chickens (miscellaneous questions)greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread |
...1.Is it alright to leave a bail of hay in with the chickens so they can consume it whenever they want? ...2. Is it harmful, or helpful to give chickens milk everyday,they don`t get much sunshine and i thought vitamin D would be very helpful to them. ...3. What are some subtitutes for grit, if you can not purchase grit especialy made for chickens? ...4. Why do the chickens have bare rumps and heads( missing feathers) is it from pecking one another or could it be mites,or something else? And what can i do for it? ( something natural if possible ) ...5. Does anyone know a easy way to grind corncobs..if you don`t have an expensive grinder?
-- Jody Richardson (jodyntrentr@yahoo.com), May 30, 2000
Hmmmm,,, ok.. The bale of Hay... you would have lot of Rats and mice take up residents. Personally I hate rodents!! They carry bugs and diseases. Cod liver oil would be much better than milk,, If you have dirt around, the chickens would be just as happy finding their own grit. Bare back sides and heads,,,, how many Roosters do you have?? If you have more than one or two Roosters that can happen. Grinding corn cobs,,, well my husband uses his sledge hammer. :O) Though I don`t know how usefull that would be to you.
-- Bergere (autumnhaus@aol.com), May 30, 2000.
#1. Hay is not at all good for shickens. Biggest problem: they eat it, become cropbound, and die. Do NOT provide hay to chickens unless it is chopped in small (1" max) pieces. #2 Milk is fine, but it would be better to give it to the piggies. #3 Sand - I use the sand (mixed with salt) that is used to sasnd the roads. By noe, the salt is long gone. Works great, but if you free range, there's no problem anyway. #4 Probably the roosters or more dominant hens. Don't worry! Be Happy!. #5 No. Why do you want to? GL!
-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), May 30, 2000.
Hay isn't good for chickens either! And I am paying top dollar for shickens, if you have any! GL!
-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), May 30, 2000.
Brad, you are so funny! Now I am worried. I have been throwing in part of a bale of some sorgum type hay, very dry, that has large seed heads on it, into my chickens every couple days. I haven't been chopping it, just tossing it in, loose, and they forage through it. Do you think this will be harmful to them? Other than one escaping and (I think) breaking a leg, which we splinted, they seem ok. What do you think? I have been using it all winter as straw in their nest boxes, also, but it isn't green like alfalfa, or grass hay. Jan
-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), May 30, 2000.
Have to agree with Brad. Those shickens will shick the corn cobs without you getting involved at all. Even better if you can find some shuckens though.I would think enormous great lumps of hay like that the chickens wouldn't eat, and it would do them no harm and probably some good rooting around getting their own grain and entertaining themselves. I can see the point on smaller, finer stems such as you'd get in pasture hay though. On grit, are we talking calcareous grit - like shellgrit or ground oyster shells? They'd benefit from some supplementary source of calcium.
-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), May 31, 2000.
I have put hay in the chicken coop for years and never had any trouble. It gives them something to scratch around in and they love the various seeds. My 2 cents.
-- Les (lvaughn@suntransformer.com), May 31, 2000.
That would be my 2 cents also. I've been told (by folks who have done it a while) to put hay in so they don't get bored and peck each other and to give them the variety.
-- Novina West (lamb@stellarnet.com), June 01, 2000.
I wish I had seen this earlier...we put haybales in our Winter pens and chick pens, so that they can peck away. They DO collect rodents. We cleaned out the haybales the other day and found quite a few mice, including some cute babies.......no I didn't keep them for pets. We brought the cats in and they ate every mouse in the place. Believe me, they were full and their stomachs were ENORMOUS! So as long as you have cats and pull the bales out once in awhile, it may be ok. Or you could put the bale in the middle of the room. We feed some milk to our chickens, but we made the mistake of feeding them too much and their waste, (ahem), was a funny texture and colour. Not to mention it gooped up ect... Gotta go
-- Abigail F. (treeoflife@sws.nb.ca), June 01, 2000.
I give my chickens hay too. They usually scratch through it and eat the leaves, flowers, and seed heads (on oat hay). I agree that it gives them something to do. A bale would attract a lot of rodents, who could also eat your eggs and kill your chicks if it's rats. My hens will actually chase down mice and kill and eat them ! As far as bald chickens (roosters or hens) I agree with everyone else, first cause is too many roosters, then, overcrowding, dominant hens and then mites. M.
-- Monica (zpepenovia@excite.com), January 08, 2001.
We have been putting hay in for the chickens for many a year; in fact it is frequently recommended in the winter for layers, because it keeps them active and exercise helps keep them warmer, healthier, and improves winter lay rate. Remove the twine, so they can root through it and then it will not serve as a good nesting ground for rodents.As for milk, it is an excellent chicken food, however LET IT SOUR FIRST! They can get digestive disturbances from fresh milk.....and they LOVE it when its good and stinky! (Also makes the best tasting chicken!).
-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), January 08, 2001.
The hay that the goats waste is pitched into the hen house. We also use it for the nest boxes. My chickens get milk and house scraps (even their own egg shells are crushed and fed back to them, everyday, and they love it! I do keep laying pellets and whole oats out for the hens, but with the milk it keeps the amount they eat down to a minimal level, and we have the stongest eggs you have ever seen. I have my hens trapped in the hen house right now, since they drive me insane when I am milking, I throw the ashes from the wood stove and also shovelfulls of dirt into their run side. This time of year we just keep on adding the hay or shavings, and let the litter build up, we won't clean it out till spring. Vicki
-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 08, 2001.