BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Fire Ant Farm]

I've been giving the birds soaked kitten kibble every couple days, as an animal protein supplement (they are molting/coming back from molting) - they love it and are doing well on it, growing nice glossy feathers back. Two questions for folks who use this (@Kev , I know you do):

1) Do you do this all the time (at least in your breeders)?

2) Do you do this with baby chicks? (Just thinking ahead for when I hatch or get those S&G chicks)

- Ant Farm

 

[Kev]

I've been giving the birds soaked kitten kibble every couple days, as an animal protein supplement (they are molting/coming back from molting) - they love it and are doing well on it, growing nice glossy feathers back. Two questions for folks who use this (@Kev , I know you do):

1) Do you do this all the time (at least in your breeders)?

2) Do you do this with baby chicks? (Just thinking ahead for when I hatch or get those S&G chicks)

- Ant Farm

Fed cat food for years as a treat whenever I felt like it- sometimes it was several times a week, sometimes skipped it for a whole week. This is when animal protein was still present in feed.

Deliberately as animal protein source.. I'm still figuring it out like you are. For a while I was doing the soaked feed with egg mixed in, sometimes cat food and boss peppered in. When it became too cold(for me that is lol) I stopped that... I store the feed in trash cans so now what I do is pour in several cupfuls of both cat food and boss and mix it around until it looks like they were "peppered" onto their layer pellets. Simply scoop out and pour their daily rations from this. It's a very rough measure as I have no idea what is enough or too much. All I can really say is the birds that got cat food quite regularly(particular favorites got a lot- both the amount, until they were full or got it as a treat far more often than others) thrived for years/didnt show any obvious ill effects.

I would say soaking the cat food for chicks would be perfectly fine. What I did this year for the chicks was the soaked feed with fresh eggs broken right over it and stirred in. Didn't have the time nor wanted to wait long enough for the cat food to soak...

 

[NanaKat]

Still need the address for our friend here who wanted those Egyption onion starts. PM me so I can send some in the mail.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Every meal for chicks? Proportions? Just trying to get a feel for it - don't want to "displace" too much in the way of the feed that has other balanced stuff in it...

(Now I need to find a good kitten food that isn't too expensive...)

- Ant Farm

 

[NanaKat]

Have used kitty food in the past.
We have soooooo many starlings stealing feed from feeders in the pens that putting anything else out is not cost effective. Sure wish they would hurry up and migrate!
I put out just enough feed for the chickens in the morning and then again in the evening right after the starlings start to roost and the chickens come in for the night.
Frigid drop in temperatures tonight means it will be super cold in the morning....

 

[NanaKat]

a double post.

 

[Kev]

Quote:
Every meal for chicks? Proportions? Just trying to get a feel for it - don't want to "displace" too much in the way of the feed that has other balanced stuff in it...

(Now I need to find a good kitten food that isn't too expensive...)

- Ant Farm

I get the cat food from Costco- 17 per bag and Sam's- I think, 12 per bag. They are very expensive elsewhere, that;s for sure...

Rough average I'd say about 4 cups of chick starter mash, wet this throughoutly- either like oatmeal you can just about shape with hands or just barely wet enough you cannot do that. Break one or two eggs over this and stir, feed this right away. I use cheap doggy pans from the dollar store, but the problem is... when they see me coming with those pans they become VERY excited and makes walking into their pen to set them down impossible. some will be so excited they fly up onto you before it is set down. This extreme excitement is why it should be wet enough to go down easily and avoid choking. simply breaking eggs over the dry mash would work fine but needs more eggs to wet it enough, the water is a shortcut for this issue.

I was doing this either every other day with some stretches of several days in a row. I think it would be fine if it was three times a week or less, just had to deal with severe feather pickers in the batches this year(the EE chicks).

by the way this is not sole feed for chicks- they have dry feed available all the time.

If the chicks show no signs of feather picking I'd say it is not absolutely necessary. My main impetus really were those horrible EE chicks. After those were gone, the egg-feed continued mainly to help them recover and regrow feathers but continued to do it just because, after they recovered(and am now of the opinion they do need animal protein...)

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Every meal for chicks? Proportions? Just trying to get a feel for it - don't want to "displace" too much in the way of the feed that has other balanced stuff in it...

(Now I need to find a good kitten food that isn't too expensive...)

- Ant Farm

I get the cat food from Costco- 17 per bag and Sam's- I think, 12 per bag. They are very expensive elsewhere, that;s for sure...

Rough average I'd say about 4 cups of chick starter mash, wet this throughoutly- either like oatmeal you can just about shape with hands or just barely wet enough you cannot do that. Break one or two eggs over this and stir, feed this right away. I use cheap doggy pans from the dollar store, but the problem is... when they see me coming with those pans they become VERY excited and makes walking into their pen to set them down impossible. some will be so excited they fly up onto you before it is set down. This extreme excitement is why it should be wet enough to go down easily and avoid choking. simply breaking eggs over the dry mash would work fine but needs more eggs to wet it enough, the water is a shortcut for this issue.

I was doing this either every other day with some stretches of several days in a row. I think it would be fine if it was three times a week or less, just had to deal with severe feather pickers in the batches this year(the EE chicks).

by the way this is not sole feed for chicks- they have dry feed available all the time.

If the chicks show no signs of feather picking I'd say it is not absolutely necessary. My main impetus really were those horrible EE chicks. After those were gone, the egg-feed continued mainly to help them recover and regrow feathers but continued to do it just because, after they recovered(and am now of the opinion they do need animal protein...)

Thanks - this is VERY helpful! I think I may try this intermittently with the new chicks (mine and the S&G strain NNs). The growth curves may be affected by comparison, but that's ok.

- Ant Farm

 

[DesertChic]

Thanks - this is VERY helpful! I think I may try this intermittently with the new chicks (mine and the S&G strain NNs). The growth curves may be affected by comparison, but that's ok.

- Ant Farm

After reading through your discussion, I'm thinking of trying it too. Very interesting....

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Well, with Kev's discussion earlier about animal protein, plus additional conversations we've had on this thread off and on, including hellbender's input, I figured I'd at a minimum do the eggs for molting girls, and they go so nuts for them. Kitten food even better. Feathers are so glossy (and this is with them ALREADY on Feather Fixer long term). They wouldn't eat it dry, but go berserk about it soaked (and I like getting more fluids into them anyway). And, of interest, the egg laying girls are much more hungry for it, molting ones regrowing feathers doubly so, the boys not as ravenous. I think they take what they need. (I split into two feed pans in any pens where I'm worried about someone not getting their share, including all laying/breeding pens.) I use those TSC feed pans - and though I rinse and wash, there must be some smell left, because I found this this AM:



I think that if my birds free ranged over a much larger area and had access to more bugs, frogs and field mice, it wouldn't be an issue. But while they are not confined, and have room to roam comfortably, they don't get enough of that, I think. (Especially in winter - even the browse is a bit sparse, and I need to rotate paddocks again.) (You know, even though I'm happy with my property, I actually found myself looking at farmland south of here... Need a reality check - as if I had time or energy to care for property like that before I retire!)

- Ant Farm