Feathers??

[Trefoil]

Oyster shell is a source of calcium, not grit. They may need grit. Broccoli is a good treat for them if they like it, I grind it up in the blender and give it to my week old keets. Meal worms are cheap to raise and again make a great treat. If the guins are hesitant to try new stuff, mix it with some of their feed to get them to try it. I wouldn't feed calcium except free choice, they can overdose on it. I am feeding everything fermented feed. I tend to have it a little sloppy, hoping to ensure that they get enough water in the cold weather, also its at least lukewarm because its fermented in the house. When its fermented its smells different, a little sweet and a little vinegary, if its smells off its spoiled and no good. I think cracked corn, or any whole grain will take more than 24 hours to ferment but I haven't tried except for whole oats, so I could be wrong. Don't give up your guins unless you don't want them anymore, they should do fine in the space you have as long as you don't have too many and you are keeping them safe. I have been putting a few alfalfa cubes in my feed but am kind of iffy about it because I've read its not good for geese, but they mainly eat the wheat, so I haven't really decided what to do.

 

[karensc]

Well, the oyster shell is there free choice if they want it, but as for the grit. I do not have anything else for them, but their play yard is all dirt and they eat the dirt as well. They love brocolli slaw and I do give it to them along with some cucumbers. I do not know why Tara is doing that with her neck though. Do you have any experience with them? I really do not want to give them up but all I do is worry about them, and I know that is not good for me. I am really worried about Tara now. Teddy is just fine.

 

[PeepsCA]

Thanks, Peeps. I like to feed them BOSS - they go nuts over them - but I'll also save the cracked corn for really cold temps which we get here from time to time in GA. The cat food I'll work on though. They get less of that, but I'd like for our cat to have a healthier diet, too.

How do you soak/ferment the corn? What's the recipe for that? Since my guineas are penned 24/7, I'd really like to give them healthy food/treats. I'm looking for a "green" I can give them too. I've been going out into the lawn and just grabbing grass/weeds from the yard, and I have some alfalfa that I give them that they're lukewarm about. What can I grow as a winter crop in the garden that I can grab and toss into the pen? I have them on a 22% protein feed now because of the wee ones (who aren't so "wee" anymore) and will switch them to 16% when this 50 lbs runs out.

Am I feeding them right? Any suggestions?

Sorry for the late reply, I've been caught up in the typical Holiday rush... plus canning jams, baking xmas cookies, etc

What and how you are feeding your birds is fine, JLeigh. Plenty of protein in the staple diet you are giving them, plus they get some extra goodies here and there, so don't stress over it. Switching to a layer feed soon is a good plan IMO, since your pullets will be laying soon. And you already know too many treats are bad. So you can just stick with what you are doing if you want and your birds will be fine.

If Fermenting Feeds interests you, there's a million different ways to go about it. And just as with most things pertaining to birds/poultry no one way is the only way... but it basically boils down to soaking feed (or a mixture of feeds and grains) with a starter of some sort added in to get the ferment going at first (like ACV with Mother, whey, yeast etc), then keeping that ferment warm enough to keep it going and feed it with more fresh dry feed and water as you use up/feed your birds the wet soaked fermented feed from your mix (think along the lines of of how you keep a sour dough starter or keifer grains going, you're continually using some and feeding the left over to keep it growing more cultures).

I learned a lot from this thread on Fermenting Feed , but I don't follow all the advice given there to a tee... I took what I learned and adjusted my ways/methods to what works for me/my birds and coop set ups. Same as you will be able to do if you go the FF route. I have never fermented just corn, I always ferment a mix of feeds so I am not sure how just fermented corn will work out... so be careful, you may end up making moonshine, lol. Since you guys do the home brew thing, FF might work out great for you. Just have to give it a try and see.

If you aren't up for the extra work involved you don't have to feed Fermented Feeds, because it definitely does require some extra work at first to get it set up and going, plus there's a learning process to go thru finding out what works for you and what doesn't. It definitely works for me/my birds and the set up I have here tho, plus I also appreciate the health benefits it provides them. But with as many birds as I have, just the savings on the feed costs alone wins hands down over the convenience of feeding my birds dry pellets or crumbles. Like I said tho, FF works for me (and a lot of others), it does not work for everybody, and it may not work for you. A couple of my flocks still get dry feeds, because of the location of their coops on my land (too far from the feed shed where my Fermented Feed system is set up... so for now feeding them dry is easier. Eventually I will have all my flocks on FF tho.

HTH

 

[PeepsCA]

Well, the oyster shell is there free choice if they want it, but as for the grit. I do not have anything else for them, but their play yard is all dirt and they eat the dirt as well. They love brocolli slaw and I do give it to them along with some cucumbers. I do not know why Tara is doing that with her neck though. Do you have any experience with them? I really do not want to give them up but all I do is worry about them, and I know that is not good for me. I am really worried about Tara now. Teddy is just fine.

Sorry you are worrying so much about your birds Karen. Kind of takes the fun out of it huh?

If there aren't small bits of gravel in the soil, they really do need a source of grit. (Especially since you've seen them eating feathers, which may be why you see the exaggerated neck movement from Tara, maybe she's trying to get those feathers to go down). The birds use the grit in their gizzard to grind their food before it goes further down into their digestive system (it's like us chewing before we digest).

Sometimes the exaggerated neck movement can be related to an impacted crop, but it could also be that she is just adjusting to eating less veggies/greens and more solid foods. As long as they have access to grit and they are eating, drinking and pooping as normal I would not worry too much about them.

Oyster shell eventually dissolves and isn't an effective source of grit, for digestion. It's only a reliable source of calcium, as Tre mentioned. Grit is usually granite and does not dissolve. I do provide grit in all my coops but my birds also pick up small rocks and pebbles while free ranging, they instinctively take/pick up what they need. Since your birds are penned you'll want to make sure they have access to grit or small pebbles, not just dirt.

ETA: I've never had a Guinea OD on oyster shell (I always provide it free choice), and as with the grit they instinctively take what they need.

 

[karensc]

Hi Peeps,

thanks for your response. The neck movement is improving and yes, I did cut back on the amount of treats I give them. Most times she looks normal and sometimes it looks like she is trying to move something in there. I need to get them eating their food again. When I first got Tara, that is all she would eat so all this is my fault. I found the ACV with the mother in it and I mixed up a gallon of water with 2 tblsp in it. I am leaving to fly out this afternoon and I my neighbor will give them that while I am gone. What is BOSS? The worrying about these birds, yes does take the fun out of having them. But now that I see Tara a little better, I feel better. RobertH gave me some grit that is dark and I gave that to them free choice also along with the oyster shell inside their pen. As for outside, there are some little tiny pebbles and I see Tara always pecking so maybe that is what is helping her. I just want everyone to be OK. I don't know what I am doing wrong. this happened with Timmi, but she quit eating and starved to death. Tara is eating and drinking so that is a good sign I guess. Oh well, I hope you have a Merry Christmas and I guess I will be back online after Christmas. I look forward to hearing from you about this silly birds.

Karen

 

[PeepsCA]

BOSS is black oil sunflower seeds. You can buy big bags of it at most feed stores, or you can also buy bags of different wild bird seed mixes that have a lot of BOSS in them. Tho my birds don't have a preference as to one or the other (they are pigs), I prefer just tossing them some plain BOSS when I am using it for a high protein/high fat treat.

Glad you found some ACV with Mother in it (good stuff, for humans too!), and it sounds like you have the grit issue under control, and hopefully you shouldn't have to worry about Tara while you are away (I know, easier said than done!). Maybe she just had one stubborn feather that she really had to work extra hard on getting it to go down.

Hope you have a great Christmas and come home to a couple of perfectly healthy birds that missed you and are begging for their goodies, lol.

 

[karensc]

Thank you Peeps,

I hope you are right. They are going to be mad at me today because before I leave I must lock them inside because of heavy rain. They would be inside anyway but they do not like when that door is closed and they cannot get out. You don't know how appreciative I am of you and all your advice. Since reading your last posts about the neck movement, I have been watching her and she seems much better. She is not acting as goofy but maybe she still has a stuck feather. I am hoping for the best, but I feel so much better leaving them and knowing I have you to ask for help and my neighbor who just loves animals and knows how I feel about these 2 birds. It would be awful difficult to give them away and I have mixed feeling about it now. I will try and check online again with my nook (hot spots) and on my parents computer also.

Thank You for all you do for me and everyone else.

Merry Christmas to all

Karen