The chickens are blowing up! At least, the White Rock Cornish X super-converting chickens are, turning feed into meat at a startling rate. The 10 or so Frey’s Special Dual Purpose are sleek and speedy, and all their feathers are in, but I guess that’s not what a truly modern meat bird is supposed to be like. Most of the White Rocks are double the size of the Frey’s. When I think of the chickens these last few days, it’s a vision of pink, partially-feathered butts in the air, circled round the feeder… Oh well, we’ll see what happens when we get them outside and cut back a bit on FOOD…
Meanwhile, despite entirely different sizes, speeds and eating habits, they’re still all getting along. My first chicken adventure continues…
We had trouble with those rocks, they do indeed blow up. Their legs can’t keep up with the feed conversion. As a result, we had some lame birds and if I remember correctly a few croaked.
I’ve noticed those kind of problems are due to the nutrient deficient feed. Remember to throw in grass clippings and chickweed (the most awesome stuff for growing chickens). Go ahead and do a test. Put some in their own pen and give them the chickweed. In one week you will see a difference.
I throw in all vegetable waste from the garden and table and it cuts back on the feed considerably, plus they LOVE IT!
Hello…does anyone use chicken droppings and pine shavings with a little DE mixed in as compost for a vegetable garden? If so, can you tell me about how long it takes for the mixture to compost to a point it can be used?
it takes about 1 full winter and you can put in any garden enjoy
from the first of chicken rearing, what are the main things one should take into seriuos consideration?