Calcium breakfast. Help emergency see page 2

[tiki244]

You could always give them a little molasses in their water to clean them out quickly and thenback to normal for tommorrow-Im still looking for the reference but I wanted to post this

molasses flush are mentioned in The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow pg 192 I dont have the book I just copied some of the pages in the back

I am not that knowledgable but if you think you might have poisoned them I would try a sm spoon in the water then tommorrow I would just feed them regular feed and water and no vitamins for a while and no treats for a while till they get back to eating their regular feed. When i first got chickens I had a hard time holding back on the treats and I always thought they were dying or something but they are pretty hardy. I just had to learn to feed them regular feed and quite treating them so much. I hope that helps some. Good Luck

 

[tiffanyh]

I wouldnt think so---you essentially did mix it with their feed. Were you supposed to mix a smaller amount than 1tsp?

I would think they woul dbe fine. How are they acting funny? Beside, if you just get more feed in them, you could essentially "dilute it" within their system, just as you wold have in their bowl.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Lone Cowboy....the supplement was developed to use in addition to their feed and is not a therapeutic (high dosage) quantity (and I believe the dosage is 1/4 tsp... I do not think a one time "over" dose will harm them ... how are they acting "funny"
btw, I always mix the (vitamin/supplement enriched) oatmeal through my feed and just enough to make it clump together...

digitS' :

Well, my Chicken of the Sea Tuna in water has 250 mg of sodium. That's a pretty high dose of salt in 6 ounces of fish.

My Low Sodium Light Tuna in spring water has 90 mg of sodium. Maybe too much if only a couple hens got it.

I didn't know how much lower one could go with ocean fish so checked Nutritiondata for fresh tuna. Six ounces would have 66 mg.

Since it's dried, I wonder what fish meal has in the way of sodium . . .

Here's a question - if they ate chicken of the sea, wouldn't that be . . . cannibalism?

Steve

It is why I do not treat my birds with fish...salt is an insidious poison to birds... dont risk overdoing the salt!!!! If you use a commercial mix it provides the necessary quantity of salt...

As far as fish to supply vit b1 (thiamine) The other problem outside the salt content and gizzerosine is thisminase... Thiaminase destroys Thiamine (Vitamin B1). Regular intake of substantial amounts of food containing thiaminase could introduce enough thiaminase into the gut to break down the thiamine in food & render an animal thiamine-deficient. Some fish contain thiaminase (Type I, not II) & some don’t. :
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/thiaminase/thiaminase.html
"Thiaminases are enzmyes found in a few plants and the raw flesh and viscera of certain fish and shellfish. When ingested these enzymes split thiamin (Vitamin B1), an important compound in energy metabolism, and render it inactive. The following pages detail how thiaminases work metabolically, where they are found, and the effect their ingestion can have and livestock and humans. ......" (an excellent article detailing all about thiaminase etc)

Waterfowl rescues autmatically give a thiamin supplement as waterfowl are often deficient due to their fish diet.

Fish Reported to contain Thiaminase:

White Bass
Bowfin
Bream
Buffalofish
Bullhead catfish
Carp
Channel Catfish
Fathead minnow
Garfish
Goldfish
Moray Eel
Gizzard Shad
Spottail Shiner
Buckeye shiner
Central Stoneroller
Common White Sucker
Lake Whitefish


Fish Reported to not contain Thiaminase:

Largemouth Bass
Rock Bass

Smallmouth Bass
Bluegill
Chub (Bloater) – Coregonus hoyi
Cod
Crappie – Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Eel – Anguilla rostrata
Northern Longnose Gar
Northern Pike
Pumpkinseed
Salmon
Brown Trout
Lake Trout
Rainbow Trout​

 

[tiki244]

I wouldnt feed tuna it has a lot of mercury in it

 

[LoneCowboy]

They are just fine today. I just forgot to put it in their food. I wasn't thinking. Of course, my brain isn't functioning too well right now. It wasn't a good chicken day for me yesterday. Doctor keeps telling me that since I'm not as bad as some of her other patients, so I'm ok.

They were acting funny because they weren't up on their roost when I went out to lock them in. 2 were roosting outside in the dark. (they've never done that. )

I really think these birds are deficient in their nutrition this winter. Eating feathers, thin shells, picking at each other etc. I just don't know what to do.

 

[CovenantCreek]

Quote:
Have you tried fish meal (the kind made for chickens)? It's a good source of protein, and it must taste great to them, mine can't get enough. It stinks to high heaven and beyond, however. McMurray sells it in a small bag (10#), but they're extremely expensive and no longer include shipping in the price. If you'd like to try it, but don't want to order 50# or pay McMurray's price for 10#, I'd be willing to sell you a small bag so you can see if it helps. Kelp meal is an awesome source of vitamins and minerals, though you've got the Avia Charge for that.

I forget, are your free range or in a pen? If they're penned, maybe throwing a pound or so of worms (mealworms, earthworms, don't think they care) on the ground and in the litter so the chickens have to hunt them down might be entertaining for everyone.

 

[skatcatla]

What is this AviaCharge?

I'm also noticing that lately the eggs I am getting are a bit smaller and some of the shells are rough in texture and the color is not even. Is this something I can adjust through diet?

 

[LoneCowboy]

AviaCharge is a natrual source of vits and mins. You just add it to their water usually. My chickens are just being very misbehaved right now and I think their diet is suspect. Thin shelled eggs is a lack of calcium and picking and eating feathers usually is a lack of protein, but I'm not getting anywhere fixing that one. They do get out sometimes, but in the winter there just aren't any bugs and goodies for them to eat. Everything is frozen here. I've even given them the left over bones from dinner to pick on. They love that. I'm thinking that maybe in the winter I need to change their food to the higher protein one.

 

[skatcatla]

Hmm. That is interesting. What I don't get is that it seems only one of my girls is having trouble with thin shells; so that makes me think it might be something not diet-related.

I've been making oyster shell available to them, but maybe I need to actually mix it in with oatmeal or yogurt to get them to eat it. I also bought some black sunflower seed as treats..hoping that will help.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Well, it's just one of my girls too, but I think she's hording all the treats and not eating like she should. I moved the food outside today to encourage them to eat their food and not just wait for treats. Which they haven't gotten any today, but I just remember that I've got noodles in the fridge for them.