2015 Peafowl Hatching Support Group - Eggs and Chicks!

[DylansMom]

Best greens for calcium are kale (and all mine also love it) and collard greens (which all of mine hate lol). You can also try broccoli, turnip greens, garlic cloves (which mine will fight over cloves of garlic and it's good for them in other ways), or mustard greens (which mine will eat... but only grudgingly) if your birds are picky or get bored easily. Mine also like a small helping of plain greek yogurt once in a while.

And the reason Zaz says 'not absorbing' (because you may have oyster shell or something in the pen, so she may be eating enough calcium) is because calcium requires other things in order for a body to absorb it (which is why it's so much less effective to give straight up vitamins without the enzymes and proteins and stuff found in natural foods), so eating it WITH those things can help with the uptake. If you're giving them treats or they have access to free range Stuff (I can't remember if your kids are penned or not sorry!), then something else she may have eaten on a particular day may have helped in temporarily inhibit her ability to uptak calcium, if it's just the one egg.

Hmm, well my birds are penned but their runs are 20 x 30, for 3 birds. The vegetation is quite thick and there is dandelion by the ton in there, I see them eat that along with clover and plain grass. My kids are boogers when it comes to greens, they will only eat it if they picked it themselves. Even in the middle of winter they will turn their noses up at any cut greens, kale, dandelion, cabbage, spring mix, spinach, all have been tried and left to wilt on the pen floor unfortunately. That is the main reason I got the alfalfa dried flakes, to mix in, thought I could sneak it by them. It sounds like egg shell calcium would be the ideal, but mine were not raised with scrambled eggs as a treat, and usually they don't eat them. Is there any sort of powdered egg shell supplement that could be sprinkled on potato bread, as this is the one thing they will kill each other for?

 

[zazouse]

Hmm, well my birds are penned but their runs are 20 x 30, for 3 birds. The vegetation is quite thick and there is dandelion by the ton in there, I see them eat that along with clover and plain grass. My kids are boogers when it comes to greens, they will only eat it if they picked it themselves. Even in the middle of winter they will turn their noses up at any cut greens, kale, dandelion, cabbage, spring mix, spinach, all have been tried and left to wilt on the pen floor unfortunately. That is the main reason I got the alfalfa dried flakes, to mix in, thought I could sneak it by them. It sounds like egg shell calcium would be the ideal, but mine were not raised with scrambled eggs as a treat, and usually they don't eat them. Is there any sort of powdered egg shell supplement that could be sprinkled on potato bread, as this is the one thing they will kill each other for?

How do you feed these greens that you put for them in the pen ?
What mine will eat from a plant they, many times will not eat if i just throw it out there for them unless..........................

 

[DylansMom]

How do you feed these greens that you put for them in the pen ?
What mine will eat from a plant they, many times will not eat if i just throw it out there for them unless..........................

Generally I have chopped them up and sprinkled the pieces on top of the regular feed. I would probably have better luck with the imprinted ones if I held it for them, as they like to eat from my hand, but when its 10 degrees outside, hand feeding is not an option with 40 Peas in 15 pens. In the warmer weather they have the growing vegetation.

So what is your unless...............?

 

[casportpony]

Can you get alfalfa hay?

-Kathy

 

[Kedreeva]

Hmm, well my birds are penned but their runs are 20 x 30, for 3 birds. The vegetation is quite thick and there is dandelion by the ton in there, I see them eat that along with clover and plain grass. My kids are boogers when it comes to greens, they will only eat it if they picked it themselves. Even in the middle of winter they will turn their noses up at any cut greens, kale, dandelion, cabbage, spring mix, spinach, all have been tried and left to wilt on the pen floor unfortunately. That is the main reason I got the alfalfa dried flakes, to mix in, thought I could sneak it by them. It sounds like egg shell calcium would be the ideal, but mine were not raised with scrambled eggs as a treat, and usually they don't eat them. Is there any sort of powdered egg shell supplement that could be sprinkled on potato bread, as this is the one thing they will kill each other for?

I don't know what you mean by cut- cut up or cut from the plant? Some of mine will only eat treats if the 'smash' part is taken out of 'smash and grab'- if they can't pick up and run with a small piece they won't take it. Others won't eat it /unless/ they have to rip it off the stalk first. You might try hanging a bundle of greens from the ceiling of the pen (food AND enrichment!) or getting a stake clip that you can put the stalks in so it looks more like a plant.

if they are eating potato bread they might be more willing to go for things that are white. Maybe put a little yogurt on a kale leaf and see if that sparks anything, or cut some garlic cloves and see if they like them. I think there is a species of red kale as well that might interest them. Outside of greens you could also try figs or cooked rhubarb.

Amazon says there is powdered egg shell calcium (and preferred seaweed calcium for animals) and Google says you can make it yourself pretty easily and Etsy says you can buy it from someone else who made it pretty easily.

 

[DylansMom]

Can you get alfalfa hay?

-Kathy

Probably, but I seriously doubt they would eat it. The flakes I got would be the same thing wouldn't they? They are small parsley size flakes, made for cage birds.

 

[DylansMom]

I don't know what you mean by cut- cut up or cut from the plant? Some of mine will only eat treats if the 'smash' part is taken out of 'smash and grab'- if they can't pick up and run with a small piece they won't take it. Others won't eat it /unless/ they have to rip it off the stalk first. You might try hanging a bundle of greens from the ceiling of the pen (food AND enrichment!) or getting a stake clip that you can put the stalks in so it looks more like a plant.

if they are eating potato bread they might be more willing to go for things that are white. Maybe put a little yogurt on a kale leaf and see if that sparks anything, or cut some garlic cloves and see if they like them. I think there is a species of red kale as well that might interest them. Outside of greens you could also try figs or cooked rhubarb.

Amazon says there is powdered egg shell calcium (and preferred seaweed calcium for animals) and Google says you can make it yourself pretty easily and Etsy says you can buy it from someone else who made it pretty easily.

I mean I will chop it up coarsely as if I were making a salad for myself. The problem is nobody even grabs it and runs with it, they will pick it up, seem to taste it and then drop it on the floor and dig for better stuff. I put a bunch of extra stuff in my feed and mix it all together, Milo, Peanuts, Sunflower seed, Cat food, Raisins......etc.... they are always digging for what they consider good stuff and the greens just don't make that list. I did try leaf lettuce and kale wired to the pen wall, I saw this recommended with cabbage (but they really hate cabbage), so they had to tear off their own pieces. I hate to sound like a broken record, but after a little initial curiosity both hung there until they were dried up. I will try the yogurt as soon as I get to the grocery store, they like bananas, well most of them anyway, I might get some of the powdered egg shell, it's cheap enough, and try rolling an overripe banana in it. If they like it I'll consider making my own, seems easy enough.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Mine love alfalfa, I just peel off a flake and shred it in their pen. They waste the stems, but eat all the leaf.

-Kathy

 

[DylansMom]

Mine love alfalfa, I just peel off a flake and shred it in their pen. They waste the stems, but eat all the leaf.

-Kathy

I'll try it, the next farm up the road grew a ton of it last year, but I don't know if they planted it this year. He**, I had acres and acres of it right next door last year.

 

[MinxFox]

I mean I will chop it up coarsely as if I were making a salad for myself. The problem is nobody even grabs it and runs with it, they will pick it up, seem to taste it and then drop it on the floor and dig for better stuff. I put a bunch of extra stuff in my feed and mix it all together, Milo, Peanuts, Sunflower seed, Cat food, Raisins......etc.... they are always digging for what they consider good stuff and the greens just don't make that list. I did try leaf lettuce and kale wired to the pen wall, I saw this recommended with cabbage (but they really hate cabbage), so they had to tear off their own pieces. I hate to sound like a broken record, but after a little initial curiosity both hung there until they were dried up. I will try the yogurt as soon as I get to the grocery store, they like bananas, well most of them anyway, I might get some of the powdered egg shell, it's cheap enough, and try rolling an overripe banana in it. If they like it I'll consider making my own, seems easy enough.

Your peas sure are picky! Mine don't care how I give them their greens they go for it any way I feed it. Wired to the fence, cut up with their food, hand fed, etc. I wonder if shredding it would make a difference? My peas never cared for apples until I started shredding apples and then they really love the small shreds.

I like picking wild plants for my peas as well. The green sprout from the end of a thorn vine is very tasty to them, clover is yummy, a lot of weeds I don't know the name of is yummy to them, etc.

They definitely all love yogurt. Peep has his own special way of eating yogurt off of a stick.