I was just curious if people have started seeing a drop in feed prices. I buy my feed from a local mill. They have dropped their feed price about $2 from this time last year. It's because corn prices have dropped at least $2 a bushel since last year. I'm paying $9.57 for a 50 lb. bag. A year ago...
I have a Delaware pullet that was injured about three months ago. She was pecked in the back of the head down to her skull by her fellow chick class, I separated her within the grow out pen in a single cage and put Blu-cote on her to treat the wound. She healed very well. With the wound healed...
I was asked the other day if a Cornish X broiler bird purchased from any hatchery truly be considered and/or certified organic. His arguement is that certified organic pigs and cows must come from certified organic parents. Most of the Cornish X broiler chicks hatch come from a handful of egg...
I got a really good deal at TSC on what I thought were all Delawares. (They didn't have a clue.) Turns out most were straight run Delawares, some were white leghorns and some were a Columbian colored breed. I'm not sure which breed. The Columbians are pretty much the same size as the Delawares...
I was all excited about this year's batch of new chicks until the storm this week. I had a feeling the storm and the U.S. Post Office wouldn't be good for my new chicks. I hate it when I'm right in cases like this. The chicks were shipped in a full size box (one slot was empty) on Wednesday from...
This is my first try with an incubator. I have a Brower Top Hatch. No not the model recalled. I have a humidistat on the rack and it is reading 43%, but the temp on it doesn't match the temp on another thermometer inside. I would like to raise the humidity and I have put a cup of water in the...
I have one naturally hatched chick which is now 13 weeks old. I separated her and her mother after two rough days with adult chickens into a vacant coop I had. The mother Hatching only) is an Iowa Blue and the chick is a Russian Orloff. To get ready to collect eggs for hatching I want to...
After doing a lot of research, it looks like I have an outbreak of Mereks among my 8 month old pullets. Is this something they got from their current coop or invitro? One thing I have noticed is the birds that have gotten sick, their combs are smaller and I don't think those birds have begun...
I have started feeding my broilers in the early evening. They seem to be eating better.
Checking water more often.
I have covered my Salatin type tractors with white plastic panels and the front opening with a tarp to increase shade.
I have turned off the brooder lights on my broiler chicks...
I'm moving my third batch of 150 Cornish X's to pasture today. I have lost several birds during this almost nation-wide heat wave. I have made some changes to how I treat my pastured flock. I am using two hoop-coops and two Salatin type tractors.
The hoop-coops seem to allow lots more air...
I'm going to be putting out 180 birds to pasture in a week or so. The best grass I have right now was recently burned in a controlled burn this spring. It has grown back green and lush. There is still a little charred material under the green grass.Will this cause a problem?
Went to Ebay tonight to buy a HovaBator Genesis 1588 from the Incubator Warehouse and they raised their prices $35 due to a manufacturer's shortage. That's a real downer. That shoots my budget.
I'm looking at getting my first incubator and I'm pretty sure I want a Hova-Bator. I'm looking at a #2362N Hova-Bator which uses a wafer thermostat or a #1588 with an electronic thermostat. I would get a turner and fan with either. I'm not sure if there is a capacity difference. The only other...
Okay I've seen a lot of folks talk about how great the thermocubes are. The on at 35 off at 45 seem to be the choice. Problem is they work on air temps right? If so, we haven't come close to 45 for three weeks, so would thing shut off?
1. If you are told something by a zoning administrator, building inspector, etc., pro or con to your questions, have them put it writing. Told you don't need a permit, have them put in writing via email or on letterhead. Not sure how close you can be to your property line have them write down or...
Here are two of the waters I made this year for my layers.
This is a five gallon bucket using a aquarium heater and nipples. So far we have gotten down to 12 F this year and the nipples haven't frozen.
The next water straddles the wall between two coops in the chicken barn. It's made of a 21...
I spent most of the summer selling at the Saturday version of the Norfolk, NE Farmers Market. I sell chickens, eggs and some produce. My sales were so-so.
What I am looking for in my question is what you as consumers or producers feel are the best farmers markets in Nebraska or elsewhere. Tell...
With corn prices now about where they were in the Spring, has anyone seen a drop in feed prices? During the huge increases we saw this summer, corn was almost $8 a bushel in Nebraska. The TSC price on most Dumor feeds has gone up between $ and $5 a 50lb. bag since May. Do you expect commercial...
The the passage of Halloween, those pumpkins that didn't make the cut as Jack-o-Lanterns work great as treats for your chickens. My birds love the pulp and the seeds, but not the rind. Be sure to cut them up before giving them to your birds. I have a guy down the road that raises a huge number...
I just read a study by the University of Georgia that adding 3% DDG to commercial poultry feeds will increase egg production and enhance the yolk color. Also adding 3% DDG to Broiler feed increases weight gain. The same study showed no increased performance by increasing the percentage above...