Am I doing something wrong?

[springvalley123]

I wonder if it was the result of what type of produce they fed them? I was in the habit of taking just about everything that came from my garden weeding and trimming to the a pile that my flock would peck and scratch through daily, and after losing one bird to what looked to be a digestive problem I found that several things I was giving them were either toxic, unhealthy, or known to cause egg problems. Now I am more careful about what goes to the girls and what goes to the compost bins. My initial thought that they'd know what to avoid on their own was surely wrong.

it was left-over unused produce from a restaurant, so salad greens and other veggies.

 

[springvalley123]

I wonder if it was the result of what type of produce they fed them? I was in the habit of taking just about everything that came from my garden weeding and trimming to the a pile that my flock would peck and scratch through daily, and after losing one bird to what looked to be a digestive problem I found that several things I was giving them were either toxic, unhealthy, or known to cause egg problems. Now I am more careful about what goes to the girls and what goes to the compost bins. My initial thought that they'd know what to avoid on their own was surely wrong.

they do seem to know quite a bit but I'd still stay away from the common things like avoid uncooked potatoes, chocolate etc. it's also counter-intuitive that graps are poisonous to dogs & cats but birds can have them, for example.

 

[aart]

The gluten also prevent the birds from absorbing nutrients from their other food

Interesting, thanks!

Cook your brocken egg shells in your oven at 350 degrees fareinheight for 10 minutes. It's fine if you cook longer...but 10 minutes of that heat is required. After they are done....crush the eggs shells into tiny prices. Your birds will eat this, it's extremely healthy for them, also one of the healthiest snacks even possible for them. It's also high in protein.

No need to heat egg shells......and they are closer to pure calcium, not much protein there. No need to crush them either, plenty of folks just toss the halves in the run with no subsequent egg eating.

 

[chickmamato7]

I always feed warm scrambled eggs on cold nights, just for my own peace of mind.

Speaking of food myths, I read that yogurt is not really good for chickens (even though they love to eat it). Probiotics offer a cleaner source of live bacteria cultures for improved gut health, since chickens are not equipped to digest the milk sugars in dairy.

 

[aart]

Probiotics offer a cleaner source of live bacteria cultures for improved gut health

Most feeds have probiotics in them already.

 

[ackie]

I know someone who suddenly fed her hens a bunch of (still fresh) extra produce and they stopped laying. I also think that when birds are foraging, they're eating plenty of bugs off the leaves or just under the surface of theground, along with the weed seeds and weeds.

I hear hens can go off laying just because you look at them funny.

 

[Nigel27]

I love deep fried food and icecream, but apparently it’s not good for me! I was really interested in making my own chicken feed but glad I didn’t jump into that endeavor, there are a lot of components to balanced feed, and when you mix it all up they’ll just pick out their favs.

 

[GC-Raptor]

What is the consistency of the mash when you are done mixing? I want to do this for my girls next summer, it gets so hot here in Scottsdale and I think they would love this.

I make it like a cream corn consistency and serve immediately. It thickens as they eat.

I use refrigerator water during a heatwave.
It gets them back to laying regularly during the dog days of summer when they slow down. GC

 

[Allthefloofs]

I make it like a cream corn consistency and serve immediately. It thickens as they eat.View attachment 2437781
I use refrigerator water during a heatwave
It gets them back to laying regularly during the dog days of summer when they slow down. GC

We have a pretty intense regimen to cool them off in the summer because115-120 degrees? That is asking for a heat death for most chickens, but this is a really nice way to get them colder food without it being "cold treats". I don't mind giving them watermelon and other frozen fruit, but I like them staying on their feed as much as possible so this helps me do that. They get refrigerated water with a bit of ice every morning, so I always have it on hand. Thanks for the info!

 

[aart]

We have a pretty intense regimen to cool them off in the summer because115-120 degrees? That is asking for a heat death for most chickens, but this is a really nice way to get them colder food without it being "cold treats". I don't mind giving them watermelon and other frozen fruit, but I like them staying on their feed as much as possible so this helps me do that. They get refrigerated water with a bit of ice every morning, so I always have it on hand. Thanks for the info!

Just like warm foods won't warm up a bird, cold food won't cool them off.
Electrolytes is best for both extreme heat and extreme cold.