Best feed add ons for health

[Perris]

I have whole and semi skimmed always available and use what ever is convenient at the time. For porridge I usually use 50:50 milk : water. Dairy products have been recommended for poultry in countless old poultry handbooks; and you can try them out with your flock for very little trouble or expense.
And they still today feature on the list of permitted ingredients in animal feeds
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-leftover-milk-and-milk-products-as-farm-animal-feed

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

Mine love (excess) scrambled eggs, and oatmeal cooked with water and an egg or two cooked into it. Nice on a chilly late afternoon before they go in to roost (now that it's dark so early).

And fresh greens, hand fed (because it's fun!): French sorrel, comfrey, snow peas and asian greens from the garden, plus dandelions, clover and clumps of grassy weeds they can scratch apart and nibble (along with whatever bug life is hiding in the root balls).

Haven't tried them on meat yet, other than a leftover salmon patty no one wanted - they went nuts for that! (Dogs were green-eyed jealous - "That should have been mine!")

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Good news! Someone is giving me and entire uneaten uncooked thanksgiving turkey for them! It’s dropped to -10f last night and is currently 5f. Should I cook the Turkey? Or are chickens safe to eat raw poultry? I know raw red meat is fine but is raw poultry fine?

 

[Perris]

I would cook it; if you portion it up first it'll be quicker and you could freeze portions to spread the feast out over the winter rather than have a huge glut now.

 

[K0k0shka]

If they are eating a good quality complete poultry feed that's about 20% protein, they don't need anything else to be healthy. The rest is extras that honestly mostly make the chicken owners feel better, rather than do much for the chickens themselves. Herbs and spices are best on a chicken once you start cooking it

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

If they are eating a good quality complete poultry feed that's about 20% protein, they don't need anything else to be healthy. The rest is extras that honestly mostly make the chicken owners feel better, rather than do much for the chickens themselves. Herbs and spices are best on a chicken once you start cooking it

I don’t cook my chickens lol. I add herbs and spices as preventatives for worms, lice and joint inflammation. The rest is just because it’s very cold and they’ll be unable to forage for the next six months which generally is the time I lose a lot of chickens to poor health

 

[K0k0shka]

preventatives for worms, lice and joint inflammation

That doesn't really work though...

unable to forage for the next six months which generally is the time I lose a lot of chickens to poor health

You should look for other factors if you're losing chickens to poor health - the feed, the setup and husbandry practices (sanitation, ventilation), etc. Not foraging does not equal poor health and does not cause chickens to die, if they are eating a quality feed and have good living conditions. The idea that free range chickens are superior/healthier/produce better eggs etc. is mostly overblown. Chickens that don't free range don't necessarily have to live cramped, confined lives like what people imagine when thinking of factory farms where the chickens are crammed in cages and can't even turn around. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. There's a very wide happy middle, where chickens live in nice roomy coops and runs, and have no health issues as a result.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

That doesn't really work though...


You should look for other factors if you're losing chickens to poor health - the feed, the setup and husbandry practices (sanitation, ventilation), etc. Not foraging does not equal poor health and does not cause chickens to die, if they are eating a quality feed and have good living conditions. The idea that free range chickens are superior/healthier/produce better eggs etc. is mostly overblown. Chickens that don't free range don't necessarily have to live cramped, confined lives like what people imagine when thinking of factory farms where the chickens are crammed in cages and can't even turn around. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. There's a very wide happy middle, where chickens live in nice roomy coops and runs, and have no health issues as a result.

I’ve never had worms in my flock so I’ll stick with how I’m doing it

I’ve had their setup checked by other Alaskan chicken owners multiple times and they confirm it is a fine setup and they should be fine, but the sudden foraging to snow for the next half year is most likely messing them up

 

[K0k0shka]

I’ve never had worms in my flock so I’ll stick with how I’m doing it

I’ve never had worms in my flock either, without having used herbs/spices/additives or ever having free ranged my chickens. And I don’t have a spike in deaths in the winter (winter here is 7 months long). So the lack of herbs or foraging doesn’t seem to be affecting my flock at all.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I’ve never had worms in my flock either, without having used herbs/spices/additives or ever having free ranged my chickens. And I don’t have a spike in deaths in the winter (winter here is 7 months long). So the lack of herbs or foraging doesn’t seem to be affecting my flock at all.

Well that wasn’t the question asked in my post, I will be sticking to trying to get my hens more treats over the winter and keep their health in the best condition possible.