FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Beekissed]

I was just looking at one of the other vids on CX of the same age as mine and couldn't help comparing their living situations to the ones in my coop....muddy, poopy floor, no sunlight to bask in and overfed to the point of bulging.... he's talking of caponizing these birds but I can't imagine why one would do that when they won't get old enough for it to matter anyway. There's no way he's getting these meaties to 10 mo. of age if they are already so overfed they are bulging on both ends.

 

[azygous]

I have a hunch that EE (what I've read on BYC) and Americaunas (my own experience) may tend towards a genetic tendency of thin-shelled eggs. We have one Americauna that needs a special diet (lots of kefir) to produce thicker shells and if she goes off the kefir, her shells get thin. She gobbles down egg and oyster shell like it's going out of style. My hunch is that she is better able to extract calcium from the kefir than the shell products. Our current batch of FF is layer feed, complete with oyster shell and her shells are still thin. I'll make kefir again here soon and I'd bet money that her shells get thicker again.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my issue of thin-shelled eggs. So much good information! It seems adding some vitamin D3 a few times a week to the water might be something to try. It's supposed to increase absorption of calcium.

Pdirt, how do you make your kefir?

 

[Tikkijane]

I was just looking at one of the other vids on CX of the same age as mine and couldn't help comparing their living situations to the ones in my coop....muddy, poopy floor, no sunlight to bask in and overfed to the point of bulging.... he's talking of caponizing these birds but I can't imagine why one would do that when they won't get old enough for it to matter anyway. There's no way he's getting these meaties to 10 mo. of age if they are already so overfed they are bulging on both ends.

 

[niqueie]

It's really sad how people modify animals and food. If we just keep things simple things work out better.

 

[pdirt]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my issue of thin-shelled eggs. So much good information! It seems adding some vitamin D3 a few times a week to the water might be something to try. It's supposed to increase absorption of calcium.

Pdirt, how do you make your kefir?

I've never had "real" kefir grains. I have made it using whole pasteurized milk using the Yogourmet powdered kefir starter. Gets very thick in about 48 hours.

Aww, I love Silkies.  Congratulations!  How many are you expecting?

when's the due date?

We've got about 9 silky eggs under a cuckoo maran mamma (didn't know the cuckoos were broody types) and most should be hatching tonight or tomorrow!

 

[chickengirl1193]

So I have a question... in the last few days my birds have been having very watery poo. Could that be from drinking more water cuz the weather is warm? Nothing else has changed and its not cecal poo

 

[kpgoldstar]

Interesting you mention this. One thing I've observed for a while is that out of the 20ish EEs I've had, only the blue egg layers had calcium issues. And they were/are the ONLY birds that have ever had calcium issues. Everyone else does just fine. So that has kind of confirmed my thinking.

Another good source of calcium is to feed back their shells.

My hens DO NOT like their own shells. I have tried everything from mildly crushing, to mortar and pestle, to whirring in a food processor. They turn up their noses and refuse to eat them. I just gave up. I give free oyster shell. They do eat it but not lots. I had 2 days last week of a soft egg but my girls are still growing (nearly 7 months old) so I don't expect perfect eggs every day.

 

[LindaB220]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my issue of thin-shelled eggs. So much good information! It seems adding some vitamin D3 a few times a week to the water might be something to try. It's supposed to increase absorption of calcium.

Pdirt, how do you make your kefir?

You can buy grains on Ebay for about $6 shipped. I did and the 1 T they sent has grown into over a cup. I have split it into 2 qt jars and make up more just adding about a cup of milk a day. Just to increase the grains. Later I'll be feeding the kefir and grains to the chickens. You drink the kefir with fruit and honey and blitz in a blender. So good for you.

 

[Tikkijane]

My hens DO NOT like their own shells. I have tried everything from mildly crushing, to mortar and pestle, to whirring in a food processor. They turn up their noses and refuse to eat them. I just gave up. I give free oyster shell. They do eat it but not lots. I had 2 days last week of a soft egg but my girls are still growing (nearly 7 months old) so I don't expect perfect eggs every day.

Wow. Mine devour them, even faster than oyster shell. I bake or microwave them to dry, throw in a ziploc and take a rolling pin to it. I have never had them not go crazy. The larger particles ate better, too.....

 

[kpgoldstar]

Wow. Mine devour them, even faster than oyster shell. I bake or microwave them to dry, throw in a ziploc and take a rolling pin to it. I have never had them not go crazy. The larger particles ate better, too.....

Maybe I need to dry mine first. I let them set out for a few days and I live where it is very dry so I figured that was good enough.