Feeding Silkies

[adkins90]

Hello Everyone!

Just wanted get advice on feeding Silkies. What do you suggest for keeping them in good feather condition? For Laying? For good overall health?

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I fed my silkies Layer Pellets last year, 16% protein, and this year switched over to 20%. Big difference! The feather condition is so much better, they lay better. I also give them extra oyster shell, fresh grass, and other things like whole corn (not the whites) as a treat, wheat and black oil sunflower seeds as a treat. I also just started supplementing the show birds with Manna Pro pellets, the pink ones that smell like licorice (spelling?).

This is what my birds look like.

 

[featherbaby]

I feed my adults 50% layer pellets/50%Manna Pro Calf Manna pellets(pink) and free choice oyster shell grit as a staple diet. To that I add all kinds of interesting breakfast bowl treats. These may consist of any of the following: Broccoli stems (chopped fine), boiled eggs, canned tuna, canned mixed veggies or fruit cocktail (low salt, packed in water) chopped, applesauce, yogurt, rolled oatmeal, bulgar wheat, flax seed meal, wheat germ, bread crumbs, Manna Pro gamebird/showbird and Conditioner food, wild bird seed, black oil sunflower seeds, yogurt (fruit flavors), and to this I add Vita-pro-B probiotic powder or PolyViSol liquid vitamins (without Iron) periodically.

It sounds like a lot, but I vary it each day. I might mix 2-3 of the above each morning for their "breakfast bowl". While they eat I pet them and look them over well so problems don't drag on without my notice. I don't have that many (about 20) so it's fairly easy to check them.

Other than cleaning the coop, the most time consuming job is washing their feet when they get poo caked in them. I try so hard to keep the shavings clean but if there's a wet mess anywhere......they're GOING to walk through it.

Clean water once or twice a day is essential and cleanout all water containers with Oxene once a week. Dirty water is a health hazard to them as much as it is to us.