I know a lot of people are having good luck with a product from
fertrell called "poultry nutri-balancer" you can find a local distributor through their website if you feed store doesn't carry it (mine carries almost nothing.)
http://www.fertrell.com/poultry.htm. The other thing I'm reading about with great interest is a product called Ultra Kibble. It's also intended as a nutritional supplement, and a lot of the folks raising guineas have had excellent results adding it. Somewhere in one of the threads (I forget where, sorry) there was some concern about the ingredients, and someone contacted the producer and they said it was to the best of their abilities, barring cross polination, GMO free. I'm not using either product right now, because I really think my guys are getting what they need off the free range right now, but I may use it over the winter if I feel like their egg shells are getting thin, or their general condition is going down. I'm almost certainly going to try some of the ultra kibble when they moult, just for that little extra something.
I've heard of Fertrell poultr nutri-balancer and thank you for the link. My closest dealer is in northern Oregon and I'm afraid the shipping would put the product well out of my reach. I didn't check the sight though to find out if there is a retailer close to me... I guess I'll go look again.
I don't know if, in general, I would use dry cat food as a dietary staple.... I feel like most of it has at least as much undesirable crap in it as processed poultry feeds. Maybe more. Fertrell (again) sells a fish meal that I have read good things about from people who mix their own rations. It's a high quality source of animal protien. I'm lucky, my flock is so small that in winter I've just been giving them a couple boiled eggs or a half a can of mackerell every other day or so, and it hasn't been breaking the bank. Right now I'm on the lookout for a free chest freezer so I can start a roach colony for this winter. I think that will be a good cheap animal protien source for me.
Yes, I know. I feel the same way too but I feel like I'm in a corner. I know they need animal protein and I'm trying to provide it but I don't always have it on hand. I have started a mealworm colony and I want to get some Dubia roaches in the near future to help with that.
I really think that the fodder in winter, or for birds in confinement provides things that their diet is lacking even if according to the charts they're getting all their dietary needs. Humans NEED green things, we get things from fresh live foods that can never be replaced by any supplement. I don't see why omnivorous poultry would be any different.
For you investing in an automated system might be a great way to get health up and costs down. You really cannot beat the price point for fodder. If you're anything like handy you could probably make it yourself with some PVC a plastic shelf rack, a big tub, and a pump on a timer.
I'll be trying to put together something along these lines very soon. Thank you for your help.
However, I have to give you my other favorite places for seeds so you can poke your head in a check it out for beets, etc. I just learned about odd veggies from a class I attended called, "Beyond Tomatoes and Zucchini."
