Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Teila]

Good morning folks

satay

All I can say is that I so very much hope I do not get visitors like yours!

So, I read a lot about chickens liking cat food. Do people actually feed their chickens cat food or is this just cat food that they steal from cats’ bowls? What type of cat food? Do you make a point of feeding it to them at certain times? What are the pros and cons?

 

[appps]

Good morning folks 

satay  All I can say is that I so very much hope I do not get visitors  like yours! 

So, I read a lot about chickens liking cat food.  Do people actually feed their chickens cat food or is this just cat food that they steal from cats’ bowls?  What type of cat food?  Do you make a point of feeding it to them at certain times?  What are the pros and cons?

No idea on the answers, as never done it but as for what kind, funny thing I saw on the checkout once, they had chicken and beef cat food all being advertised as special and tasty in their own way with special recipes etc but they all had exactly the same ingredients right down to the beef actually containing chicken lol. So I'm going with any type

My afternoon visitor. Got to be 12ft long. Best pic i could get as the magpies were bombing it.

That's really cool! I am glad he's at your house not mine though lol

 

[Teila]

Tee hee appps, I confess I have never actually read the ingredients of Syba and Chimee’s dinner but I do tend to buy the slightly more expensive food for them that actually does look and smell like what it is advertised to be.

Syba loves his tuna and seaweed and Chimee loves her virgin flaked tuna

 

[Fancychooklady]

Whilst I definitely agree with that in general, sometimes an ill bird will recover faster with a protein boost, however I definitely would never recommend feed starter over a long period. Even my chicks progress off it faster than the bag recommends, but they seem to grow into healthy, productive adult.

Yes, but ' horses for courses ' . In the event that a bird was anorexic and off its regular feed , perhaps but that does not apply in this case and that is when you are best to use a total nutrition based product such as poly aid plus.

 

[sweetbeak]

Hi all, I live in Trentham Victoria and have a few roosters that are free to a good home. They are currently in their own bachelor pad with about a quarter acre of land but I just wondered if someone may want one of them for their flock. If no one wants them they'll retire happy on the property. I already have two wonderful roosters taking care of 20 hens in their own yard on about an acre. I'd be very grateful if anyone knew a good home for one or more of them.

Rooster 1 hatched from a blue egg and is a blue aruncana cross

Rooster 2 hatched from an olive egg and both parents are olive eggers

Rooster 3 is a little bantam cross, he's very cute and has a funny personality

Rooster 4 was a cross between a silkie and a black orphington, my silkie rooster had a liking for the large hens

Id be happy to drive them to their new home, not to far away but will make an effort. If anyone can assist please email [email protected].

Thanks, Paul

 

[sjturner79]

Good morning folks 

satay  All I can say is that I so very much hope I do not get visitors  like yours! 

So, I read a lot about chickens liking cat food.  Do people actually feed their chickens cat food or is this just cat food that they steal from cats’ bowls?  What type of cat food?  Do you make a point of feeding it to them at certain times?  What are the pros and cons?

I don't feed my chooks cat food, they just come in and steal it if they can.
My cats mostly eat the cheap Coles cat biscuits
I don't know and pros for feeding cat food,
But as for cons- if a chicken ate only cat food for a 4 days it would most likely die of salt overdose .

 

[Anniebee]

Annie , feed your chooks ' age appropriate ' food. Starters are higher in protein , they are specifically formulated for rapidly growing birds,once pullets reach 24 weeks of age their protein requirement drops. Excess protein makes for over weight birds and over weight birds have similar health issues to us. They are also less productive.

Originally posted by sjturner79

Whilst I definitely agree with that in general, sometimes an ill bird will recover faster with a protein boost, however I definitely would never recommend feed starter over a long period. Even my chicks progress off it faster than the bag recommends, but they seem to grow into healthy, productive adult.

I have never ever fed my chickens anything but their age appropriate pellets. And as also pointed out in the next post - never boost with chicken starter over a long period.

Someone else ( not on here ) suggested a fortnight of chick starter too, which had me thinking - however - there are other ways of introducing more protein - which I do during their moults when they need a boost. That is - minced hard boiled egg, cooked mince steak or pork, a little more cheese ( which is protein as well as calcium, and vits A and D ), and fish / seafood.

I notice quite a few here give their chickens treats of mackerel, sardines, tuna etc. - which is quite a bit of protein. During moulting, I add scrambled cooked egg ( mainly ) ... cooked meat ( which they love ) dried meal worms ground up ( they won't touch them as whole dried mealworms !!!! ) . About once a month ( maybe ) they get a wee bit of fish, just a taste - of sardines. Rolled raw oats is always on the menu with rice when they get a mash. ... whether in moult or lay.

They do get scratch mix, but I have backed off that to once a week now and only a little to keep them amused. I keep on experimenting - and Mindy laid another whole egg today - the top of it again would not stand too much pressure - but it was not broken, not soft on 2/3rds of it. There are no wrinkles - just a sand-paper rough top, which is what breaks or weakens with a small collapse and no membrane broken - but if smashed from falling - she demolishes the yolk. This can lead to cannibalism of eggs.

I am hoping she comes back to good calcium use and production - making her hungry to eat her layer pellets. She has the oyster shell grit - but is not fond of it at all.

...........

I can find little that satisfies on line, about calcium. Except there are many types - calcium caltrate, calcium carbonate, calcium chelate. calcium orotate - etc etc.

Anyone with any ideas about the differences between these 4 - there are actually 8 types of calcium in fact, that I know of.
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/types-of-calcium-supplements/

I have never fed my chickens cat food, as that food contains things specifically for cats - and for instance, should never be given to dogs. So - I would never give it to chooks.
Anyone here ever given dog food to their chickens ? ( not that I am about to start that either !!!

). I did see on another BYC thread, that someone soaked dry dog food to mushy - and fed it to their chickens ... don't know the results - I would think it would be high in protein, and I can attest that some is salty to taste ( having tiny-tasted new dog food here ) !!! hmmm.

Cheers .......

 

[Fizzybelle]

Well there's some squabbling going on in my flock. The two lowest ranking members, Beatrice my D'Uccle and Mabel my Araucana, are at it a bit. Bea outranks Mabel, who is right at the bottom (for now, soon she'll have new flockmates to lord it over). Beatrice, though small, is mighty and gets Mabel by the neck after a chest bump. The whole thing lasts like 10 seconds.

Also I think the soft shelled broken eggs might actually belong to my RIR hybrid Annabelle. I noticed some dried dirty bottom feathers I'll need to wash for her, as yesterdays soft egg was quite goopy. Makes more sense as she started laying first and just about everyday since she started. The shell was lighter in colour so I suspected her bff Ada. If she's entering retirement, then it's well earned.


Teila, on the topic of chickens liking catfood, they do. I've only given it to them once as it was a surplus can our cat flat out refused for some reason (not fancy enough no doubt). But it's not a good idea to do it regularly I think. Anyway, here's a funny video I found on the topic.

 

[sjturner79]

The flock watched me digging out compost to put in some plants and thought they needed to have a go.

 

[Fizzybelle]

The flock watched me digging out compost to put in some plants and thought they needed to have a go.

Lol, I had the same level of enthusiasm from my girls this week, leveling a mound of dirt the bobcat left when it was clearing part of the yard for the shed. They gorged themselves on earthworms, the soil was full of them. (They have been wormed too, I know there's a risk from earthworms of gapeworm). They had so much fun digging though. When they see the shovel, the sprint over. Lovely photo, so many fluffy little behinds!