Free rein feeding method

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Ha ha, I liked every other post so far but not so sure about this one.

yeah that wouldn’t be very fun. But just longivety wouldn’t be enough proof that this diet is working. Necropsies would be immensely helpful.

 

[Brooks_]

yeah that wouldn’t be very fun. But just longivety wouldn’t be enough proof that this diet is working. Necropsies would be immensely helpful.

Necropsies could still be done when they naturally pass.

 

[Ital]

yeah that wouldn’t be very fun. But just longivety wouldn’t be enough proof that this diet is working. Necropsies would be immensely helpful.

If any of them peg it I might ask a vet.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Necropsies could still be done when they naturally pass.

Oh absolutely! But I tend to think doing both is helpful, and multiple ages, so you can get as much info as possible. Lots of birds can naturally pass due to genetic issues (fatty liver disease, let’s say, can be genetic), so examining younger healthy birds and a large variety would give you a wide range of information

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

If any of them peg it I might ask a vet.

That would be really interesting!
In the perfect world in my head this experiment would be highly interesting if the quail's health was monitored by an Avian vet the whole process. But that's a very expensive and time consuming way to go about it.

 

[Brooks_]

If any of them peg it I might ask a vet.

Could do it yourself. Just basics. Proper fat levels, organ color, etc.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You appear to be very sure of this, have you ever tried my method? The more I discover in life the less sure of anything I become.
Plenty of vitamins in the mix, the point of the experiment is to find out to what extent they are capable of self regulating their intake.

Some limited studies indicate that chickens are largely capable of self regulating intake. *PROVIDED HOWEVER*, that there are sufficient options that they are able to do so, of sufficient nutrient value that a balanced (over time) intake is possible. At least in regard to the major nutritional targets. Chickens are known (Cx excepted) to regulate their energy intake, and their calcium intake. Given the choice, they will attempt to regulate their protein intake as well - but what happens when they meet their daily energy intake needs, but haven't met their protein needs, is much less certain (and likely depends onthe AA profile of the protein they have consumed, at least in part), similarly with every other vitamin and mineral of any importance (and whose presence can only be broadly assumed in your feedstuffs, absent an assay)

Many studies indicate that for modern birds to perform at anything like their expectation, their dietary Methionine level and Lysine level must be rather high - in the case of Net, higher than you can obtain naturally from plant sources. The study recetly liked here (and its an old one) had animal proteins available - it makes a huge difference - and I do not mean assuming your chickens get enough bugs while free ranging. Animal sources were actively provided.

In theory, this is absolutely doable. In practice, its far more complicated, time consuming, expensive, and uncertain than its supporters are (mostly) willing to acknowledge. If you don't like uncertainty, this is a feed method you should avoid.

Oh, and red pepper flakes have a nutritional value between negligible and non-existent, apart from their ability to dye your eggs a more orange color, causing ignorant humans to believe the eggs are more nutritious. THEY ARE NOT meaningfully so, any more than the yellow stained skin of a purdue chicken fed on marigold waste is better than another company's Cx "frankenchicken" raised under similar conditions with identical feed sans marigold waste. Even in bulk, red pepper flake is north of $4/lb. If you want to spend money on nutritional chicken feed ingredients, buy yourself some Fish meal, Crab Meal, or Porcine blood meal. All are good sources of Met, proteins generally, and a host of minerals, as well as some vitamins, and with relatively low energy levels, allowing you to bulk up the remainder of the diet with grains, near grains, and legumes.

 

[Ital]

Could do it yourself. Just basics. Proper fat levels, organ color, etc.

Hmm.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Ha ha, I liked every other post so far but not so sure about this one.

May I suggest? I eat my birds, and cull routinely, which allows me to get hands on and eyes on the insides of a sample of my flock monthly or so, which helps a lot in determining how they are doing with the pasture supplimentation. I also monitor commercial feed consumption - when the pasture is very productive, the amount of commercial feed they eat drops, when the pasture is less productive, it increases.

I also provide oyster shell free choice, and throw egg shells back to them - watching which birds rush for the egg shells helps identify birds with greater calcium needs, who can then be watched for evidence of possible health issues or merely greater need due to rate of egg production...

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I fail to understand people's unwillingness to expand knowledge.

Two issues here -

One, there's an awful lot known in the world - more than any one person could learn in a life time. You have to pick and choose what to invest time learning. In other words, it is RATIONAL to be ignorant on a wide range of subjects.

Two, plenty of us already have the desired knowledge - but are ignored because it does not comport with one's worldview.



Look at all the people who assume that because their grandparent's chicken, or their great grandparent's chicken, were allegedly raised on just some corn (they weren't) or nothing at all (also untrue), that they can buy a modern bird and expect modern production levels while keeping it in a backyard enclosure or allowing it to free range on a 1/6 to 1/3 acre of monoculture yard (grass) with some kitchen scraps, garden treats, and the occasional sprinkling of whatever fad is currently making the rounds in human culinary.

Uhhh, no.

That's like claiming a Porsche 718 Spyder will do just fine on Henry Ford's uncertain octane petroleum product good for the model T.

To those of us who have spent a few weekends researching the topic, as opposed to merely speculating with people of like opinion and equal inexperience (Facebook, most of Youtube), these comments sound just as ignorant as the car comparison above

Thankfully, ignorance can be fixed - you need only invest some time. No need to reinvent the wheel.