Chicken/egg question

[Cindyd]

On my list but thus far I don't feed mine exclusively outside anything but what I buy. I do give them a variety of greens from garden, including variety of fresh herbs. Frozen berries from time to time also, carrots, cantelope, watermelon, but I don't grow other food specifically for them. I buy mix of 5 grain scratch, black oil sunflower seeds, organic brand of laying pellets/oyster shells/cracked corn..I use DE also in and around all areas of pen/ground n coop, including nests.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

People here prior to me had a deal with some restaurants for organic eggs. Used to get credits for dinners. they used to bring home produce scraps for free too.

Just an Idea.

 

[GaRp58]

Well, I guess mine are spoiled too. The wheat, soya, millet, dent corn, oats, acacia leaves, earthworms, grass cuttings with a scythe and the usual bugs that they find themselves must be enough. Great quality eggs...

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

Free range foraging is naturally healthy for hens and provides so much of what they need. We get too cold to do that here for some months a year. Grains and sunflower seeds provide what a hen needs for a lot of eggs. Those are necessary for raising meat chickens. I haven’t fed these current hens oyster shells ever. They are 2 years old and lay an egg every single day.

 

[Amish Heart]

Our chickens have coops and large covered runs because of predators. I'd add milo to your list. It's grown where I live and it's a healthy grain if you can get it. I bring in weeds for them daily, buckets of them, they love dandelion. I do grow mammoth head sunflower, but also buy the black oil sunflower in a big bag, and soak and sprout it a bit in buckets. Same for wheat and whole oats. This time of year I try to feed less commercial feed and bring in what's growing outside for them.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Thanks Amish! Will add Milo to my preps and seeds to grow. My hens are in a large covered run too. Keeps the rain out, which I appreciate because it doesn’t smell. Sprouting might be the top way to feed the oats and wheat, since it gives you so much extra feed! I did try sprouting out a couple of years ago to make sure I could do it. The hens loved it too! Where do you sprout your grains at? I have a bit of a problem with it molding.

 

[Robinjopo1]

By my calendar, the chicks should start hatching today. I fixed the "infirmary" with fresh shavings and moved the eggs. I picked up the mom and she was not happy.

It took about 10 minutes for her to go back inside coop. I caught her and put her in with eggs, but she was not happy.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Yay! Hatching days are such fun!! When I was a kid I simply loved them! Daughter bought herself a large coop the other day. She called me sounding like a little girl, so very happy and excited to be getting chickens again! Never forget folks, it’s the little things that make us happy! Find those things and put them in your life!

 

[Cindyd]

I plan to move our new chicks to the outside area this weekend, after son finishes up the new duck pen. Need to move the ducks to put the new chicks in that area seperate from the older hens n roosters for a bit. Chicks 6 wks old this Sunday. They've been on porch without brooder for cple weeks now, doing fine, and getting fiesty, ready to move them! I'll leave separated for at least 30 days, then turn em loose to mingle w the others. Is that what you all do?

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

To a “T” it is what I do! Minus the duck stuff. Haven’t had any ducks for awhile. Think I bought the wrong kind and they wouldn’t even go into the pond! I put the chicks in the greenhouse in a long raised planter that is around 4’ x 8’ when they are 3 weeks old. That works. Also have an outside small coop with a nice size run I use next, for a few weeks. It allows the older birds to watch the new birds.

 

[Robinjopo1]

I love when they hatch their own and I don't have to do all the acclimation stuff. They are automatically accepted as one of the flock.

 

[Cindyd]

I said I wouldn't get more ducks since our last ones never would come back in pen due to staying in the pond and sleeping on the banks of it. They got picked off over time from one predator or another. This time I'm keeping them in enclosure for eggs, and to reproduce for meat. I think we have 5 males out of the 12. Gonna put 4 up for freezer, keep 1 male to reproduce. These are all pekin ducks.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Here’s a good video on raising chicken’s for practically free! This method would be required when the grid goes down.

 

[Amish Heart]

Alot of people suggest fermented feed, but I'm guessing they're not talking about the pellets or crumbles, because that turns to mush. So I'm thinking soaking scratch is what is meant.
I had a new greenhouse delivered yesterday...an 8 by 16 with a solar fan, one door, vent by the fan, and lined with built in shelfing. It's pretty warm this time of year, so I'm thinking of getting the cat litter pans at the dollar tree and adding a touch of soil, and soaked sunflower, wheat, and oat seed and doing sprouting pans in there right now. Thinking they'd do ok in the heat. Usually I sprout in the house in sprouting jars, but then I can only give it once a week when the jars are ready. We'll see how it turns out.

 

[DrHenley]

Amish Heart, so far I have struck out making contact with the Amish community up there near BOL2. But I discovered that some of them are closer than I thought. I ran across this road sign 2 miles from our place. Maybe I should just park by the road one day and wait for a buggy to go by and flag them down.

 

[Amish Heart]

Ha Ha. They might think you need help. You're not going to find a church, because there isn't one, but maybe you can find where they shop for food, hardware, or feed. Alot in our area have their own private stores on their own land. Not unusual to see hand painted signs for milk, eggs, cheese, hay.
Then you can talk to them when you shop. Make sure you give your name and say where you're from. I know in our area, husband says the amish rumor mill is alive and well.

 

[DrHenley]

There was a store that has been mentioned a number of times on the web, but it's apparently closed and there is no sign anymore. I scoured the area but could never find anything or anyone.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Alot of people suggest fermented feed, but I'm guessing they're not talking about the pellets or crumbles, because that turns to mush. So I'm thinking soaking scratch is what is meant.
I had a new greenhouse delivered yesterday...an 8 by 16 with a solar fan, one door, vent by the fan, and lined with built in shelfing. It's pretty warm this time of year, so I'm thinking of getting the cat litter pans at the dollar tree and adding a touch of soil, and soaked sunflower, wheat, and oat seed and doing sprouting pans in there right now. Thinking they'd do ok in the heat. Usually I sprout in the house in sprouting jars, but then I can only give it once a week when the jars are ready. We'll see how it turns out.

Your new greenhouse sounds great! Post pictures when you have it together please! Thank you for telling me what you do with the sprouting. I bought some food grade plastic trays with 2” sides a couple of years ago in anticipation of doing heavy feeding of sprouted feed in the winter.

 

[Amish Heart]

The Dollar Tree lady counted the cat pans and said, "18?"...is that what you wanted? I told her I grabbed all that they had. Then had to explain what for, and said I didn't have that many cats. Then realized with the three new litters of kittens the barncats had, we do have that many cats.
It'll be hitting 90 here today, so finding a use for the new greenhouse right at this time of year is a challenge, even with the door open and the fan on.
I also really love the Yoder Built Greenhouses, you can see them on line. The one that was here when we bought the place is smaller, has a dirt floor, and I think I'll take the tables out that I've used for seedling starts and group in ground in there in the fall. My goal overall is to see how many months out of the year I can grow fresh food, for us and for our animals. We get pretty cold in the winter and pretty hot in the summer.

 

[Cisco85]

I had 3 eggs hatch in Jan and all 3 were roosters. I got rid of my very mean Roo and kept 1 of the youngsters and sold the other 2. Currently have 5 chicks and hoping for hens.