Omega-3 eggs***Fish Meal Feed

Minimal growth and sticky dropping have been reported with barley - an enzyme to help digest it is in some commercial rations.
 
OK, I realize that this was an old post, but perhaps some of you are still subscribed to this topic. I searched for "fish meal" to get more info, and this post was at the top of the list
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. So I contacted my local fertrell dealer to order the fish meal from them, since several of you recommended it as a great product. My dealer only carries the organic (which I tend to buy anyway) but it costs $100 per 50 lb. bag! I only have 5 chickens! It would probably go rancid after I go through 5 lbs.

So I started brainstorming.
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I did more research on other fish meal options, and I learned that fish meal is made by cooking or drying an industrial fish (not fit for human consumption) and pressing most or all of the oil and water from it before fully processing it into fish meal. Yet, from what I understand, it is the fish oil that contains all of the good stuff- the EPA and DHA and all those excellent Omegas. So I conclude that fish meal is not the best source of Omegas for our chickens. Don't you think?
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Since I have such a small flock, I am now thinking that it might be cost-effective for me, and healthful for my chickens, to just feed them canned wild pink Alaskan salmon. The pink is cheaper than the red, and as far as I know, wild Alaskan salmon is the very best source of EPA, DHA, and all the good Omegas. I know that I don't want my chickens to suffer from mercury poisoning, so I would not feed this to them every day, but for $2.50 a week, I can feed my flock twice a week. I have tried it a couple of times, and my girls LOOOOVE it! Then the next day, my eggs have a delicious flavor, reminiscent of lobster
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So I ask, can anyone think of any reason why I should NOT feed my birds canned wild pink Alaskan salmon once or twice a week? My girls say "please please!!"
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I feed my flock purslane. It is a plant with a very high omega 3 content and it grows wild here. I have been actively trying to get it to spread more since last fall. It's going gangbusters and it plays well with the other garden plants. It makes a really good green mulch. I just pull a few branches off of each plant and put it in the duck's water bowl in the morning. It regrows fairly quickly.

Unfortunately it doesn't make the eggs taste like lobster! LOL
 
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If you've only got a handful of birds, get some sardines packed in water and give 'em a treat. My girls get a tin of it every week, more often if they are moulting. It costs a buck a tin; mash it up roughly with a fork and watch 'em go! Velociraptors...
 
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You may also want to try adding flax seed oil to their feed, which should be available at your local health food store or online. They sell it in small pint sized bottles, if I remember. It has to be refrigerated if it is organic, and does not have a long life. It will smell like oil based paint when it is going bad.
 
Another thing you can supplement with is Farmer's Helper Ultra Kibble, it has fish meal in it. It is also now soy free. My chickens & guineas love it, but it is pricey! It so much easier than giving them fish meal or fish, but your idea sure will work!
 

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