Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[3riverschick]

LOL - that's what I told my friends just the other week. Our birds starting molting in July. They have never molted that early. Usually it is the middle to last of August before the first ones start molting. But this year they were early and several friends within a few hours drive of me have also had their birds start molting already.

I have birds starting to molt too. I am moving my flock to Nutrena Feather Fixer feed. I have several hens who aren't laying well. From what I have read on various websites this evening, this feed will make a difference according to the many folk who have used it on their birds. I still have the one question about calcium content for the roosters but haven't seen it discussed or any negative press on its effect, if any on the males. I was going to cull these several hens but now, seeing the success other folk have had in bringing hens into lay with this feed, I am going to start them on it first and see how many eggs "fall out of the tree", so to speak.
Best, Karen

 

[3riverschick]

She may be fixin to molt. We are getting into the time when year to year and a half hens will be molting, and I have heard about some starting already this year.

Remember, some breeds will not look bad when they molt the first time--you will see extra feathers though.

No they don't look bad, yes, I am seeing extra feathers. They are about 14 months old.
Hum,
Karen

 

[bnjrob]

I have birds starting to molt too. I am moving my flock to Nutrena Feather Fixer feed. I have several hens who aren't laying well. From what I have read on various websites this evening, this feed will make a difference according to the many folk who have used it on their birds. I still have the one question about calcium content for the roosters but haven't seen it discussed or any negative press on its effect, if any on the males. I was going to cull these several hens but now, seeing the success other folk have had in bringing hens into lay with this feed, I am going to start them on it first and see how many eggs "fall out of the tree", so to speak.
Best, Karen

Hmmm, that's interesting. I may look at that feed and see what is different about it compared to what they are getting now.

One of our cocks has now taken to eating oyster shell. Have no idea why but it hasn't killed him yet.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Compared to regular layer, Feather Fixer has slightly higher protein, a bit of sulfur, and I think they tweak the amino acids a bit.

 

[hellbender]

I have birds starting to molt too. I am moving my flock to Nutrena Feather Fixer feed. I have several hens who aren't laying well. From what I have read on various websites this evening, this feed will make a difference according to the many folk who have used it on their birds. I still have the one question about calcium content for the roosters but haven't seen it discussed or any negative press on its effect, if any on the males. I was going to cull these several hens but now, seeing the success other folk have had in bringing hens into lay with this feed, I am going to start them on it first and see how many eggs "fall out of the tree", so to speak.
Best, Karen

Karen, for decades, while we were operating for egg production, we fed the hens and cocks the same food. I have never seen anything that would make me think the boys were having anything bad happen to them. In fact, they always looked great, not counting molt.

When you think about it...just how long does a cock-bird live, usefully? Five years max, and that's really pushing it....a bunch. Most have out lived their usefulness in a flock's dynamics in about two years...maybe three.

If they lived twenty or thirty years, I'd start worrying about the calcium then...lol

 

[Beekissed]

I agree. My flock have always been fed the same thing...chicks, hens, cock birds. Not to mention they get up to 10% digestible calcium from the better forage out on range, so that piddly 4% in layer feed is nothing. The males have bigger, more dense bones and they perform more activity than do the hens, so they need that calcium just as much. Same with my chicks out on range...their little feet run so many steps to keep up with the mama, they need all the nutrition and minerals they can get.

Never saw any ill effects, even in my oldest birds.

 

[ronott1]

From what I have figured after looking into calcium for males, it takes two plus years for it to kill them. It is slow and if you do not expect to keep them more than about three years(They lose fertility as they age so likely you would not keep them that long), calcium will not be too bad or noticeable.

There are issues with feeding layer feed to older hens too. Purina put out a bulletin that said that layeena is too aggressive of a feed for older hens. It is not just the calcium but all of the ingredient together are geared towards commercial hens that are less than two years old. Purina said that they were going to come out with a new feed for older hens.

There is a lot to learn about chickens and husbandry and we should change the way we do things as both poultry science and our knowledge changes. Life is about learning and adapting.

I am a bit familiar with slow toxic things. My DW had a parathyroid tumor removed that was slowly poisoning her for 15 plus years. She seemed fine until a couple of years ago.

The tumor kill people after 20 to 25 years. A lot of medical people will "watch" it and not remove the tumor. By the way, It kills you by putting calcium from your bones and teeth into your blood.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

From what I have figured after looking into calcium for males, it takes two plus years for it to kill them. It is slow and if you do not expect to keep them more than about three years(They lose fertility as they age so likely you would not keep them that long), calcium will not be too bad or noticeable.

There are issues with feeding layer feed to older hens too. Purina put out a bulletin that said that layeena is too aggressive of a feed for older hens. It is not just the calcium but all of the ingredient together are geared towards commercial hens that are less than two years old. Purina said that they were going to come out with a new feed for older hens.

There is a lot to learn about chickens and husbandry and we should change the way we do things as both poultry science and our knowledge changes. Life is about learning and adapting.

I am a bit familiar with slow toxic things. My DW had a parathyroid tumor removed that was slowly poisoning her for 15 plus years. She seemed fine until a couple of years ago.

The tumor kill people after 20 to 25 years. A lot of medical people will "watch" it and not remove the tumor. By the way, It kills you by putting calcium from your bones and teeth into your blood.

I think it's good that Purina is adjusting their formulas to better serve their off-the-shelf customer base, people who tend to have either more diverse flocks than in the industry, or at least (eventually) older flocks.

I started my birds on Purina, and then suddenly going into their second winter they weren't doing well on it. Lots of naked birds. So we switched to a different off-the-shelf feed until we could get a custom feed from a little local mill. Our formula has extra protein and methionine (a sulfur amino acid -- also included in the Feather Fixer formula), which is good for growing and keeping feathers on the birds, and our birds look a LOT better now, even the older ones. I wonder if I'd been inspired to switch feeds if the Purina formula had been adjusted sooner.

Eggs and fish are good sources of methionine. Our feed has fish in it, but as lots of the birds are molting, my whole flock is due for some nice eggy treats, I think.

The science suggests oyster shell calcium on the side is a great choice for laying hens. They pick up the oyster shell when their body needs calcium, and it is in a form that is more easily and in a more timely way converted to egg shells so helps their bones stay healthier for longer. That system also serves mixed flocks pretty well. Our ducks eat a LOT of calcium ... their egg shells are super thick, so this does not surprise me. The laying hens like to pick up the oyster shell on their way to the roosts for the night.

It's really nice to have just one feed I can use for everyone.

 

[ronott1]

I think it's good that Purina is adjusting their formulas to better serve their off-the-shelf customer base, people who tend to have either more diverse flocks than in the industry, or at least (eventually) older flocks.

I started my birds on Purina, and then suddenly going into their second winter they weren't doing well on it. Lots of naked birds. So we switched to a different off-the-shelf feed until we could get a custom feed from a little local mill. Our formula has extra protein and methionine (a sulfur amino acid -- also included in the Feather Fixer formula), which is good for growing and keeping feathers on the birds, and our birds look a LOT better now, even the older ones. I wonder if I'd been inspired to switch feeds if the Purina formula had been adjusted sooner.

Eggs and fish are good sources of methionine. Our feed has fish in it, but as lots of the birds are molting, my whole flock is due for some nice eggy treats, I think.

The science suggests oyster shell calcium on the side is a great choice for laying hens. They pick up the oyster shell when their body needs calcium, and it is in a form that is more easily and in a more timely way converted to egg shells so helps their bones stay healthier for longer. That system also serves mixed flocks pretty well. Our ducks eat a LOT of calcium ... their egg shells are super thick, so this does not surprise me. The laying hens like to pick up the oyster shell on their way to the roosts for the night.

It's really nice to have just one feed I can use for everyone.

I used feather fixer last winter to help with molting. It works very well.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

As for feed additives to combat mites, I've just read about one they've tested in France called "PARALICE," but I can't find very good info about what it actually is, beyond "an in-feed patented non medicated mixture of aromatic extracts."

http://en.engormix.com/MA-poultry-i...novative-approach-tackle-red-t1528/165-p0.htm

The recommendation with the PARALICE is to add it to feed for a few weeks, a few times per year. No egg withdrawal necessary.