky this winter so they are stuck with dry food until the weather breaks & I can get back to fermenting.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote: Just waiting on weather to cooperate now. All of my stuff is stuck in storage almost 2 hrs away until we can get a u-haul u the driveway. Our car has only been able to get out the driveway 4-5 days in the past 5 weeks. We really need a 4wd truck.


Geezz, that's even worse!!
It's better than the month right before moving here when we werr living in a 24ft camper with no running water. We had to haul water 1/4 mile back a very rutted lane by hand for us & all the birds. Luckily a friend took pity on us & let us take showers at her place.
Wow, you are a serious "Can Do" kind of person! It's one thing to deal with that when it's just you, or you and another person. But to deal with all that in this weather and all your birds -- that must have been stressful. Now the weather just needs to clear, get your stuff, and it's smooth sailing from here on, right!?!.

 

[SilkieSensation]

Wow, you are a serious "Can Do" kind of person!  It's one thing to deal with that when it's just you, or you and another person.  But to deal with all that in this weather and all your birds -- that must have been stressful.  Now the weather just needs to clear, get your stuff, and it's smooth sailing from here on, right!?!.

You forgot to add 2 children into that mix...lol We're praying it gets better from here. If it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all. I just do what I have to. That's how I was raised. My kids come first. Keeping a roof over their heads was my primary concern. If we can do it to go camping (for fun), we cando it to survive. We make do with what we have. I wouldn't even have internet if it wasn't on my cell...lol

 

[Reyvaughn]

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/fortiflex-mf-2-mineral-feeder-2x175-qt-capacity-black

Thank you! That is amazing! Why didn't I think of using these?

 

[Ardizzone7]

New babies!!!! They hatched Monday. It is quite amazing really. She went broody on 1 egg. I had 2 others that were too old to ship so I put them under her as well. She was diligent! She sat on them in a dog house in the coldest weather on record for Indiana. Most days have been single digits to several degrees below zero. She got off the nest each day for about 30 minutes. All 3 hatched!!! They are now in our basement but are all cozy and healthy. I also have her mothering 9 chicks I hatched out on Sunday

 

[chickadoodles]

New babies!!!! They hatched Monday. It is quite amazing really. She went broody on 1 egg. I had 2 others that were too old to ship so I put them under her as well. She was diligent! She sat on them in a dog house in the coldest weather on record for Indiana. Most days have been single digits to several degrees below zero. She got off the nest each day for about 30 minutes. All 3 hatched!!! They are now in our basement but are all cozy and healthy. I also have her mothering 9 chicks I hatched out on Sunday

How sweet! The babies are adorable, so happy for you that she is a good momma

 

[chickenman1962]

Very, very cool. Congratulations! They all look healthy and happy.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Arielle]

Sydney acres-- you can use anything that you want to feed = pick what works best for you. No perfect feeding system.

Ardizonne-- congrats on the cuties!!!



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As for flow-- pellets flow too, so worth trying. I start babies on crumbles and then move to pellets asap. I have tried FF on and off, and even if they get a snack of it now and then. Most of my crew free ranges.

 

[Arielle]

In regards to feeding and outcomes--

IMO there is a variety of management styles that were dictated by the regionsl needs long ago when a breed of animal was developed. Meaning that most breeds were a local development if only by happenstance and using what was locally availabe for both management and genetics.

For example, flocks of sheep are sold WITH the farm, those sheep were developed at that farm and they know the lay of the land, etc. THe thrifty survive generation over generation on what happens at that farm. THis is the same for all farm animals: the genetics adapt towhere they are raised over the generations.

Now fast forward and we humans have mobility, and we migrate and take stockw ith us for food and fiber. Immigrants to the new world brought a variety of stock. AND while here, new blends developed in the New World.

I really beleive that where breeds are developed contributes to their own unique genetics on many levels and is not simply a a feather color difference. THey have adapted to climate including soils, weather, feed that is available and housing. Humans influence the selection too as we have made choices from the survivors who will be eaten and who is left to breed.

Just food for thought.

( I am slowly replacing my stock with old stock that never came from a hatchery. I think they are too protected from diseases, the mild ones, and would like to have hardy stock.)

 

[chickadoodles]

I agree Arielle that our animals have different needs everywhere.
I congratulate you on going to heritage birds!

I am mainly going to have heritage turkey for now, but possibly looking for a market for some other heritage birds later on.