GLuten free feed??????

[potagergirl]

Hello all! I am a new chick mama and we are looking to feed our babies gluten free food. My babies are 7 weeks old. I have a friend who has hens who are already laying. She is moving and I will be keeping her 11 girls. How long do you think it will take to get the gluten out of their bodies so it doesn't affect the eggs? Thank you!

HI and welcome,

I am one year into my chickens which we raised from chicks. Ours have been gluten free from day one. I did a lot of research on what to feed and I mix my own from
seed since I live in a small area that does not have gf feed available. To answer your question the time is 2 weeks. I found this out through the animal help center
out of the MU extension center. This is the average some breeds take longer others take less time depending on the age and egg productivity of the bird.
I got this information because my MIL is giving up her birds and I will be getting them sometime before the end of the month. They live across the street so I've already
been mixing feed and taking it over so I know by time they get here I won't have to worry about the eggs.
? are you using oats in your mix? I'm not sure I'm happy with the oats I'm using and have thought about using something else.

 

[Tmoorie]

No oats yet, I am researching into them now

 

[eagrbeavr]

Its my understanding hta oats dont hold much nutritional value to chickens. I could certainly be wrong, but you may want to check on it

 

[potagergirl]

Its my understanding hta oats dont hold much nutritional value to chickens. I could certainly be wrong, but you may want to check on it

I see oats as a filler because I don't feel they have enough nutritional value. But, mostly I was thinking about oats being a higher risk on the scale for cross contamination with gluten grains. Also it is suspected that oats have a protein similar to wheat. I have more studying to do but some things I have found suggest celiac people have a low tolerance for oats.

 

[Tmoorie]

I personally do not have Celiac but lots of people I love do. After speaking with them I found out that they can eat oats. The problems arise when the oats are processed in a place where other grains are processed, much like with a peanut allergy. After learning this information I think I am personally going to steer clear of oats.


Does anyone have a true and tried recipe for feed that they would like to share?

 

[Lynn Manes]

You are right that my chickies are not yet laying. that is about 6wks ish out.  I am tired of the chicken poo all over the yard and have been looking at a possible tractor with a basket of hay to lay in.   

Thankyou. After researching online and looking at what a "feral" chicken might eat i think that the birds will be fine with our garden and table scraps, meal worms/dry or fresh, crickets, and then our left over cooked rice, lentils, field peas, cracked corn, milo, millet, wild bird seed, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, and whatnot.   I can get large amounts of those things for my family consumption and just add extra poundage to the orders for the birds.  I have been reading about depression era bird keeping and honestly i think we must baby our chickens now.  Not just chickens but all our animals. My gma says her dog ate the meat cuts her family wouldnt like the tongue and liver, baked and cracked cow bones, and leftovers. They NEVER bought dog food.  It makes me wonder how or why we got to the point we are at now. BTW her dog lived until 15 on this diet. 

No we do not do soy. My eldest daughter has reactions to soy and the chickens are currently soy and corn free just because the soy free feed i use is also corn free.  

I know this thread is a few years old, but I've been trying to find an answer to the question that if I feed my chickens, quail & ducks meal worms, will that affect my health if I eat their eggs or the fowl themselves bc I have Celiac Disease. Why would it be best to change the feed to one that does not have any of the known 5 grains with gluten, but still feed them meal worms when meal worms eat wheat and are raised in wheat bran? Shouldn't the meal worms also be eliminated from the fowls' diet? We are raising meal worms now in wheat meal. We planned to use them not only to give to our birds but to use as fish bait for fish we also eat. Now we are concerned that this may have a negative impact on my health when we are raising these animals ourselves to be healthier. Can anyone here please, please give me some advice regarding meal worms and Celiac? Thank you.

 

[Spartan22]

I'm curious for an answer for you, hopefully someone here will give you infos.

 

[Tmoorie]

Hello! I have been feeding my girls a gluten free diet for several months and they are doing well. I grow barley fodder mixed with milo. I throw other seeeds in the fodder as a surprise for them; some times black sunflower or lentils. I give them whole oats, amd whole corn as well. My girls free range in,my yard for at least an hour a day. We feed them our dinner veggie and meat scraps plus other fresh fruits and veggies I have around the house. I give them otster shell to strengthen their egg shells and,build up calcium.

As for the worms, I've heard that you can do,worms in oats instears of wheat.Have you thought about switching grains?

I hope this helps.

 

[potagergirl]

I know this thread is a few years old, but I've been trying to find an answer to the question that if I feed my chickens, quail & ducks meal worms, will that affect my health if I eat their eggs or the fowl themselves bc I have Celiac Disease. Why would it be best to change the feed to one that does not have any of the known 5 grains with gluten, but still feed them meal worms when meal worms eat wheat and are raised in wheat bran? Shouldn't the meal worms also be eliminated from the fowls' diet? We are raising meal worms now in wheat meal. We planned to use them not only to give to our birds but to use as fish bait for fish we also eat. Now we are concerned that this may have a negative impact on my health when we are raising these animals ourselves to be healthier. Can anyone here please, please give me some advice regarding meal worms and Celiac? Thank you.

HI,
doing a quick search on meal worms and celiac I came up with this link http://www.openbugfarm.com/forum.html#/discussion/236/gluten-free-food-for-meal-worms You might do a simple search as I did for further information. However, I do agree with the comment it does not have to be wheat base for your meal worms to thrive. As with any insect not all the grains we have in the states are available as readily in other countries. Just like rice is more available in Korea then it is here. Meal worms have lived and will continue to live on other grains.
Now my question to you: could you put up a pic of your system? We use tractors and houses and I prefer to free range however this year we have had bad luck between the foxes and the hawks. In one day they wiped out 10 birds =(. It was awful losing that many chicks and chickens. I will be moving to fermenting my grains pretty soon but also am thinking about meal worms.

Just a note, I keep reading where people on a gluten free diet or have celiac using barley. Barley has the gluten protein and I would discourage the use of it. There are many grains we can choose from including oats (if you are not sensitive) milo, millet, sunflower seeds, alfalfa, rice, beans, peas, and white corn to name a few. I know cost is a big issue for many people and yes I think feeding my birds is a little expensive but it has helped my health in so many ways it's just worth it to me.

 

[Lynn Manes]

HI,
doing a quick search on meal worms and celiac I came up with this link http://www.openbugfarm.com/forum.html#/discussion/236/gluten-free-food-for-meal-worms  You might do a simple search as I did for further information. However, I do agree with the comment it does not have to be wheat base for your meal worms to thrive. As with any insect not all the grains we have in the states are available as readily in other countries. Just like rice is more available in Korea then it is here. Meal worms have lived and will continue to live on other grains. 
Now my question to you: could you put up a pic of your system? We use tractors and houses and I prefer to free range however this year we have had bad luck between the foxes and the hawks. In one day they wiped out 10 birds =(. It was awful losing that many chicks and chickens. I will be moving to fermenting my grains pretty soon but also am thinking about meal worms. 

Just a note, I keep reading where people on a gluten free diet or have celiac using barley. Barley has the gluten protein and I would discourage the use of it. There are many grains we can choose from including oats (if you are not sensitive) milo, millet, sunflower seeds, alfalfa, rice, beans, peas, and white corn to name a few. I know cost is a big issue for many people and yes I think feeding my birds is a little expensive but it has helped my health in so many ways it's just worth it to me. 

Thanks for your response and the link.so now I think we might need to change our entire mealworm diet so they and I can thrive in a healthier manner. My set up isn't at all elaborate. We keep them in a Sterilite drawer under a few layers of newspaper. I just threw in a paper towel roll the other day for the heck of it. So far we've given them pieces of bread which was a so so response. But now we give them carrot pieces which they really love. If you want to see a pic I'll try to take a couple & send it over.