help please????

[mixedflockmomma]

My birds are 1yr old mixed flock. Last month they stopped laying. And they are boney, fluffy but not much meat. They free range, so I expect some leanness but not this much. I started supplementing with layer feed at night. My chicks are given medicated feed exclusively until they are 2 months old. They show no signs of sickness other than being thin. Just did 1 round of worming 2 weeks ago, gonna worm again this week. Checked and no signs of mites. Dusted monthly with de. Coop spreyed every 2 weeks with undiluted acv. Waterers washed every time they are refilled, and acv added to drinking water.

 

[Eggcessive]

They should have feed available all of their waking hours for free-feeding. What did you use for worming? It sounds as though you have a handle on what is going on, and the only suggestions I have would be to have some crushed oyster shell or crushed egg shells available in a separate container, and to stop the ACV in the water over the hot summer months. ACV can decrease calcium absorption during hot weather.

 

[mixedflockmomma]

Not sure of name of wormer, Wayzn(sp?). Its in a white bottle with blue lettering, bought at feedstore. I keep a bowl of crushed oyster shell available to them. I did not know about the acv causing issues with calcium absorbtion. Thank you for the info. Unfortunatly with 30+ birds running around, I cant afford to keep feed available free-choice. As it is, I go through a 50lb bag a week feeding them at night. I did try free-choice, I was filling my 5lb feeder four to five times a day and they stopped free-ranging.

 

[casportpony]

Thin hens aren't gonna lay as many eggs as fatter ones, so if you have hens for eggs, you might want to reduce you flock size to a number that you can afford to feed free choice. Or, feed them twice a day and see if their weight improves from that.

-Kathy

 

[Eggcessive]

In the summertime when there are lush grasses, and a lot of bugs and worms, you can get by with less feeding, but they still need some in the morning and evening. In winter when there is not much to eat, they will need more. Chicken feed seems expensive until I look to see how much my dog food costs nowadays, and it lasts longer too. Do you sell your eggs? I take mine to a local co-op to sell, and then I pretty much break even with feed and supplements. People here buy all of our eggs at $3.50 per dozen, and would pay more.

 

[mixedflockmomma]

I havent been able to sell eggs, I cant even give them away. Most of my birds are only 1-2months old. Ive had no luck selling them at this age. Only 6 hens are old enough to lay eggs. i just sold five this afternoon to my neighbor, so i could lower the amount of feed im using and to buy a bag of feed. I am basically giving them away. My goal was to raise enough cockrels for the freezer and have hens for eggs, but they are too skinny to bother eating and no eggs. Im to the point of giving up on this endevor. And as for a dog food bill, we barely have one. We have a small chiwennie and he eats what we eat. Wont even touch the premium dogfood.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

If you really can't afford it then I'd suggest selling them to someone who can. If you could support a few then I would cut back on the number. Just start small and work your way up as you go.

(just as an example) I have 13 currently with 2 ducks. In winter I go through 50 lbs in a week (plus extras of my choosing), but in summer it can last a month or more. I leave it out all day long so they can go in and eat as they please and free range as they please.

 

[casportpony]

I'm n the same boat as you... I have about 40 that are 8-10 weeks old that aren't good for anything, lol. Been thinking about putting an ad on Craigslist - 50 cents each, must buy all 40. Just a thought...

-Kathy

 

[MeepBeep]

Go around town to the local grocery stores, especially small family owned or ethnic ones and explain you have a no-profit hobby farm, and see if you can cut a deal to get all their 'pulled day old' produce and/or bread set aside for you to pickup vs being put in their dumpster every day... You might be surprised at how easy it can be to get a TON of free chicken food if you make a few friends... Also to help seal the deal offer to sign a waiver that the produce will 'not be used for human consumption' release... You should still supplement with a balance feed offering but your feed bills will disappear...