Extra Protein Feed for Feather Eating: Free Choice or Exclusively?

[devora]

I have some game bird food (higher protein) and I want to know if it's best to give it free choice, like oyster shell, or replace their regular layer feed w/ it. I've got feather-eaters I'm trying to fix.

Do I need to force them to eat the extra protein or will they take care of it themselves?

On a side note, the bag is labeled game bird but it also has "rooster food" written on it. Do y'all feed yer roos different food than your hens? I don't have a rooster so am curious.

Thanks for any assistance!

 

[Judy]

I would offer both in separate feeders, myself.

Many roos eat the layer that their girls eat and do just fine. I wouldn't worry about it, although if I had a rooster pen, I'd probably feed them game bird feed, or a mix of the two. Might make them prettier if nothing else. They don't need the amount of calcium the layers do, but I don't know that anyone has ever demonstrated that it's harmful, or that they will do better in some way with a game bird type feed.

 

[devora]

So just like w/ extra calcium they will know to take in the extra protein if given a choice. Sounds reasonable, thanks.

I have noticed when I feed them meat they go INSANE so clearly they are lacking something!

 

[furbabymum]

This is really interesting. I've got an entire brooder full of feather eaters. Thaks for this!

 

[Chris09]

Your feather eating could be caused by the lack of animal protein in there diet.
Feather eating seems to be seen in flocks that are fed a low or no animal protein diet.

Is the the new feed a Game Bird feed or a Gamefowl/ Game Fowl feed that makes a big difference.

Gamefowl feed can be some of the best feed that you can feed your birds, the makers of these feed understand that only "Laying" Hens (hens in production) need extra or high amounts of Calcium and that all forms of chickens need animal protein in there diet so they don't add extra calcium in there feed mix (as in a layer) and they add a animal protein.

Chris

 

[devora]

It's Game Flight Conditioner.

It looks like a kind of scratch to me. It's got several whole grains, including corn (or maybe it's hominy).

 

[Chris09]

It's Game Flight Conditioner.

It looks like a kind of scratch to me. It's got several whole grains, including corn (or maybe it's hominy).

That sounds like a Gamefowl feed. Who makes it?

The Gamefowl feed I was feeding had whole grains and 3 or 4 types of "pellets" in it.

Chris

 

[devora]

Made by "Farmer's Best" so who knows. Now that I'm looking at the detail of ingredients I see that there isn't animal protein in it, which is what I was hoping for. Ugh. There are pellety things in it, but also whole grains.