My new chicks have arrived and instead of buying the commercial meat chicken feed these ones are going to be grown exclusively on my own feed. Usually we start on the commercial baby chick food then switch to mine about a month later. The four grain feed oats, barley, corn and wheat is my favourite. All local grains, hand mixed, plus my seaweed, mashed boiled eggs, yogurt, DE and dried molasses. No soy at all. 
I have found that my layers lay extremely well on this mix. They are full feathered and healthy and fertile. With cider vinegar and garlic in their water and lots of yogurt milk.
So I will see how the meat chickens grow on a similar recipe. I will increase the protein level add linseed and sunflower seed, grind it up and see how they go. 
The meat chickens are the last to be changed over to my Four Grain mix. The piglets and pigs and even Lady Astor’s milking treats are all a variation of the same theme. My other pig feed is the Sow and Pig from Purina which is leaner, this is made with vegetable proteins but I am trying to get the breeding pigs bellies off so much soy and mysterious fillers.
The layers having a dust bath. 
They love the dust in their feathers.
And I have been talking to a young woman from Washington who is going to come and spend a week with me from next Monday. This is good news as with the wet and the heat and the wind I am being overwhelmed in the gardens. And she is bright and clever and cooks! More on that soon.
I am fostering a pot belly pig from Lori the pig rescue lady.Though not for a few weeks. He was found abandoned, very, very fat – so fat his eyes have closed over and he cannot see and he can barely walk. And he had been poisoned with rat bait. (His owners put it in a bag of corn evidently and left him). Horrible people – just horrible. But he was found somehow and Lori was called and they caught it all in time. (Vets are free to Animal Rescue nonprofits so he is getting the very best care.) He is recovering very slowly and when the vet says it is ok for him to be in the light again (the poison has a caustic affect on the skin evidently and it is peeling off – I will learn more soon) he will come here to recuperate and lose weight. Poor boy.
By fostering he is still in her care – there will be ongoing interventions to get him well again and she will manage all those – but he will live in the sun-room of the barn for a while with the field to exercise in when he is able to walk properly again. And if all goes well he will eventually go to live with Tima and Tane.
Lori is writing all this down for me so I will be more clear on the information soon. But I am calling him Waimarie which means Lucky (Wai for short) and I will keep you up to date.
She said he is depressed down there in her hospital room so we are hoping he does not have to stay too much longer in isolation due to the open burns all over his body from the poison. Poor Wai.
Time to go get my Lady Astor and milk the old cow. She is so good this summer – all I do is call out to her as I walk to the barn, I open all the gates and then go about the preparations and after a while she appears at my elbow in her usual slow lumbering way. None of the others come up – just her. A well trained bunch this year.
Have a lovely day.
Love celi
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Friday 06/16 60% / 0.18 in Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High 87F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
The Kitchen's Garden 
59 responses to “Feed for new chicks”
I’m sure the chickens will thank you for it. I’m looking forward to seeing Waimarie – the poor thing will think he’s in heaven on the farmy 🙂
I hope so – he is a big fat mess – he is in hell with pain now poor old thing -hopefully he will get to like it here
He couldn’t not like it there 😉
Thank goodness for you and the pig rescue lady. I cannot fathom how people can be so heartless. All the best for Wai for al full recovery and much better quality of life after.
The photo of all your gingers is just beautiful. I agree with Chris, they are like sunshine.
There should be a hard labour penitentiary for people who are cruel to animals, no mercy. Laura
Your chickens eat better than mine do, and i thought they were pampered, with grapes, cheese, and tomatoes specially cut for them. What are the cider vinegar and garlic for?
Chickens do love their dust baths, they can loll for hours, throwing dirt all over themselves and each other, making little pock marks in the ground. I wish I could experience such pleasure rolling around in the dirt.
Mine don’t get those lovely veges though – Tima would die of shock if I gave her dinner away to chooks!!
I avoid soy not only because of the estrogen, but because in this country it is mostly GMO and I avoid GMO’s like the plague. Actually when I think of it GMO’s are rather like a plague. Your dusty chicks and orange cats do bring a huge grin to my face- what lovely photos! With your permission and I will credit your blog- may I use the ginger cat photo on my blog? Thanks and have a lovely day!
Yes of course – you can take any photo anytime – I don’t mind c
I was thinking the ginger cats were watching the baby chicks arrive. A pox on any and all who get pets and then refuse to take care of them properly! So glad that Waimarie has the option to come to your farmy! How is that name pronounced?
why – mah – ree – eh. Don’t forget to roll the R. It means Lucky.
Lucky he was found and medical help was available – lucky he gets to come to the farmy — a blessed lucky pig! Hope he does well at the next vet check!
J & D> You say ‘my seaweed’, but you know what, being as you’re in Minnesota, we’re not at all sure that your ‘my seaweed’ is quite the same as our ‘my seaweed’, just 25yds or so from an Atlantic beach. On another subject entirely, we just cannot understand the thinking of people who are so selfish and cruel to animals. It is a privelege to be responsible for the care of any animal, regardless of whether as a pet or for agriculture. We hope the PBP returns to health and gets a chance to live a good life and forget its suffering.
Illinois and yes I buy the seaweed in a big brown bag. Everyone gets a share of the seaweed I am a great believer.. c
I HATE how some people treat animals! GRRRRR….I hope the people were caught and are punished!!! I really do!
That’s the first time I’ve seen all the cats at one time. Love it!
If you are going to stop breeding your milking cows, where will you get the yogurt and milk for the feed for the other animals?
I have been thinking about that. The yogurt is the most important so i am going to experiment with making my own yogurt with cheap bought milk – it wont be as good of course and I do feel bad about that.c
So good for Wai that you’re able to foster him, he’ll be on good company. From you I’ve learned my about keeping happy chooks, ours love yoghurt. I’ll check out their grain mix for soy.
Oh God! that poor little pig, just the thought is making me cry right now. People are such horrible bastards sometimes. Thank God there are good people to counteract them. I hope and pray that Wai’s suffering is over soon and he is comfortable and happy again…..and I hope those cruel jerks get a good bout of the stomach flu followed by constipation! Can you tell I have had a bad day and am a little angry. Finally home from work and pouring a glass of wine to have with dinner, will raise my glass to Wai, Lori, and you tonight.
I feel the same – I have not met him but I feel very sure that I should have him here – lets hope it works out.. c
Good on you Celie for taking in Wai! (I love pigs!) I am pretty pleased with myself today. As I started my daily walk I saw a disturbance in the river. There was a plain old mud turtle obviously hung up on something. I turned around and went home for my big boots and waded in to him. He had a fish hook in his mouth, I couldn’t get the hook out but I managed to break the line close to it and he swam away at speed. Seeing that lifted my whole day!
That is quite wonderful – snagged on a hook the poor boy! Hooks are hard to get out unless you have your wire cutters and I am not sure turtle would hold still for you anyway. What a great day that is , when you save a wild one! Good for you. c
Also, how do you source your grains? I like your idea.
From a local feed mill. Buy them by the 1/2 ton. c
Well, that does it! I’ll beg my genie to turn me into a chook and ‘transport’ me to the farmy to have that wonderful menu every day! No other farm critters anywhere in the world eat at a 5-star restaurant!! And I”ll ‘charm’ you into giving me a name and then I don’t have to be taken away in a truck 🙂 ! And I feel thoroughly ashamed I cannot name each and every kitty on sight: sheesh, been ‘there’ long enough !!!