Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[TropicalChickies]

It's not been an issue here, and my boys are all gents.

Good to know. I'm also enjoying geeking out on configuring the micro nutrients of these mashes I'm making. And if challenged by someone who says, "You don't even know the exact nutritional contents in your homemade feed." I can say, "Actually I do." And I trust my own findings over the rather nebulous labels on poultry feed anyway

 

[Perris]

Good to know. I'm also enjoying geeking out on configuring the micro nutrients of these mashes I'm making. And if challenged by someone who says, "You don't even know the exact nutritional contents in your homemade feed." I can say, "Actually I do." And I trust my own findings over the rather nebulous labels on poultry feed anyway

You might like to challenge such an interlocutor whether they know the actual ingredients in a bag of commercial feed, if they buy typical bags of the stuff with a nutrient analysis but not a proper list of ingredients - what exactly is 'processed grain by-products', 'plant protein products', or 'poultry waste meal' for example? or go down the chemical route and ask 'what is the role of the monocalcium phosphate? [or other chemical of your choosing]'

 

[LTAY1946]

Both new boys are out and about on their own. Wish I could have quarantined them for a month but it was not possible this time. A quarantine motel is on the drawing board to build soon. Both are eating and drinking and the fighting has mostly subdued to a level that can be common where the boys want to be boys.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

All the chickens and roos are picture perfect (beautiful).

Temperature is in the 80s.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

Yes, I've been thinking about this a lot. I want to be sure that Lucio and other future roosters here get their vitamin and mineral needs met in the absence of the additives in commercial feed.

I have a fantastic guide to the native plants of the Chocó Andino Cloudforest (where we live) and have been able to identify and get nutritional information many of the wild plants growing on our land that the chickens regularly forage. Several are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals.

The problem is that Lucio doesn't get to eat very much of these plants because he gives it all away. So he's more reliant on the feed I prepare.

It's one of the reasons it's important to me to configure the vitamin and mineral contents of the homemade feeds I'm making. After a month of tinkering based on:
1. cost/availability of ingredients
2. ease of preparation
3. farm harvests
4. what the chickens like (pretty much everything)
I have the recipes more regulated now.

I make one fermented mash and one cooked mash for every day. The fermented mash is uniform each day: maize, oats, barley, flax seed, tumeric, with pepper and yellow pea flour mixed in before serving. The cooked mash is a bit more variable. The base is always rice, oats, barley, quinoa, peas and sunflower oil. Sometimes turmeric and pepper if not in the fermented mash that day. The variable ingredient is a starchy fruit or vegetable like sweet potato, plantain, cassava depending on the farm harvest and others like carrot, chard, etc depending on what I chopped for lunch that day.

Once a week, they all get a big tin of sardines to share or a beef stew.

I agree with @Perris overall about diversity in their diet, but for Lucio's and other roosters, I want to make sure they are getting enough micro-nutrients from the mix since forage is much less a reliable factor for these generous "Lords of the Harem." So I'm methodically working my way through the math. If my homemade mixes prove deficient in micronutrients on their own, I'll get a rooster supplement.

View attachment 3578463
Today's cooked mash topped with everyday fermented mash

What do you do about calcium for the hens or don't they lay enough eggs for it to be an issue?

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

On eggs and nesting -- for those who wish to provide more natural nesting areas for your hens, here's another example of what they might make themselves.

Led by sensible Patucha, the laying hens have finally begun to use the lovely sheltered nesting area I prepared for them. All I did was sprinkle the ground with a bit of sulfur powder, then layer on a mixture of top soil and sand, and cut some boughs from nearby shrubs so leaves and twigs would be lying about. I strung a bit of shade cloth over the area to make it more dark and private.

This is what the hens made:

View attachment 3578478

The nest is slightly oval, measuring 28 cm in diameter on the long side, and 25 cm in diameter on the shorter side. I suppose that size would vary according to the size of the hens using it. The nest is sloped on the sides and the deepest portion in the middle accommodates the size of the egg. Whoever decorated the nest added a few leaves and bits of mulch.

I read Shadrach's article on nestboxes the other day it was very interesting. My girls lay wherever currently, I've been fairly lucky that most of the eggs are laid in the night pens. Just in the wood shavings in the corners.

 

[LTAY1946]

What do you do about calcium for the hens or don't they lay enough eggs for it to be an issue?

I have a small feeder suspended from the ceiling where they have access to it as needed. Not forced on them by mixing in their layer ration.

 

[Shadrach]

Lucky today. Just managed to squeeze three hours in between the rain cloud fronts. A bit chilly at 13C.
C arrived at the allotments just as the chickens headed for the coop. The geese had been in all day and there was no sign that they had been fed or their water changed. C said they had given the geese some bread this morning, I don't believe them. I had fed them by the time C arrived and done their water. Not a word of thanks from C who headed straight for their house.
Fret is looking the best I've seen her despite not having finished her moult. She's filled out a bit at her rear end and has feathers where there were bald patches before. I told her I was going to call her Little Miss Fat Arse; she didn't look impressed.

We all got out. Fret and Carbon laid eggs today. Nither laid yesterday. Every other day or less works for me.

Some of the plot holders are complaining about the level of pests they have on their plots. I have very few. I think it's because the chickens go on my plot daily.
The person who keeps the plot next to mine grows flowers rather than veg and has siad they are quite happy to have the chickens on their plot. They too have had much fewer pest problems and now we've had a decent amount of rain their plot despite the odd plant getting trampled looks great as you may be able to appreciate in this picture.

My plot, although not particularly well laid out this year looks greener and healthier than most of the others.

Carbon eating some of the bolted spinach.

I know exactly where these two are off to and I'll have to get of my arse and intercept them. That's C's plot directly ahead and while it is a mess, C does not want the chickens on it.

Henry is trying to encourage the hens to make a nest here. He checks this spot out most days.

Just Henry.

Bed time.

 

[Shadrach]

I read Shadrach's article on nestboxes the other day it was very interesting. My girls lay wherever currently, I've been fairly lucky that most of the eggs are laid in the night pens. Just in the wood shavings in the corners.

Most nest boxes are fine for just laying eggs. It's when it comes to sitting and hatching the article becomes relevant.

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Most nest boxes are fine for just laying eggs. It's when it comes to sitting and hatching the article becomes relevant.

Yes, that's what I was getting from it. Mine don't have any nest boxes right now and the pens are directly on the ground so they could go broody if they liked and would be on the dirt.