Predators

 It is inevitable that you will have a loss in your flock at some point, just the other day I lost a Rhode Island Red hen to the cold. I'm not sure if she was too weak and got sick from the cold or not. I'm doing my best to avoid any more chickens from freezing now. You have good years where you don't lose any chickens. Last year I didn't lose any chicken, but then there are years like I've had this year where you lose a few. I've had 4 chickens die from various things this year, but with each loss you also learn how to be better prepared to help the chicken next time.

Now lets get off this sad topic, its nearly Thanksgiving, a time to celebrate the brave pilgrims, who sailed across the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower, so they could serve God, and it is also a time to give thanks for our many blessings.

                                                              Keep visiting and Happy Thanksgiving

Chickenman

Getting Cold Soon

Hey I just wanted to throw a friendly reminder that it's going to be getting cold for most of us soon. I'm sorry that I've been late on the posts, I've been sick for a few weeks. I will try to do a few posts soon. So here is whats coming up.

A post on winter prep for your chickens.

A new post on the fodder

And more to come.

Thanks for visiting

Chickenman

Update on the baby chickens

The baby chicken will be 18 weeks old tomorrow, the other baby didn't make it, a couple of days ago I found it in the brooder barely able to move, I tried several things on it but by night time it had died. It was very small for its age so I suspect there was an issue in its genes, I'm sorry if I'm depressing you with this news. I will try to do a new post in a few days.

Chickenman

Coming Up

Welcome back to Gone Chicken. Just a little sneak peak at what's coming up. The next post is an update on my 2 baby chickens , and my misadventures with introducing them to the flock.
Well keep visiting.

Chickenman

Edit 8/28/2013 : Sorry for the delay , things have been busy around here.

The Fodder Project Day 7: Final Weigh In

If you haven't read a post in The Fodder Project series then please read these links first.
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/fodder-project-part-1.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/fodder-project-part-2-sequel.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/fodder-project-part-1-and-half-forgot.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/fodder-project-part-3-sprouts.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-fodder-project-part-4-day-3.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-fodder-project-part-5-day-4.htmls
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-fodder-project-day-6-1-day-left.html




Welcome back to The Fodder Project. This is Day 7 , the day I feed the fodder to my chickens.

here is the fodder , ready to feed to the chickens.

Today you don't have to rinse it , all you have to do is weigh it , dump it out in a bowl , and feed it to your chickens. I guess your wondering how much this weighed ? Well this batch of fodder weighed (drum roll) 5.3 lbs. That's right from one lb. of grain I got 4.3 lbs extra. I'm not guaranteeing that you will always get this. I don't , I have days when I get less than 5 lbs. ,  once I got a 5.5 lb. yield. It just depends on the seed , temp , airflow , and the rinsing.

This is the root mat from this batch. this isn't the greatest I have gotten better root mats.

Here is a root mat from a different batch. this one can be rolled up and it won't tear easily.

Now I have a few last bits of information. You can let the fodder grow up to 9 days , but after day 9 it starts losing nutrition , and will eventually require added nutrients.  The ideal time to feed this to your chickens is days 7-9. I haven't tried going all the way out to day 9 yet , I've only recently got enough space to experiment. Once I have tried going out to day 9 , I will do a post on it , and how it turned out.

Here is my shelf set up.

Well I hope you have enjoyed this series , The Fodder Project. Few more things. From what I have read 5 lbs. is the average yield for fodder ( from 1 lb. of grain ) but I sometimes have yields as low as 3 lbs. Also I have read of people getting 7 , 8 , and even 9 lb. yields but I have never gotten this high. The highest yield I've gotten is 5.5 lbs which is still very good. Your chickens may take a few days to adjust , but after a few days they should be eating it as good as feed ( may take them some convincing on the field peas, but the field peas are worth it).

Well keep visiting and good luck with the fodder.

Chickenman

Sorry for the delay.