Utah!

[yfchoice]

Congrats Gail. It is exciting. Two of our 4 girls have been laying 1 a day for the past 2 weeks or so. They were small as to be expected. This morning, the red sex link laid an egg twice the size of her others. I hope they're all going to be this big. It was huge....bigger than store eggs.

I paid $15.00 for a 5lb bag of DE from a guy here in Sandy. I'm going to Steve Regan's next time.

The reason it has to be food grade is so it can be mixed with food and water. The DE grade for pool cleaning has chemicals in it that will harm you and your chickens.. The DE grade you find in garden centers is usually in the pesticide section and it has warnings about NOT using it around food and water. So...food grade DE or nothing.

 

[bootsuu]

I'm gonna check out Steve Regan for their cheap DE, though, to be honest, 50# is gonna last me a LOOOONNNGGG time.

I've been buying feed / scratch at AA Callister. They have Purina's vegetarian offerings which I really want to try. Something about IFA's generica bags have been bugging me. They're alright for giant bales of pine chips though.

What feed is everyone using?

 

[PacsMan]

Quote:
Non-food grade DE is processed differently. (The stuff used for pool filter). The temperature is raised, and it causes silicosis, which is really bad for your lungs.

Yes, the stuff at Steve Regan is food grade.

Marty

 

[PacsMan]

Quote:
I "make" my own to save costs...

5 parts IFA's 20% laying mash
2 parts whole wheat
1/2 part cracked corn
1/2 part DE
1/2 part charcoal pigeon grin

I was doing 3 parts wheat and 1 part corn, but the first few eggs I got had watery whites. Someone suggested that their protein might be low. We'll see what happens in the next weeks or so...

 

[yfchoice]

So Marty, how do you get the grin off of the pigeon?

.. I'm assuming you meant grit. How are your eggs now? I'm finishing up my grower mash...2 more days....and then will be going to layer. They also get black oil sunflowers, grapes, spinach etc. Poultry grit and oyster shell are always available and now I'm grinding up eggshells for them too.

 

[hen-thusiast]

FYI - I called Steve Regan today. They are currently out of 50 pounders of food grade DE. I spoke with Daren, he seems really nice. He said they should be getting more in on Friday or Monday. The price varies depending on where they buy it from, so PacsMan got a deal, right now its $32.50, still not bad. Freshwater Organics wants $40 for the same thing.

bootsu - Right now, we feed Purina. We thought about making our own, but the quality control we've gotten through Purina horse feed over the years has been wonderful. I'd like to try the vegetarian feed (well not ME personally)

While the IFA brand may be generic, it's probably also more locally sourced and I'm sure it goes through appropriate quality control.

I tried buying horse feed through AA Callister's about a year ago. I liked their prices and their frequent buyer program. Please note, I did not buy Purina Brand from them. ALL THE HORSE FEED WAS INFESTED WITH BUGS. REALLY BAD INFESTATION. When I explained the situation to them they didn't seem too interested and shrugged it off. Second point, their customer service is often lacking. I switched back to Saddle Up. Last fall I priced out shavings and Saddle Up was way cheaper than IFA. Saddle Up will also order special order feed, I'll ask them next time I'm there about special ordering Purina vegetarian formula.

Sorry for the novel

 

[Heather J]

Quote:
I'm hoping I get silkie chicks! I'm to the point of checking the 'bator obsessively because they're due tomorrow. lol 50 minutes away would put you in the town that is named the same as the school mascot, right? Everything else at the distance is, well, either north or east. lol We'll see what actually hatches. I could arrange for eggs or babies to head your way with my MIL when she passes through again, if you're interested (and you're really where I think you are).

Just a little west of that town, I guess I need to decide if I want to go back to a brooder. I have a broody hen raising chicks, do you think she would accept one or two additional chicks?

I've never actually had a broody until now, but I don't know if they will take extras if their original brood is a bit older. I think it probably depends on the hen. I ended up with just four silkies, two blue, one white and one...either a mutt or a splash, but it loks a bit brown rather than blue or black, so I'll have to wait until it feathers up to know what's going on. I have 21 more eggs in the 'bator now, and 2 of my girls have gone broody, so they are sharing another 7 between them. They are all silkie and cochins. My MIL passes through here ever few weeks, so let me know if you're interested, and we'll see if we can arrange something.

 

[PacsMan]

Quote:
Yup, that... is what we call in the computer business, a FAT FINGER mistake. I make 'em all the time. Yes, it's grit, not grin...

Quote:
Well, about that....
We had three boys that were at summer camp, and we shuffled the 4th one to the in-laws and my mom for the week. I took my sweet wife down to Denver for a quick week vacation. No special reason, just that we've never been there. It was great! We just drove back today, and I'm bushed.

I saw your post on Tuesday or Wednesday, but it's not something you want to post on the internet and saying, "Hey, we're having fun! We're ~out of town~ [and the house is empty...] come take my chickens and other stuff..."

We came back to 12 chicken eggs in the fridge. Still need to work on those roll out boxes and get them to work a little better. Also, we are missing "Harry", one of our barred plymouth rock hens. The lady taking care of them said she didn't have time to count the chickens each night (and had no idea she was missing one of our chickens...)

So, we're down to 10 layers and 4 growing EE'ers.

I might be looking for another chicken sitter for our next vacation. Interested yfchoice...? (grin)

 

[yfchoice]

Actually, Marty, that might not be a bad idea. Of course, that works both ways. A perk of taking care of my chickens is that you get to get all of the garden bounty that is ripe for picking.

 

[PacsMan]

Guess what?! (chicken butt....)

My ladies gave me 3 eggs for 4 days in a row, and 5 eggs today! Things are starting to roll... (slight pun intended...)

Who is going to the chicken class on Wednesday, the Tour de Coop Saturday (Heard Joy in the Garden talk about it this weekend) and finally the Chicken Stock Saturday afternoon?

me, me, and me... anyone else?

Marty