Caught my chickens chasing down and eating a mouse yesterday. Little dinosaurs!
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I had a hummingbird hit the window one time and fall to the ground. One of my birds got it and ran off with it before I could check on it. She ate the whole thing.
They also found a nest of some newborn rodents and had a field day tearing apart 5 baby somethings.
They almost had a tree frog the other day, but it was making loud sounds at them and they were hesitant to attack, I was able to save it before it became dinner.
Iāve saved numerous salamanders and newts as well. Theyāre definitely mini t-rexes. Give them a choice of feed, seed, greens, or some kind of animal/insect and they will choose the protein every time.
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When an opossum got into the hen house, however, the birds left it alone ā but I didnāt.
A couple of nuggets
Cat food is a terrific treat. They love it. Lots of protein and helps when losing feathers.
When I fish in my pond I keep everything. All sizes. All types. Wrap the little ones or any I donāt want in foil and bake in oven or on grill. Donāt scale them or gut them. Head on. Then feed whole cooked fish to chickens. They will eat all of it. Scales. Guts. Eyeballs. Brains. All of it! If more than they can eat I freeze the cooked fish and feed it to them later. There is nothing they like better than a cooked fish.
Avoid table scraps. Too much salt or things they donāt need.
Finally, fermented grain. Put scratch in a bucket of water for a day or 2 and they go nuts over it. Preferably use rain water or water that has sat it bucket for a couple of days to eliminate the chlorine. Chlorine will inhibit fermentation. They love it and it gives them probiotics and nutrients they need.
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Giving these is always fun. The eyes always go first.
And I used to ferment for years using brewing supplies, but got tired of the hassle. I just feed the occasional wet mash now.
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Covered an area with Woodchips and hay, and then had my chickens for a couple of months to fertilize. This is my first ever garden. I did let the land rest a bit before planting. Iād say itās going pretty well
This was an experiment that Iāll try to repeat! Not a single till in this area so far
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So far Iāve got 3/8 to hop up into my hand. Two of those have perched and started to fall asleep. Iāve never had birds of any sort before. Theyāre very warm and soft. I side eye them for pecking in gross things, but since one of my dogs would eat from the litter box if given a chance, I guess I canāt judge too harshly.
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Hey guys! Iām new around here and just stumbled onto this thread and figured Iād pop in and say hi 
This topic I know much about as I have been breeding, raising and loving on chickens and turkeys about 25-30 ish years now.
I sell about 25- 30 dozen eggs a week @ $6.00 a dozen and it definitely helps towards the cost of feed etc. Iām in NY and prices are crazy expensive here.
For those asking about egg cartons I purchase the 600 pack clear cartons on Amazon and they are .28 cents each if you buy in bulk, smaller quantities are a couple pennies more each. I like the clear cartons because alot of customers will return them, after a quick wash they look new again. Canāt do that with the paper cartons. I would post a link to them but not sure if we are allowed to post links on this forum (?)
Anyone free ranging chickens and having hawk problems needs to think about adding a turkey/goose. They are great at discouraging hawks from flying down for a chicken buffet. I exclusively free range my girls and I havenāt had a hawk attack in a very very long time. We have heavy hawk pressure here and even the brave one that does try flies off with its tail between its legs.
Last census for me was over a hundred so I stopped counting lol. I have many (probably just about every) breed. Some I love, some I loathe, and some I have a love hate relationship with.
Looking forward to swapping tips/ tricks with everyone
Trish
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Im still in the biddy and pullet stages and up to 42 so far.
I have 3 kinds of chick starter- Purina, Dumor and Nutrena Naturewise
The Naturewise is clearly a favoriteā¦and obvious.
I think i will mostly stay with naturewise and will try kalmbach next.
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I love Naturewise and that is my go to for chicks and turkeys. I met and had a very good conversation with a representative from Nutrena, she told me that although naturewise is not labeled organic (expensive certifications etc) they do everything as natural as possible and follow organic principles as much as possible. This feed is the closest you will get to organic feed without paying the price tag of a good organic feed. All my babies thrive on this. The only thing I add is hand fed mealworms (which is like crack to a chicken) for a little extra protein. They quickly become your BFF when they realize you are the magical mealworm dispenser.
Good luck with your chickens they are so much fun! And addictive as you already know
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Someone posted their setup for egg productionā¦ im sure this is probably much better than commercial productionā¦ but personally i just couldnt.
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Youāre not the only one. Sorry, but that is just nasty and cruel.
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YMMV on what im about to share intel on but this is all true here for me.
My local Dollar General throws away in the dumpster buggies of produce each week. Last week i got around 200 bananas along with salads, lettuce, apples etc. This week i got lots of grapes, bananas, potatoes and onions as well as tomatoes and strawberries.
Except for a few things that are starting to get blemishes all of this stuff is just a day or so out of dateā¦and totally edible if i want to. I plan on eating the Vidalias that i got yesterday.
Anyways long story shortā¦ and this is totally probably different if you go to each Dollar Generalā¦ but i have a rolling deal with the manager that i will give fresh eggs and things that i grow from time to time in trade. She texts me when they cull the produce and i go and pick it up.
All that they can do is say noā¦ but i got not only a Yes but she is totally in favor of this produce going to a good cause.
My chickens love just about everything but the potatoesā¦ so theres thatā¦ but maybe as it lies and rots they will eat the bugs and worms etcā¦
They also toss eggs, bacon, lunch meat and everything that you can think of that is close to dateā¦ so i have a deal going with that also for my dogs. The dogs are supposed to protect the chickens and my orchard from thingsā¦so i guess that counts too.
She told me that i could easily do the same at 3 or 4 local Dollar Generals but to be honest this one is more than enough.
Its crazy at how much stuff gets tossed in the binsā¦ so for now im using it for good use.
Im sure that there are some managers that wont or cant or something or anotherā¦ but just throwing it out there if this interests someone.
If nothing else it could also be good compost material instead of landfill.
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I used to go to a couple local grocery stores and get the stuff they would have to toss. Now I live in the city and the stores I have asked have ācontractsā. So nothing I may take. As long as the stuff isnt being wasted, I am okay with that.
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Basic 8x10 shed design, with modifications: roof on one side extended to create an overhang, internal wall separating storage area/ access to nesting boxes. This is my third coop. Things I really like: nipple waterer, automatic chicken door, poop board under roost.
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Chicks were hard to get this year; we got ours from tractor supply, which has standing orders, called TS to find out when chicks were arriving, showed up an hour earlier and waited in line.
Beautiful coop. Love the idea of 4x8 half of which is storage. Definitely implementing that on my next one.
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i have 1 10ā x 10ā coop and a kids playhouse converted to a coop. that 1 has 5 hens and 1 roo. the other has 25 hens and 1 roo. i havent free ranged yet. i dont want my plantings getting dug up. once they fill in ill let them do their thing. i just feed tsc dumor layer pellets w/ house and yard weeds and extra oyster shells. in winter i supplement with scratch and occasionally buy some canned mackerel for them. i also give canned mackerel when they are laying as well as soldier fly larve. i was raising dubia roaches for a few years. they reproduce quickly and unlike crickets are quiet. it hilarious watching them chase them down. ive gotten lazy so i just feed the soldier fly larve. i like the idea of sweet potato. that would be great for them to have a hot one on a -20 winter day. ive also given lots of beans, flax seed, sunflower seed etc. i get for real cheap at a local discount store. 3 months ago i got a case of herring fillets in mustard sauce from there for $10. didnt know if the girls would like it but they scarfed it down. i think its important to vary their diet to get real good eggs. i make a homemade flour based mix with flax seed and certain herbs. they like it and it helps to deworm them without using chemicals. my wifes used to seeing me cooking a pot of weird looking smelling stuff for the birds. i save any cracked eggs in the fridge to add to my concoctions.
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