Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

Hooray!

Of course I will probably catch white chicken fever again!

Did you ever lose it?

 

[bgmathteach]

Oh you are right - I misread it - it is counter-intuitive. More fat in the diet is better. Who woulda thunk it?!
Meanwhile, I did find the flax seed reference - it is great at adding omega 3 to eggs but prolonged use of flax seed in the feed increases fatty liver.
I found one study on soy-based vs soy-free feeds and it specifically mntioned there were no differences in the livers.

Thank you for doing the research!

so, aside from sending your chickens through boot camp to exercise strenuously

, and adding in some selenium...what really can you do to prevent fatty liver? I'm afraid to limit feed too much given the number of chickens I have....despite having multiple feeders, I'm always afraid some of the lower ones on the totem pole won't get enough while the more dominant ones will still eat too much?

 

[MaryJanet]

I don’t know, Bob. Access to feed all the time while they are penned up? All the necropsies I’ve had done besides Ruby revealed excess body fat. I think it is more common than we all think.

Could be, Michelle. Yet your other hens are doing ok. From that it looks like genetics, don't you think?

 

[Ribh]

Have heard of your cassowary! They can be dangerous! I love their feet, awesome legs and feet!

Understatement. They are killers. You don't want a head bonk from one of those.

 

[MaryJanet]

I have no idea, but it sounds plausible. Soy is a big part of commercial chicken food because it is cheap. Fatty live is as you say is associated with estrogen and indeed soy binds to estrogen receptors - so this sounds quite logical to me.
I don't have time right now, but I may rootle around looking for some academic studies on the topic. The only brand I see available has flax and I am sure I read somewhere that is also not great for the chickens themselves.
Oh I have some research to do!

I can't wait for the conclusion

 

[bgmathteach]

Not totally sure - will be up to them a bit. This stage will be a few days so they get used to each other's sounds and smells.
Then there is a little door to the brooder that leads into the rest of the Chicken Palace. A chick-sized door - so nobody can chase them in. The trouble is it is high up, so I have a sort of fire-escape structure I made so the chicks can come and go but I need to be sure they can navigate it and know their way back.

I love your fire escape I think that was an excellent idea, and was well executed....can't wait to see it in use again!

 

[MaryJanet]

Oh you are right - I misread it - it is counter-intuitive. More fat in the diet is better. Who woulda thunk it?!
Meanwhile, I did find the flax seed reference - it is great at adding omega 3 to eggs but prolonged use of flax seed in the feed increases fatty liver.
I found one study on soy-based vs soy-free feeds and it specifically mntioned there were no differences in the livers.

I recall Mark was concerned about the right sort of fat, hence the prescription of cottage cheese in Peggy's diet.

 

[RoyalChick]

I recall Mark was concerned about the right sort of fat, hence the prescription of cottage cheese in Peggy's diet.

Some of the papers suggest that animal products rather than soy would be healthier for chickens - so fish meal for example.
Apparently that is what used to be in chicken food, but then with mad cow disease animal products were taken out of feed for cattle and sheep and chicken food was sort of a by-product of that process so it got taken out of chicken feed too even though that is not required.
It left me wondering how to get more meat into their feed - either by feeding them meat and fish (which I do a bit already) and/or by sourcing fish meal. Haven't looked into that yet.

 

[MaryJanet]

Some of the papers suggest that animal products rather than soy would be healthier for chickens - so fish meal for example.
Apparently that is what used to be in chicken food, but then with mad cow disease animal products were taken out of feed for cattle and sheep and chicken food was sort of a by-product of that process so it got taken out of chicken feed too even though that is not required.
It left me wondering how to get more meat into their feed - either by feeding them meat and fish (which I do a bit already) and/or by sourcing fish meal. Haven't looked into that yet.

One of the first bits of advice I ever received on byc was from @rjohns39 who said salmon + scrambled egg is an excellent treat for hens, in nutritional terms

 

[MaryJanet]

@micstrachan sorry for coming in late with all my unhelpful thinking.

This is one time I really should have read ahead.