Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Bigfamily4me]

I was thinking she is almost like a bossy MUCH older sister and I couldn't possibly listen. ( that and i forgot what she said. I went for convience from my hometown farm supply store). But now I remember so I'll stick with Nutrena!

 

[Celtic Chick]

Older, wiser and much better looking. Ok, maybe not the 3rd one. But a whole lot sweeter too, don't forget.

 

[CasieD]

I switched over to Nutrena Naturewise pellets about 6 months ago when our local feed store in Marathon started carrying it. I'm really happy with it over Layena as well. The egg yolks have gotten a much deeper orange color too. I have always used pellets, for me it seems to be less waste. For treats the girls get a 50/50 mix of whole oats and BOSS. The BOSS have really gone up in price lately I see, I'm glad DH works with someone who grows it so we can get it at a reasonable price yet.

Still waiting on the storms and rain here. Weatherman said we were going to get hit for sure last night and nothing.

Made a run up to Fleet Farm last night to get what I needed to treat Buffy (yes, she's one of my BO's) for bumblefoot. Anyone else run into that before?? I checked everyone over and found 3 more had it, 2 of them on both feet! Now to figure out what's causing the problem. I'm thinking their roost is too high up for them to jump down from safely. I don't have a ramp for them so might be adding one this weekend. Their roosts are bare wood, but smooth so I don't think it's splinters and their run is all sand so I'm not sure how/what else might have caused it. I do have two wood logs with a long piece of drift wood between them for a low roost in the run. Guess maybe they could have gotten a splinter on that.

 

[vickiw]

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And you didn't listen. Now there's a shocker.

 

[vickiw]

Vicki-your welcome! The main reason for the issues with poor egg quality from Purina is that 1. They don't use chealated minerals 2. Their vitamin pack is weak. 3. No pre or pro biotics. From what I understand, Pruina doesn't believe in them. 4. More then likely their calcium/phospherous ratio is screwed up and the hens cannot process the calcium they are consuming. A hen can eat calcium till she is blue in the face, but unless she can process it correctly, it does her no good. Phospherous is expensive so that might be an area Purina cut corners on. So while the hens lay eggs, the egg shells are poor quality.
I hope that the Girls get back to normal soon!! Since your out of meal worms, you can give them dry or canned dog or cat food to boost protein too. Canned is the best. BUT be carefull!!!!! To much dog or cat food can give them to much protein which can cause the hens not to lay well also. A couple of small spoon fulls as a treat everyday or every other day should be about right.

BigFam-Tsk tsk....Not listening to CC. What were you thinking?

One last question~I have several cans of Hill's Science Diet my spoiled puppy won't eat so that's a perfect use for it! The question-how much would you recommend for 4 large hens?

 

[Celtic Chick]

Casie, if you have 4 birds with bumble, I'd guess your roosts are the problem. I can't see that many cases being caused by splinters, unless you've one heck of a rough piece of driftwood.

Good luck on the surgeries.

If anyone is interested, this is an excellent link to info on bumblefoot, complete with step by step instructions on how to do the procedure. But be warned that there are many graphic pics on this site, so the sissies (not mentioning any names, Bigfam) should maybe not check it out.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/07/bumblefoot-causes-treatment-warning.html

 

[MustLoveHens]

Casie-I have to agree with CC on the roosts. The only other thing I can think of is if they are free ranging, maybe they are all going into an area with stickers or thorny type plants. Or if you have a garden with prickly vine type plants, maybe they are scratching at those? That might explain why all of them have bumble foot. That's all I can come up with at any rate....

Vicki-I would feed the hens..oh a large (soup) spoonful or two small (tea) spoon fulls a day between all four. You could even split a large spoonful into 4 parts so everyone gets a little. You can always give them more if you think they need it. But with dog food, I always found less was more....The less I gave the more eggs I got.....

 

[Bigfamily4me]

Casie, if you have 4 birds with bumble, I'd guess your roosts are the problem. I can't see that many cases being caused by splinters, unless you've one heck of a rough piece of driftwood.    Good luck on the surgeries. 

If anyone is interested, this is an excellent link to info on bumblefoot, complete with step by step instructions on how to do the procedure. But be warned that there are many graphic pics on this site, so the sissies (not mentioning any names, Bigfam) should maybe not check it out. 

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/07/bumblefoot-causes-treatment-warning.html

I was interested, and then you said graphic pictures, and I said NOPE...

I'm realizing I don't have as many birds as I thought. By the time I get rid of all extra Roos, it will be a nice flock. Plenty of room left in the coop to add to my flock next year! I do have those 2 dz eggs I won that I'll have to attempt to hatch out.

I wish Roos would become more obvious earlier. Easier to cull. I really have to get more thick skinned about it. But even my hubby hates doing it. I never knew he was so softhearted until I ask him to take care of a chicken for me. Neither one of us can bear BUTCHERING a chicken. (yep laugh it up old guys!) but his Uncle down the road will do it for me. If I want to slow cook a chicken, I would put it in a crock pot on low for how many hours? Do I need extra time because it's a free ranged chicken and it might be tougher meat? How do I keep from drying it out? Just add water? I want to make the one this weekend and not screw it up.

Oh and has anyone ever heard about soaking the chicken to tenderize the meat?

Burgers on the grill tonight. Store bought buns. (are you kidding me... Like I have time to make ho made!) chips with the salsa con queso dip everybody likes. I'll avoid it though so I can try to shrink my butt closer to CC size

 

[Celtic Chick]

My apologies, people. When I said sissies, I was only referring to one person in general.

I actually meant to say squeamish.

Bf4, DHs aunt used to rub the entire bird down with salt under the skin & inside the cavity to keep in the juices & help tenderize the meat. They were always awesome!

 

[MustLoveHens]

BigFam-There are a few ways to keep the bird juicy. If your in the south you soak it in buttermilk "for a spell" according to my neighbor Christine. (Down in TN, Christine was a wonderful black lady who spoke in Native South so sometimes I had no clue as to what she was talking about!) "A spell" could mean many things depending on where in the south you are, the time of day, and neighborhood activities. Generally speaking, Christine was meaning soak it for 24 hours in buttermilk. Or at least that is what I took it to mean once I consulted my co workers to get a translation.
Then there is the brine-ing method. That is a great way to keep a bird moist. Works great on turkeys too. Google how to brine poultry and go from there. Brine-ing takes about 12- 24 hours. Basically a brine solution is salt water that you soak the bird in.
Both the brine solution or the buttermilk soak methods require the bird to soak while it's in the fridge, so space may be a issue.
Or another method I've used is to slow cook it in apple juice. I used this for a turkey roast one year and it was not too bad.