HELP**I can't find "finisher" chicken food.(Next step up from starter)

[CoyoteMagic]

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Sorry, I don't have anything like that. I feed flock raiser because I have so many different types of birds. Chickens, guineas, quail. Flock Raiser is much cheaper than buying different bags of feed

 

[HorseFeathers]

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This is what I do too.

So do we.

 

[Beekissed]

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Sometimes too much calcium in the diet can cause organ problems, kidneys I think.

Horejody, do you have a link to that post? I'd like to find out more specifics.

 

[CUDA]

Well, my thoughts are this on the calcium. If you force a bird to eat something it's body doesn't need, it has to get rid of it somehow, and this can be hard on the kidneys for sure. It is the same for other nutrients as well, too much of anything isn't good for the body to handle. The proper ratio of protein, fat, plus vitamins and minerals, will make your fowl the best they can be. In human terms, you can live just fine on a poor diet, but if you eat a healthy, balanced diet, you will be healthier in the long run. Same goes for chickens. JMO though.

 

[Beekissed]

Here is an interesting article on avian gout that shows all the potential causes of the disease. Considering these, I find it would be very difficult to pin it down to mere calcium consumption:

http://www.vetcareindia.com/aviangout_bull.htm#nutritional

It seems more likely that it is a combination of things that may cause a bird to experience gout or visceral damages. The fact that many people feed laying rations to their entire flock and never experience problems shows that this article may be pretty accurate. There seem to be other mitigating factors that can and do contribute to these conditions and it cannot be concluded that calcium is the only culprit. Barring a necropsy, there could be no conclusive proof that it was excess calcium alone that caused a bird's death...and even with a necropsy, the article states its difficult to prove this conclusively.

Its an interesting read, if anyone cares to link over. Imagine controlling all the other contributing factors as carefully as one tries to monitor calcium intake through layer feeds. This is what it would take to, once and for all, protect your flock from avian gout or nephropathy.

I found this phrase of particular interest:

Antibiotics like gentamycin, sulfonamides and nitrofurosones are known to cause renal damage especially in young chicks. The drugs, which get excreted through the kidney, have their own imbalancing effect on pH and renal metabolism.

 

[ams3651]

I bought 16% game bird feed about a month or so ago and they are doing well. Its in small pellets the stuff I get from the feed mill. I offer oyster shell but I dont think they really go for it and egg shells are fine. I didnt want to take the chance of hurting my roo cause I am fond of him. Some people dont really care about the roos but I do. I think they eat a little more than they did before.

 

[digitS']

DeKalb is a major, international source for commercial laying breed chicks. This is from their veterinary services department:

urolithiasis - kidney tissue disease

The DeKalb vets report specific management mistakes that led to kidney damage in pullets:

1 - feeding left over lay ration from previous flock (doubled expected mortality throughout life of flock)
2 - feeding low levels of phosphorus (increased mortality rate)
3 - feeding layer ration too early (under 15 weeks of age)
4 - using a large particle calcium source for pullets

Steve