feeding blends

[the 412 chicks]

no thats not wat im feeding em it was just and example. soo what are good ingrediants and that i can get at my grainery

 

[pkeeler]

Just get anything labeled "layer". They will start laying eggs again when the days get longer.

 

[Garden Gal]

Chickerdoodle... thank you for the link on what to feed chicken - it was very informative. One question I have is in regard to red worms. I've read many posts here which discourage letting chickens eat earth worms, yet it makes lots of sense to me. (Some say they can get worms from worms, etc...) Any thoughts?

 

[Organics North]

I am no expert but I feel some redworms are fine. No connection between parasitic worms and ground dwelling worms. Maybe if you feed the redworms raw meat or manure from animals with parasitic worms then it could be a risk///?/
But if you pick worms up from your garden or have a worm bin that you compost only vegetative matter and no poop or meat then I see no risk. Worms are a natural high protein treat for the chickens! In moderation of course....
My chickens get feed whole lettuce plants roots, dirt, worms and all. (I make my own organic potting soil, so I know what they are eating.)
They love it!
ON

 

[Chris09]

Chickens can get Gape Worm from eating earth worms, slugs and snails. It is a worm that affixes its self to the trachea of a chicken...
You can go here and here to read about it..

Chris

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
You are correct! They can get worms (parasites) from infected earthworms worms and slugs. I struggled with that but I do not see myself being able to keep them from eating worms they find (or slugs for that matter as we live in Oregon--slug paradise) as it is the most natural thing for them to do. I will feed mealworms and I believe redworms are a great source of protein if you have them. When I get my chickens this spring I will have routine fecal samples checked for parasites and I will keep an eye out for gapeworm symptoms. It is up to you to decide but its more natural than some questionable animal/fish by products as far as I am concerned.

 

[Organics North]

Quote:
Thanks for the links..
I am into micro life as a organic gardener! Will need to research it.
ON