Breeders, what do you feed your birds

[CalicoFarm]

What type/brand of feed do you use. Do you use any supplements? Any tips on increasing fertility?

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

Do you have pure bred show birds?
there are several excellent show breeders in your state.
Are you in the Piedmont?
I lived there for 18 yrs
The kind of feed you need is starter grower for chicks and this till they are 8 months old then layer as the spring is when they lay good

for show birds they need good fresh feed the brand is not important
the amt of protein is important usually 16-18% grower protein and 16% layer protein

the folks on here are mostly pet chicken folks and feed scratch as a treat which I don't feel is high enough protein and because scratch is lower protein they will deplete the amt of actual protein
corn is always a large part of scratch and it is only 9-10% protein so this is too minimal of protein
it would bve better to feed whole horse oats as they make a good layer feed with crumbles and granite brit
oats keep the body fat off the layers and keep them laying good healthy eggs

scratch is not healthy for chickens as it is corn mostly and corn puts fat on the body of a layer. Corn is the first and most ingredient in crumbles so a chicken has enough corn at all times.

With that said what do you feed your chickens?
this subject has been talked a lot and you could search for the topic and read thei different feeds

what breeds of chickens do you breed and for what purpose?

I raised Cochin and Cochin frizzles, moder games, Old english games, Cornish and others. Bantam Ducks and several breeds of large fowl . we always hatched about 3500 chicks a yr and kept about 200 breeders
look forward to your answers by the by We feed tons of Purina feed

now with that said if you have show poultry you need to keep them in full condition 24-7 as that is what they are raised and kept for

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

I entered at
http://www.google.com
this
protein value of scratch grains in chickens
this came up on food value for chicken feedmade me think of your question on what folks feed their chickens
extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/pnw/pnw477/ - 15k - Cached

There is no magic to feeding chickens. Small flock producers can choose from many brands of feed produced by several manufacturers. These manufactured feeds are computer formulated by company nutritionists to provide optimal nutrition for the particular type and age of chicken being fed. The formulation of these feeds, which is similar to commercial feeds, is based on years of research on commercial chickens. They are considered a complete diet, containing all of the nutrients required by chickens. In most cases, supplemental vitamins are unnecessary if these feeds are fed exclusively.

Feeds are formulated and manufactured for chickens to meet their nutritional needs at specific ages and production characteristics. For example, starter feeds are fed to chicks from hatch to a few weeks of age. Grower and developer feeds are fed to "adolescent" growing chickens, while layer or breeder feeds are fed to chickens that are producing eggs.

 

[RW19290]

Quote:
I give them Layena.