AL - Recording baby steps: Newest Addition

[lorihadams]

Oh, I start giving mine some scratch grains or cracked corn in with their food at about 4-5 weeks. Cuts down on the feed costs and helps add a nice layer of fat on them if you plan on keeping them whole.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

how'd they do, AL?

we had another really cold nite - not too worried about the meats but both my hubby and checked the poor cold poults to make sure their light was still on. good thing we have this puppy so we have an 'alarm' to keep us honest

;-)

and really - dont feel bad. you're doing a great job. i never understood why people ordered 50 birds but now we know! its cuz some just flop over dead!

 

[Farmfresh]

Another thing that will help with feathering is to cool them off. Not enough to cause them to pile or freeze them but drop about 2-3 degrees a day in temp from now on. Since you have two heat lamps put one of them on a timer.

Sounds harsh I know but it will convince them to get dressed fast!

Then you might not have to reduce the feeding as much either.

On another note about the feed however. Remember that a chicken fills their crop and then slowly processes the food from there. So even if they are not actively feeding they still have stored food to process in their crop. Makes withholding the feed seem a little less harsh doesn't it.

Try encouraging more exercise as well, to help their hearts. Raise the feeder so that they have to stand up to eat - about neck high. Water at the opposite end from the heat ... etc..

Don't be discouraged. It gets easier every time.

 

[AL]

Wow... I know now why folks say these monsters would devour you if you fell in the pen!! I took up their feed last night and when I fed them this morning they were nearly climbing up my arm!
I went out at 2 and they were obviously cold. I rearranged the lamps, added some litter and went back inside. Then I tossed and turned worrying about them being cold so I went back and reworked the lamps again and apologized to the chicks. They weren't screaming when I went to check them around 6 and all of them rushed me for food.

A little later in the day I will turn off the other light for a little while.

Last time I checked, tonight is supposed to be our last really cold night - then it goes on to 48 and into the 50s. Hopefully the milder nights and the feathers will happen about the same time. I hope to turn the meats out in their run and just hang the lights in the shelter instead of having the pool. Right now they are still scratching, running and chest bumping some. I keep the feed and water on the other side of the pool from the lights (still lit up at night, but not taking up room under the warmth).

Friday I never did put straw on my squash plants and I lost 3 of them. Yesterday evening, right about dark, while I was putting straw on the squash I noticed 3 of my neighbor's chickens squawking at their shed. I figured it was just because they were locked out and went ahead and finished up before going to let them in. When I got there I only saw 2, so I scooped them up and called Mr B to see where he wanted them (multiple coops; Mr B is about 91yrs old). He asked me to keep them til this morning and as I was leaving I found the 3rd one - dead. No idea what got it, but this morning there was a hawk on the carcass.

 

[AL]

So far so good... milder temperatures make for happy franken-chickens.
They kind of freak me out swamping me when I put feed in for them in the morning! I gave them a full tray of grass and grit as well.
The sun was awesome and there was no wind, so I opened the south end of the shelter and let them lay in the sunlight.

I think my squash plants are giving their last goodbye.
I have several little squash still on the plant, but I don't know if they are going to make it or not.

Mr. B gave me a watermelon, a horse calendar, a tote bag and several Hobby Farmer magazines for watching over his chickens. I assured him those things were not necessary, that I was just doing the right thing, but he insisted. My dad says Mr. B catches him outside all the time to tell him how much he thinks of me.

My quest to become more SS actually began a few years ago. I was over $40k in credit card debt, not counting the brand new truck. Over the last 4-5 years I have beaten the debt down to something more manageable. One way I did that was buying a $1500 trailer and living in it for 4yrs. No heat, no central air, no stove. I used a window unit in the summer in my bedroom, but didn't even use a room heater in the winter. There were nights my shampoo froze (not solid, just piled up in your hand like gel). Last December I bought a brand new trailer. I moved in the same week that we had a record stretch of freezing weather (13 days, with lows in the teens). I loved having heat. (and non-sagging floors, whole ceilings, doors that close / lock, etc )

So over the weekend, while the temps were in the 30s, my heater went out. The repairman came out today and fixed it. He said he would "try" to put it under warranty, but because my furnace was an '08 - '09 model they may refuse it!! I bought the trailer in 12/09, so the heater is less than a year old in service. I told him if they won't cover the warranty to bill the trailer dealer, because they are the ones who put it in.

My 14yr old Lab, Buford, was sick over the weekend. He has some kidney issues so I was really concerned. Vet wants me to try giving him some Pepcid, because we just ran his bloodwork 2 weeks ago and while his kidney values were up, they weren't really really bad. I forget the exact explanation, but basically kidney problems cause toxins to build up in the GI tract and can change the stomach acidity.

Tomorrow I will be making butter from my milk I bought at the Apple Market. Then Thursday I will go buy more milk. Friday I WILL work with my pumpkins!


Yesterday J15, my nephew, was playing baseball and took a metal cleat to the jaw. He had to have 4 stitches. He was very fortunate because he also had a scrape on his neck right along his Jugular vein... thankfull it didn't slice that open!! Anyway, I felt sorry for him so I got up early and went to take him to breakfast and to school. I must maintain my status of best aunt ever, even if he IS a grumpy teenager!!

 

[AL]

So far this SS lifestyle has been a massive flop.

Spring Tomatos - blossom end rot, etc
Summer Watermelons - softball sized
Fall Squash - frosty death
Meat Chickens - 4 out of 25 dead
Butter - teeny tiny amount, when my friend got lots more from same amount of milk from same dairy

I still have my sugar pumpkins to massacre, we'll see how that goes.

I am hoping tomorrow I can let the meaties out of their swimming pool brooder and onto the ground under their shelter. Then during the warm part of the days I can let them in the pen to sun and eat grass. I will also have more room to move the food away since some are getting to that place of wanting to lay down and eat.

Also tomorrow my dad may help me build frames for Skye and Buddy's feed buckets. Skye's wooden trough was getting soured and I was afraid of her colicking. Frames will allow me to use their plastic feeders and be able to remove the feeders to clean them if necessary.



On a personal level (not THAT personal... this IS the internet):
I want to start learning astronomy. I was looking at the clear night sky last night and admiring the beautiful scatter of white stars. I saw I guess a falling star, but not one like I have ever seen before... I am wondering if it was more of a meteor? It wasn't like a white diamond sliding on black velvet - it was as if it was sparking on the way out.

I also need to find the floor and counters in my house. I have "read" the flylady website backwards and forwards, but I really need to put some to practice.


Pretty much a discouraging go around here lately, but I'll just keep on plugging at it and see what happens. Who knows, maybe something will actually work out?

 

[dragonlaurel]

read that blossom end rot was a sign of calcium deficiency. When it started happening to my tomatoes last summer, I mixed powdered milk in water but made it a little thick and watered them with that. The problem went away, and I got good maters for another month before it was time to pull the plants.

Sounds like you're off to a good start. I had 6 kinds of squash planted this summer, and didn't get ANY of those. Other stuff really did good though. It balances out. I learned to plant the squash family early here so the bugs don't get them all as seedlings. Plus I have 1 and 1/2 gallons of my pickles to console me.

 

[Denim Deb]

Don't feel bad. For the first time in years, I got a garden in. But, I was late, so I never did get it all planted. Plus, I lost a lot of plants to a ground hog and to a goat. There's always next year.

 

[framing fowl]

AL, I think it was a tough year for a lot of gardeners. Stuff I usually really do well with, didn't do much this year. Just take what you learned this year and apply it to next year.

It sounds like you're discouraged right now and we all get to that point some days. Then you go outside and watch a meteor or realize you're someone's favorite aunt and things start looking up again!

Just think, you have 21 more meaties than you had before you bought them! You're getting a ton of experience and the meat will still be much much better than from the grocery!
As my dad would say, here's a hug, now go find your bootstraps!

 

[Farmfresh]

The most important thing to remember about this whole lifestyle is not to be discouraged!

You are not COMPETING against others. You are growing and learning.

As long as you learn something new each year, try something new each year, and have some measure of success you are doing as good as any of us!

Now same list glass half full.

Spring Tomatos - blossom end rot, etc
Learned that calcium problems cause blossom end rot and also erratic rainfall. Learned that bottoms can be removed and tomatoes still make a great sauce, also that chickens love blackened tomato bottoms.
Summer Watermelons - softball sized
Learned to appreciate a well grown organic watermelon! (PS I have been trying to grow them for the last 13 years with no luck. :/)
Fall Squash - frosty death
Learned that fall squash make a wonderful green manure crop!
Meat Chickens - 4 out of 25 dead
Learned a lot about meat chickens. Got most of what I need to try it again on hand and paid for. Still have 21 meaty birds on the way that I didn't have last year!
Butter - teeny tiny amount, when my friend got lots more from same amount of milk from same dairy
Got some practice making butter and had some nice buttermilk for making pancakes left over!

Sounds like a pretty successful year to me!