FergusonK's journal - Goodbye Java Jewel.

[babsbag]

When I'm feeding creep feed just before and after weaning, the coons, possums, and crows put a really big dent in my feed bill. Can't keep them out of the feeders and my game cams show whole families coming for supper, midnight snacks and before dawn breakfast every 24 hours.

That sounds like a job for an LGD

 

[Southern by choice]

So does your son go out and shoot one of those wild chickens for supper sometimes?

LOL no, these are half games and all have part Penedesenca in them ... No meat. We have been working on getting rid of them though. The snakes have been getting alot of eggs lately or chicks... we are seeing less hatchedor rather less chicks. A few of our semi ferals went under the house and hatched... those are easier to get.

 

[greybeard]

Our 'wild chickens' are emus. People turned them loose when the emu fad died off, especially during the 2011 drought. They're all over the National Forest and Big Thicket. We've nicknamed them NeoVelociraptors.
They may look goofy as heck but their clawed toes can rip a dog wide open.

 

[Ferguson K]

We raised Emu growing up before it got popular. Then when it died out, so did half my families business. Sold out and stuck to what smaller poultry we had left. We used to torment those birds, and they beat the crap out of us.

Around here our wild chickens are game fowl I've turned out over the years. Some years they flourish and I'll have 50. Our average is about 8 all year long. Recently lost my oldest rooster, so they're finally dying back.

We have several breeds of chickens in chicken runs/tractors though. The dogs like the way chickens taste so any that go into the goat pasture are dinner.... except crock pot the rooster who thinks he's a goat. The girls accept him as a goat and he goes to live on another day.

Crockpot finally mated with another chicken and we have some baby crock pots!

 

[Ferguson K]

@OneFineAcre one of my junior herd sires, he is unfortunately blessed with lots and lots and lots of moon spots. They're in his ears and his nose, they're under his but, his testes have moon spots. But he sure is handsome. Pre-haircut shots. Post haircut this afternoon or in the morning. You mentioned your bucks being over conditioned. I believe that he and Hollar could successfully lose a few pounds... they're both very, very conditioned..... on a straight alfalfa diet!

 

[misfitmorgan]

Maybe the hair is hiding it but he doesnt look to fat to me.....i mean over-conditioned

Did he have a problem with lack of copper?

 

[Ferguson K]

He did. A few of the new goats did. He still has his fishtail from it though.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Yeah mine do too...still have the burnt looking hair too like he does. Short of shaving them i'm not sure how one gets rid of those.

 

[Southern by choice]

He doesn't look over conditioned at all. Of course you can put your hands on him and we can't.
Clip him down!

 

[babsbag]

What is it with goats and copper. I have a good mineral for them, and they get multi-min every 4-5 months and they still look like they are copper deficient. It is a royal pain. I used to do the boluses and that didn't help either.