shaun
Full Member
Posts: 21
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Post by shaun on Jul 5, 2013 3:07:47 GMT 1
At the moment it's winter in Australia. Many of you probably know that in winter hens don't lay as well as they do in the warmer months. I was relating this to a friend of mine and he asked me about their diet. I told him I feed them half laying pellets, half kitchen scraps (with the exception of meat and potatoes which go to the dog) and once a week or so I give them either a tin of sardines or a handful of dog biscuits to keep their protein levels up, I also let them free range for an hour or two each day. He told me to try not feeding them every 3rd day, but instead to let them free range all day on that day. I've been doing it for a few weeks now and the results are fantastic, even the 2 Australorp bantams are laying well. Liam went down to the hen house this morning and got 5 eggs out of 6 hens, not too shabby for winter.
I couldn't help but wonder about the materialistic society we live in and whether we'd be more productive as humans if we all tried to get by on a little less.
Good luck and best wishes.
Shaun.
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Post by Rudy on Jul 5, 2013 23:01:50 GMT 1
So that that means I need to skip meals and lay more eggs? Not for me!  But seriously, it seems we can on average live significantly longer if we would cut down our diet to just above starving - I'm still waaaay too attached to food to do that the rest of my life though... |
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brian
Senior Member
Posts: 83
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Post by brian on Jul 7, 2013 12:03:24 GMT 1
Less is definitely better when it comes to intake of consumption unless you are talking about alcohol.....sorry, but no seriously.
Less is better in just about everything, especially words.
I have nothing but to say I love every person who thinks Buddha is the greatest man. I am nothing, but I am honest to God feeling it is better to love than to be loved. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but it's true.
St. Francis of Assisi is a close comparative of The Awakened One.
He's my second spiritual hero to the unknown Buddha.
I wonder what they think of us. But they probably don't actually think at all....they can't judge...they're just the embodiments of LOVE in the sunlight which is always an inspiration to live like they have in their own meager and frugal lifetimes.
Loving is truly better than wanting to be loved. Just LOVE!
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shaun
Full Member
Posts: 21
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Post by shaun on Jul 8, 2013 11:10:26 GMT 1
What surprises me is that it seems to be working. I've always been taught that the amount of sunlight a hen is subjected to is directly responsible for the amount of eggs she lays. This is why on the big battery farms the birds are kept under artificial light 24/7. This latest experiment of mine seems to throw that theory completely. The only thing I can think of is that on the 3rd day when I don't feed them but let them free-range all day instead, they either consciously or unconsciously spend the day following the sun. But even if they were to do this, I don't think it would make enough of a difference to notice. Please bear in mind the fruit of this experiment is twofold and that my egg production is up about 30 percent and my feed bill is down by about the same amount.
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graham
Senior Member
Posts: 96
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Post by graham on Jul 8, 2013 14:30:00 GMT 1
What surprises me is that it seems to be working. I've always been taught that the amount of sunlight a hen is subjected to is directly responsible for the amount of eggs she lays. This is why on the big battery farms the birds are kept under artificial light 24/7. This latest experiment of mine seems to throw that theory completely. The only thing I can think of is that on the 3rd day when I don't feed them but let them free-range all day instead, they either consciously or unconsciously spend the day following the sun. But even if they were to do this, I don't think it would make enough of a difference to notice. Please bear in mind the fruit of this experiment is twofold and that my egg production is up about 30 percent and my feed bill is down by about the same amount. The answers to all problems lie in the middle. People tend to take a good idea and go overboard with it, but the extreme view is never the correct one. The middle way. |
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