Wheat-free Feed?

[Kokakorr]

Can you not buy this?
https://www.mainfeeds.co.nz/products/layer-hens/layer-mash

Thanks, Kiki. In NZ, almost all carbohydrates for animal feed comes from wheat. I can just about guarantee that the grains and grain by-products in this mash include wheat.

 

[Kokakorr]

I wanted to update you all on our stumbling quail as I have found threads like this helpful in my reading.

I bought amazing feed from a NZ man who had a career in animal husbandry and nutrition. He's carefully formulated what he feeds his quail down to the micronutrients. Read about it here: https://backyardfarmer.co.nz/2017/03/05/new-feeding-regimes-for-quails-and-other-wild-birds/

Yes, the feed contains wheat, so I have been extra careful to avoid cross-contamination. I saw the new diet as a temporary measure until we could rehome our healthy quail (done today) and nurse the sick one back to health.

Our stumbling hen reached her worst about a week ago, when she weighed just 160 g. Any movements were spastic - she couldn't bear her weight, had no balance, and spent most of the time on her side with her neck twisted. The girl still had fight in her, so with some subcutaneous rehydration on board and the vet's blessing, I added vitamin E to her syringe feeds, thinking I had nothing to lose and that any care was palliative.

This morning, she was up and walking again in her hospital cage. She still pushes herself along the ground on her side if she falls over on grass, but her balance and co-ordination are much improved and she is even singing to us again.

I'm thinking her symptoms came from dehydration in the summer heat, overmating and encephalomalacia from an inadequate diet. Her recovery to this point is remarkable.

FWIW, the syringe feeds were her only nutrition and hydration for a while. I soaked the new wheaty feed in vitamin water (she won't eat it directly yet), strained out the solids and mixed the liquid with egg powder, 200 IU/day vitamin E oil from a softgel capsule and a little Lifestream Natural Calcium powder. She's taken just 1 ml at a feed. The hen is now eating seeds and mealworms herself and drinking again. I plan on supplementing her diet with the egg slurry till her symptoms are gone and she has transitioned to the new nutritionally balanced feed.

The things we do for our pets!

 

[Nabiki]

I'm glad she's doing better and that you got her some appropriate feed. I hope she continues to improve.