Can they eat gravy?

[Sylviaanne]

I recently figured out that I have not been feeding my flock enough. At this point I can't afford more food but next month we will be getting a better price and therefore more food.

I didn't realize that I have not been feeding them enough and they have lost weight. I let them out to forage but they seem to prefer the feed to hunting for themselves.

I know that feeding my dogs gravy will fatten them up, will it do the same for my birds?

I have chickens, guineas, ducks and now geese. Thanks.

 

[KayTee]

Chickens will eat a huge amount of kitchen scraps - some have to be cooked because they are poisonous otherwise (eg potatoes) and some they won't eat raw but like to eat cooked (carrots for example). I put most things out for my girls, and they pick through what they like, and leave the stuff that doesn't interest them.

My girls love potato mashed up in gravy, but you have to be careful with the salt levels in cooked dishes that you give to chickens - if there is salt or a stock cube in it then you should give it very sparingly, or you could end up overdosing them with salt, which can be extremely dangerous.

 

[Sylviaanne]

LOL I fix gravy especially for the dogs, no salt or pepper and sometimes no meat, just stirred into their dry food.

That is what I wanted to do for the birds, just gravy made from grease/oil/fat, flour and water, then pour over their food.

 

[KayTee]

If you make it without salt then yes it will help them to put on weight in the short term, but a diet with too much fat and carbohydrates won't be good for them long term. They need a balanced diet, which they should get from commercial feed combined with free ranging, but which they won't get if they stuff themselves with fat and flour - they won't eat all the greens and bugs that they need as well. (Be honest - faced with a plate full of chips and one of cabbage, which would you eat first?!)

Are you certain that it is the restricted quantity of food you are giving that is causing their weight loss? If they free range then they shouldn't be eating a huge amount of food (unless you have a huge amount of birds

). Have you checked for worms / wormed them recently? That can also be a cause of weight loss.

 

[Sylviaanne]

If you make it without salt then yes it will help them to put on weight in the short term, but a diet with too much fat and carbohydrates won't be good for them long term. They need a balanced diet, which they should get from commercial feed combined with free ranging, but which they won't get if they stuff themselves with fat and flour - they won't eat all the greens and bugs that they need as well. (Be honest - faced with a plate full of chips and one of cabbage, which would you eat first?!)

Are you certain that it is the restricted quantity of food you are giving that is causing their weight loss? If they free range then they shouldn't be eating a huge amount of food (unless you have a huge amount of birds

). Have you checked for worms / wormed them recently? That can also be a cause of weight loss.

LOL I'm the odd one out, I would eat the cabbage and leave the chips. Now, cookies vs cabbage, well, first I'd eat the cabbage and then the cookies. LOL Wouldn't leave them out. LOL

I am not certain about their food. It does not seem to me like they are eating the grass/weeds/bugs and certainly not enough to subsidize their diet. When I first got the guineas and ducks, and put them outside, I expected to see/hear a drastic change in the bug population and that the grass would be shorter. Well, where the guineas pooped, there was a drastic change in the grass, it changed to no grass and this is with free ranging/foraging, not just in their run. Otherwise, I have not seen or heard a big change. I can even turn over wood and stones and they turn their noses up at rolly-pollys, worms and any other bug except grubs that could be under there.

I saw a round worm in August, I believe and gave them DE. That was the one and only worm I have ever seen in bird poop. I just bought Wazine but when I went to put it in their water, I couldn't do it. Every time I think about putting that stuff in their water, I think of all the eggs that will be wasted. At least 5 a day and some days as many as 11. I have young duck hens, pullets and guineas that are coming of age to lay. I never know how many eggs I will get and I just can't stand the thought of throwing them out. I also don't want them in my trash cans but if I throw them down the ravine, it may draw predators and at the moment I don't have any. I am knocking on wood.

I have over 110 birds, the exact count I'm not sure of because they don't all go into the coop/run at night and I have some younger ones in the house. With chickens, guineas, ducks and geese we calculated that I should be feeding at least 40# a day at 1/4# per adult bird. I have some cockerels and pullets that are close to POL and some that are at least 2 months away from POL so I assume they should take less than the 1/4# of food for an adult chicken and that would make up the difference for the ducks and geese. Since the geese are much bigger than the ducks, I don't know. I don't know how much they should be getting but they don't rush over to get food when I go out there to feed them, they take off out of the run and come back later to get something to eat. I assume they are headed for grass and weeds but they don't like to be watched and will just mill around when I watch them.

 

[KayTee]

If you use the Wazine to worm them then you don't have to completely waste the eggs. Collect them, hard boil them, then mash them up (shells and all), and give them back to your girls. Ok, you will be out of fresh eggs for yourself for a couple of weeks, but you will achieve two things in one go - boosting their food intake with some extra protein, and also worming them - neither of which can be a bad thing.

 

[JoCoKS]

LOL I fix gravy especially for the dogs, no salt or pepper and sometimes no meat, just stirred into their dry food.

That is what I wanted to do for the birds, just gravy made from grease/oil/fat, flour and water, then pour over their food.

I am thinking about putting a little gravy over my layer feed because my Faverolles will not eat it any more because they prefer the Purina started feed I bought for my Bielefelder chicks I hatched here at my home. Since I hatched them and I could not give them the shot(s)so I bought the medicated starter feed. I have been struggling to get them to be friends like when I introduced the Faverolles to my 3 Rhode Island Reds and I had no problems. The Reds disappeared over a few days leaving only a few feathers behind. I have had some pet chickens since I was a child and now I at 71 in the burbs I have never locked them up and now I do because of my sweet and lovable Reds disappeared. (What predator does that to chickens in the early morning when they get out of their coop?) My Faverolles have been giving me problems getting along with my Bielefelder pullets (4.5 months old) and that is because they want their starter feed so I gave in and decided if that gives them peace go for it and it worked since now I have again a peaceful flock of chickens. My problem is I have a bunch of the layer feed my Faverolles will not eat since I do not want to waist it so I thought I would mix it with a little of my wife's great extra gravy that I think needs salt to get them to eat it. Please advise, I am retired and on a fixed income.
I never wanted a rooster in the flock because of the way they tear up a hen's back and in my family the wife is the most priceless part of a husbands till death do us part. I am now raising two Bielefelder roosters born on 4-18-2020 that I hatched from fertile eggs I bought on eBay to protect my flock with my current problems and the fact I lost 2 of my Faverolles last fall to a hawk. I am sure it was a hawk because he flew off when I opened the door that afternoon leaving to bodies behind. That really wrecked my since my chickens are my pets. I hope the fun times the roosters are now having playing around will carry over when they are grown and one will not kill the other. After losing a crazy hen I bought that would not go to a coop last night and the others I have 3 Faverolles and two Bielefelders left. I am hoping to raise more Bielefelders so if I have a loss I will still have my pet chickens. I bought my Faverolles because they were docile and sweet and they are but my wife who likes to bake does not like their small eggs and the Bielefelders will give her big eggs so she will be happy again like with my Reds who at 3 years still layed eggs like when they were youngsters.

 

[iwltfum]

I can't help but think that flour and oil from the store costs more per pound than chicken feed.

 

[JoCoKS]

I can't help but think that flour and oil from the store costs more per pound than chicken feed.

I like gravy very much so my wife always makes a lot of gravy so there is a plenty left over after we eat. I had no intention of making gravy to put on the chicken feed they do not want to eat so they will eat it.

 

[iwltfum]

I like gravy very much so my wife always makes a lot of gravy so there is a plenty left over after we eat. I had no intention of making gravy to put on the chicken feed they do not want to eat so they will eat it.

Gotcha. For some reason I thought you were planning on making gravy especially for them instead of buying feed and it had me scratching my head for a second. I love gravy too, yum.