In this installment we'll do the same with our chicks, to chart their growth. This year we'll do something a little different as we'll monitor the growth of the Red Ranger (on left) and the Cornish Cross (on right) in the photo below. The Red Ranger takes 12 weeks to reach maturity, while the Cornish Cross takes only 8 weeks. Notice also that the birds are just barely starting to lose their fuzz and put on a few little wing feathers. They're still cute, but that's about to change.
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| Red Ranger and Cornish Cross at One Week Old |
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| Red Ranger: 3 ounces at one week old |
In doing the same with the Cornish Cross, we see that he weighs 4 ounces. Starting off, we can already see, albeit minimally, that the Cornish Cross is supposed to grow bigger, faster than the Red Ranger.
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| Cornish Cross: 4 ounces at one week old |
Some notable events in chicken growing during this first week:
The little chicks are eating more and more as each day passes, contributing to a stinky garage. They are just barely starting to put on some tiny feathers. As I look at the weather forecast, it looks like rain or good chances of it for the next 10 days. That isn't good weather for putting them out on pasture anytime soon. The earliest I've ever put them out on grass, I think, was around the 3 week point.
We lost three birds today and we haven't pinpointed the reason for the first two although it appears that some of the birds might have piled up on top of them suffocating them. The other one somehow fell in the waterer and drowned. We did put a thin layer of fresh hay on top of their soiled hay and we adjusted the heat lamps to ensure that they were getting the exact temperature that the baby birds need at this age. We're feeding them a Non-GMO, non soy, 18% chick grower at the moment.
We ordered 110 birds and were shipped 117. Two were dead on arrival, leaving 115. A couple days later, we found another dead in the brooder leaving 114. Today 3 died, leaving us an current count of 111 chicks. We'll post an update in a week so that you can see the chicks' status in weekly installments.
We are running behind, but are about to order our chickens to raise. We did a Heritage White last time that is very similar to a Cornish Rock, but takes about 2 weeks longer to grow out. This time we are considering a Red Broiler, mostly because it is what we can get the soonest. I see you mentioned you used a Non GMO feed, do you mind sharing what the brand it is and where you go it? We are trying to decide if we can do a mix of black oil sunflower and crimped oats as an alternative - maybe add in flax seed? But not sure the protein would be high enough and not sure what we would use as starter? Any suggestions? We have several family members with Celiac so try to avoid wheat. And then we also avoid corn and soy because of sensitivities. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, we used feed that we got from our local feed store, but it is produced by Texas Natural Feeds. Here is their website: http://www.texasnaturalfeeds.com/products/
ReplyDeleteFunny you mention this as I'm looking at information to learn how to formulate your own feed for our laying hens. I found this at Mother Earth News: http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/what-to-feed-chickens-zmaz75sozgoe.aspx?PageId=4 We used a mix of black oil sunflower seeds, rice bran, beet pulp and crimped oats for our milk cows, but you are right, the protein wasn't high enough. We had to switch to a normal dairy ration. For your broilers, the first link shows some grower with the protein percent you are looking for. Unfortunately, the non gmo feed is very expensive, but there just aren't a whole lot of options, at least not in our area. Hopefully, that gives you a little help.
Thanks for the quick reply! So funny, that is the feed my husband had been reading about. A feed store about 45 minutes from us sells the layer crumbles, I think it is $32 a bag! So we figured the grower would be about the same. We noticed they also have cattle cubes but our feed store didn't know the price. For our milk cow we use a mix of crimped oats, beet pulp, alfalfa/rice pellet and a cupful of black oil sunflower seeds. We had her up around a combined 18 to 20lbs of that a day and she was hardly eating any hay. So we have backed her down slowly to about 10 a day and she is indeed back to eating more hay. We are using Sumrall 007 Hay that the guy said was tested at 13% protein. We are feeding out her jersey/hereford cross bull (steer) calf and using the same feed and he is looking really good. Unfortunately he got out in the field with her almost 2 weeks ago and apparently bruised her udder. Now we are dealing with a very light case of masititis. We have been giving her aloe vera in her beet pulp, vitamin c and rubbing with essential oils and were milking 3x a day but tried to go back to 2 x a day this week. Still not better, so I got some of the homeopathic Masteoblast yesterday and we started that last night. Praying it works! We have been dumping the milk out of 3 quarters, as only 1 as stayed clear... but our blueberry bushes and chickens will hopefully benefit from the extra milk :)
ReplyDeleteFor our layers we have been doing crimped oats, black oiled sunflower seeds and flax seeds before we ran out. We also throw in a scoop of the alfalfa/rice pellets every now and then although they don't seem to care for them. We also clabber extra milk because I have read that the protein in it is as high as soy. We are thinking that may be an option for our growers. Side note, I am sure our alfalfa or beet pulp is probably not non-gmo but for now it was the best we could decide on to try to avoid the wheat, corn and soy. Our options for feed here are just limited. I am also trying to find a mineral supplement for Butterbelle that does not have grain or soy bi products, but have not found any thing locally. I am looking at the Fetrell Dairy Nutribalancer or the Poultry Nutribalancer. I believe Joel Salatin uses the Poultry Balancer in his Cattle progam, I need to research that a little more. Anyway, I guess I am going to have to break down and order it online if we decide to go that route :) Thanks for the links!!
The Granberrys
Hi Granberrys!
DeleteYou've given us some things to research as well. I hear you loud and clear about the high prices of the non GMO, non soy stuff. We try to use that, but when it becomes cost-prohibitive, we go ahead and use the GMO until we find a better alternative.
We are members of a co-op called Azure Standard. Here is their link: https://www.azurestandard.com/ They deliver to our town once a month. We order non-GMO alfalfa pellets from them and also use a mineral supplement they offer that is similar to Fertrell. They have lots of organic fruits and other items. Might be worthwhile to look into. We've noticed that the pricing swings wildly, though. Sometimes a bag of non GMO alfalfa pellets is only $17 (comparable to locally bought GMO alfalfa pellets) and then a month later, it is $32 a bag! You are right. Options are limited. I firmly believe that we do the very best we can for our animals and keep searching and just put it in God's hands and He'll take care of things.
Mastitis is not fun. Looking at the bright side, your chickens are enjoying it and your blueberries are going to be very healthy! God Bless!!
Not sure if that reply sent or not so if this is a duplicate please disregard. Just wanted to pass along this link on protein percentages in case you had not seen it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Protein_content_in_chicken_feed_ingredients/
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing that with me.
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