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Survival and Preparations Long and short term survival and 'prepping'. |
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#241
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Yeah, I've been reading about cornish X and it sounds like they can be rather difficult. Heart attacks are extremely common I guess.
They over eat so they need a restricted feed schedule & they lay around and don't get much exercise so they need to be encouraged to move. I guess some folks put the feed and the water at opposite ends of the cage so they have to move around at least a little bit. Apparently they also spontaneously die when it gets hot, or when there are wide temperature fluctuations, or when the planets are in alignment, or when...? They sound like a bit of a challenge. I wish you good luck! |
#242
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What I can't figure out though, is last year we raised 6 of them that I open fed, their feeder was always full and we only lost one and it was at like 7 weeks and it was obviously having breathing problems it didnt just drop dead. This years batch is from the same hatchery so its just weird the way they are dropping dead on me.
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#244
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Turkeys are on our list for just a bit later this summer. And I think we are going to do some ducks for meat as well but they are destined for a separate pen than the chickens as they fowl the water to quickly, but I have a plan to use that to our advantage for our garden. I just need to find the time to do it, which is the hardest part.
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#245
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good question. I don't think I ever heard anyone ask that.
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http://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php Thank your neighbor and fellow gun owners for passing Prop 63. For that gun control is a winning legislative agenda. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Dj8tdSC1A contact the governor https://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php In Memory of Spc Torres May 5th 2006 al-Hillah, Iraq. I will miss you my friend. NRA Life Member. |
#246
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5/22/13
Cornish-X 6 Weeks Freedom Rangers 3 Weeks Old We lost 1 more Cornish Cross this week, my new theory on what is happening is that even though they are fully feathered they have poor circulation and are getting too cold at night, so I am now leaving their light on at night again hoping this is what is going on. Freedom Rangers hanging out with Cornish-X while I cleaned the Rangers enclosure.
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#247
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I would build a mini hut or dog house they can go into at night that is insulated. Maybe put a warmer under it to keep it nice and warm. That way they can go in or out if they get cold.
We have 4 baby geese about that size with the same amount of feathers and the mom sleeps with her wings over the birds at night and the babies are up tight against her body. They get cold at night. Quote:
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#248
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Here is a vid I took today. I have a mix of breeds from bantams to regular chickens. I have 2 roosters a bantam olde english game and a cornish. The little ones running around are their offspring. If you guys are interested in ordering poultry try https://www.facebook.com/idealpoultry?fref=ts. They have specials all the time and will ship small orders cheap.
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#249
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#250
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We just separated 19 of our Pekin ducks to the growout pen. The oldest are ready right now, but we're going to wait until the youngest are ready.
This will be a long 3 weeks. Ducks are nasty. |
#251
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How old are your ducks? Whats so nasty about them, fouled water?
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#252
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Tee Hee!
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I know what this man needs.............bring me the vodka |
#253
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I never forgot one hunting trip many years ago we stayed at a friend's farm for the night and we had fresh bbq'ed chicken that when we were done I was told to throw the left over bones and such to the other chickens. I thought he was just joking around but he wasn't.
Those chickens ate everything bones and all. |
#254
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#255
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Re: nasty ducks. They make a huge mess. Yes on fouling the water, and they get it everywhere.
The youngest are about 5 weeks, the older ones are just over 2 months. We're losing feed efficiency, but it's easier on our schedules to set up one time. We'll also have rabbits ready to go by them too. I might need a new freezer. |
#256
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I've got a small coop for two chickens since I live in an urban area.
Small roost improvement I've found in the last few days I've had my chickens...sand as bedding. Just plain all purpose sand (70lb for $3) from the LHS. They tend to poop the most while roosting, so I set up this removable pan under their roost - a cat litter box scooper does the trick just fine in removing their scat. It's better than hay since it doesn't retain moisture and it won't mold over time. DE mixes into it pretty easily and you can setup a small shallow pan of sand to one side for the chickens to bath in.
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#257
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My Italian family all raised rabbits for meat. No eggs, but tasty and easy. Chickens are always intriguing, but I feel they need to be done on a somewhat larger scale to justify their output.
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Much peace Jimmy |
#258
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Quote:
__________________
http://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php Thank your neighbor and fellow gun owners for passing Prop 63. For that gun control is a winning legislative agenda. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Dj8tdSC1A contact the governor https://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php In Memory of Spc Torres May 5th 2006 al-Hillah, Iraq. I will miss you my friend. NRA Life Member. |
#259
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5/28/13
This batch of Cornish-X was a disaster, I lost 9 out of 15 chickens and decided to cut my losses so I slaughtered the remaining 4 birds last Saturday at 6.5 Weeks old. I'm still not sure what happened to all the ones that died, but after talking to several people our theory is that the Soy-Free feed had too much protein, causing growth to exceed organ growth. They were larger than I expected at that age so I am happy about that, they weighed in at: 3lb 9oz 3lb 13.2 oz 4lb 2.1 oz 4lb 7.5 oz 3.5 Week old Freedom Rangers
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#261
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But they'll eat just about everything else and they absolutely LOVE meat (and cheese) They go totally nuts over some left over carne asada burrito. Quote:
At least you salvaged a few of them. |
#263
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6/1/13
Freedom Rangers 4.5 Weeks Old The Rangers are all doing well, Update on the Heritage Chickens we did last year: We recently ate 2 of the last of the chickens from last years batch and I want to report that after being in the freezer for 5 months they are finally tender. The last 2 that we roasted were superb. If I could find a way to raise the Heritage Chickens economically for meat I would do it, so I will be researching more into growing our own feed for them.
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#265
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A couple of questions I have is:
1) how noisy are these birds if I were wanting to raise chickens both meat chickens and eggs chickens but live in a city 2) do the males begin to crow at 4am before they reach slaughtering age? |
#266
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Males will start crowing at a couple months of age, so if you are raising Cornish-X and slaughter at 6-8 weeks you wont have a crowing issue. Slower growing breeds you will almost definitely have some crowing.
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#268
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This is what I found for my city. Something tells me my home just isnt big enough.
Up to 12 chickens are permitted on a minimum of 7,000 square feet of land, up to 25, on land where one family occupies one home. An enclosure is required, but must be no closer than 50 feet from neighboring homes. |
#269
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7000 sq ft is about 0.16 acres. That's not a huge lot, but it's probably above average for many parts of many cities.
Get your tape measure out and do a quick survey. It's the "no closer than 50 feet from neighboring homes" that might be a problem. Are you on good terms with your closest neighbors? I can tell you from past experience that it sucks to have neighbors with roosters. BTDT. Didn't mind them much during the day but didn't like 'em a damned bit at 4:30 AM. Or 2AM on nights with a full moon. I also have lived across the street from folks that had 3 or 4 hens and I had no trouble with the occasional outbursts of b'GAWKing. They were kind of fun to hear in our little neighborhood. And at least hens are quiet at night. Now I'm the neighbor with hens (7) and my closest neighbors say they have no problem with them and even claim to enjoy their occasional outbursts. They are kind of funny when they start the "laughing" noise. Chicken laughter . |
#270
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#271
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#273
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Well I went and got a couple chicks to see how the wife was going to feel about them. I learned something the day I brought them home. We will never be eating them. My wife actually took a liking to them and now they have names and are her pets. Hopefully I can at least get some eggs someday. They are fun to watch man do they put a hurtin on the bugs out in the yard . They follow us around the yard and even see on her lap to get a scratch. Yeah they got the good life.
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#274
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Ok so I finally am ready to make the journey into raising chickens for both eggs and meat. Does anyone have a recommendation for this? Also I was wondering if anyone had a local feed shop/supplier for the chicken in the San Diego county area or is it better to order them online?
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#275
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If they are a breed that is specifically for meat, such as Cornish-X or Freedom Rangers you actually want them to have more space so they are healthier, these breeds are typically slaughtered between 6-12 weeks, they are too young to be tough at that age. Heritage breeds, or multipurpose breeds typically dont reach slaughter weight until 20+ weeks of age so toughness can become an issue with them, but if they are properly aged in the fridge or freezer and cooked at low heat for a longer time they can be plenty tender and fine eating.
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#276
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#278
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Yes
I am looking for specific feedback as to what breads will make a good layer and meat bird. Looking to play with 4-5 breads in order to determine the best fit.
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#279
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Road Island Reds are another very popular option that you might consider as well http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/rhode_island_reds.html Now if you want to raise some chickens exclusively for meat and large birds fast is your goal, you can't go wrong with Cornish-X or slightly slower growing Freedom Rangers. They reach 4-8lbs in 6-12 weeks depending.
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#280
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Aging ?
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