Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Lacy Blues]

Your birds are EEs. I see a few signs that they are. Your roo has brown in his hackles, and your hen has yellow legs.

Yes she is definitely an Ameraucana. My breeding birds were penned separately and I've shown and had best in breed with my blue pullet.
Also your two look more splash than blue. I see different flecks in their feathers. They are beautiful birds, don't get me wrong. I love EEs - and I have plenty to show to prove it

They are blues. They just are very weak in color. If you had a black that you could cross in, it would really darken up your blue birds. The flecks of color in their feathers is from not using blacks. A splash is patchy/flecked and using just splashes with a blue will cause your blues to look that way. So, try either a really dark blue, like aoxa's male she showed, or a black to correct your color... if you care... if you don't then just enjoy them. They are, after all, chickens and they are enjoyable, no matter what they look like.

I would recommend against layer for chicks. Your cornish never lived long enough to be bothered by the slow damage of extra calcium. Though they probably grow so fast the extra calcium is good for them.

I would never feed layer feed to chicks. I would feed grower before medicated starter, but medicated starter before layer.

Or even a flock raiser if you can find it. Anything but layer.

Bea, the starter of this thread, only uses chick starter for about two weeks and then graduates them up to layer and has never had any trouble at all. I'm not saying I have done this yet, but I may in the future. My Andalusian grow really fast at a given stage in their lives before 20 weeks and could use the extra calcium. I think 3 months is when they do this so if I started feeding layer feed at two and a half months, hopefully I wouldn't see the leg problems that can develop in the young males.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:
Do you put out grit for the babies (for the bird seed) and do they eat it?

 

[aoxa]

They are blues. They just are very weak in color. If you had a black that you could cross in, it would really darken up your blue birds. The flecks of color in their feathers is from not using blacks. A splash is patchy/flecked and using just splashes with a blue will cause your blues to look that way. So, try either a really dark blue, like aoxa's male she showed, or a black to correct your color... if you care... if you don't then just enjoy them. They are, after all, chickens and they are enjoyable, no matter what they look like.

Bea, the starter of this thread, only uses chick starter for about two weeks and then graduates them up to layer and has never had any trouble at all. I'm not saying I have done this yet, but I may in the future. My Andalusian grow really fast at a given stage in their lives before 20 weeks and could use the extra calcium. I think 3 months is when they do this so if I started feeding layer feed at two and a half months, hopefully I wouldn't see the leg problems that can develop in the young males.

Bee has only been raising chicks for 4 years, so I'll go with the experts on this one.

 

[Mumsy]

I just added dried crumbled home grown Oregano, Ground Pumpkin seed, and shelless bird seed to my FF bucket for the adult flock. For the chick starter bucket I use un-medicated meatless grain based chick starter and add fine ground dried Oregano, powdered pumpkin seed, and the shelless wild bird seed using only Millet and small seeds sifted out of the big stuff. Those little extra bits do help keep them interested.
I feed my chicks the chick starter until they are 10 to 12 weeks old. They are not meat birds but will be layers and future breeding birds. I don't believe stinting young growing flocks out of nutrition to save $ will help grow out healthy, good feathered, top quality birds. If your butchering meat birds at 16 weeks that's different I guess. Getting a bird to butcher weight without crippling them first is the key. For me growing a layer, breeder, or show bird is more about slow and steady.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I don't try to grow my birds fast at all. I would rather they went slow and steady. But the boys (in my Andalusian flock) put on a lot of height in their third or fourth month. They are a long legged bird and I would rather they did it slowly, but during this one short phase they sprout up like bad weeds! I've tried everything to keep them going steady. So, rather than have leg problems, the reduced protein and additional calcium helps to ward off any potential problems resulting from that growth spurt.

 

[tallgrass]

Duh! Sorry about that!

 

[Mumsy]

Do you put out grit for the babies (for the bird seed) and do they eat it?

If you are just using a chick starter mash you don't need to worry about grit for chicks. I put whole millet seed and bits of pumpkin seed and give them chunks of sod on occassion as others do so they are getting grass in their crop as well. I put a dish of free choice parakeet/cage bird grit in the chick house for my chicks. I have seen them help themselves to it.


It's very fine with bigger bits.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote: Yes I have used that too when I was hatching ...mostly wondering if they eat it as I never saw them bother with it. I threw it in the litter as well as in a bowl figuring they'd scratch around and find it.

 

[aoxa]

I just added dried crumbled home grown Oregano, Ground Pumpkin seed, and shelless bird seed to my FF bucket for the adult flock. For the chick starter bucket I use un-medicated meatless grain based chick starter and add fine ground dried Oregano, powdered pumpkin seed, and the shelless wild bird seed using only Millet and small seeds sifted out of the big stuff. Those little extra bits do help keep them interested.
I feed my chicks the chick starter until they are 10 to 12 weeks old. They are not meat birds but will be layers and future breeding birds. I don't believe stinting young growing flocks out of nutrition to save $ will help grow out healthy, good feathered, top quality birds. If your butchering meat birds at 16 weeks that's different I guess. Getting a bird to butcher weight without crippling them first is the key. For me growing a layer, breeder, or show bird is more about slow and steady.

Well said Mumsy!

 

[aoxa]

If you are just using a chick starter mash you don't need to worry about grit for chicks. I put whole millet seed and bits of pumpkin seed and give them chunks of sod on occassion as others do so they are getting grass in their crop as well. I put a dish of free choice parakeet/cage bird grit in the chick house for my chicks. I have seen them help themselves to it.


It's very fine with bigger bits.

Our feed store has grit specifically made for chicks. It's very fine, but no tthis fine. I have considered this, but it was so pricey!