Extra protein for chicks

[pamduff]

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Thanks...don't know why but tuna would never have occurred to me LOL

 

[Chris09]

A 18% protein feed should be more than enough protein.
What feed are you feeding, does it have animal protein in it? If your feed doesn't have animal protein in it that will sometimes make them peck and eat feathers.

Also check and see if they may have mites and or lice, that would make them peck and eat feathers also.


Chris

 

[pamduff]

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We are just finishing up a bag of Nutrena Country Feeds from a local store. It is 18% and does have animal protein. Kind of worried now because the new bag we just bought which is Purina says on the label it is animal protein free....guess I will look more closely in the future. I thought as long as it was high enough protein that it would be ok. Since she is the only one doing this I am inclined to think it is probably simply a behavior and not an issue of protein....but it is true that the other chicks do not hesitate to eat any feathers she may drop or not hold onto tightly enough. I guess maybe she is bored....hopefully by the weekend they will have their own coop outside. Until then I will try to make sure, weather permitting, that they all go outside. We have a new pen set up for them (a dog kennel) and we also have an old cage I can use for the culprit LOL. That way they are all outside but not together. I will keep her apart for the week and then try again. At night she will just have to sleep in the tub beside the brooder.
I never thought having chickens would be so exhausting

and to top it all off we had our first predator last night...a possum and since my boyfriend is out of town I got to deal with it....I told him the next one is his LOL.
Thank you for your help and suggestions!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Their web site doesn't list ingredients in their feeds. Does it have any soy in it, in addition to the animal protein?

If they were mine, I'd try improving the diet and see how it goes. Even if you only supplement that one chick.

 

[pamduff]

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If this works here is the link to the page I am looking at for contents. http://poultry.purinamills.com/OURPRODUCTS/Products/StartGrow/default.aspx
For some reason the cashier pulled off the tag that had this info on it...not sure why. I am going to go ahead and supplement a little...starting off with some boiled egg for all the chicks.

 

[Tracydr]

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Thank you for the advice...when you say rehab is in order...what exactly do you mean? Unfortunately moving them outside will have to wait a while yet...only coop we have at the moment is occupied by 3 grown hens and their introduction to each other has not been a smash hit LOL. We do have a place for them to go outside that is bigger than their brooder but no shelter there yet. And their second visit to this area is when the picking started. I have been removing her to a tub next to the brooder when she starts. She was ok last evening when I put her back but already this morning she has started again.

I made a 2x8 chick tractor one afternoon. Took about two hours and 20 dollars. Home Depot even cut the boards! Could you make a little temporary home like that until you can get them into the nicer one? Mine has housed 15 meat chicks and now has 3 Silky chicks, six weeks old.

 

[pamduff]

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Sadly...I am totally inept at building...well maybe not totally LOL but I will have to wait on Chas to do the building...he is a whiz at it...built our first coop mostly from scratch and his own ideas. I am kind of stranded at the moment but I think we will be ok until he can do it. As long as the weather holds off (expecting rain) they will be outside most of the day. She seems almost content if not happy to be separated...I think it bothers me more than it does her! She can hear them so she seems ok.

 

[Dirtyhip]

I give the girls walnuts, sun flower seeds and other high protein scraps, and they get 18% protein (plant based) feed free choice. They eat some of our leftovers.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

to give extra protein. soak a good quality dog food or even cat food. both these are high protein and they contain animal proteins. fowl love this.

but there is no reason they need additional protein. 18% is high enuff. and ive actually raised plenty of biddies on much lower. as in layer crumbles with no problems. science and their recommendations is not carved in stone. real life experience will at times prove science wrong. or at least not right in all circumstances and scenarios.

more than likely its a learned behavior. aggressiveness. sometimes boredom, but if boredom was a problem you'd have more practicing this habit. but as said its a learned behavior and this bad habit will spread to the rest. rarely do i have a problem like this, but rare occasions ive just bit the bullet and culled a bad individual. alot simpler and if not checked one can ruin the whole bunch.

 

[KDK1]

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At least a week, maybe two.