How much is too much?

[CAjerseychick]

Query we have tons of left overs-- cornflakes in milk from breakfast,fat from meat from dinner, spilled dog food from the dogs bowls, veggie trimmings from salad-- and every 3 days or so I bring back 4 or 5 hospital dinners-- mac n cheese, salsibury steak, pork cutlets-- dinners are "balanced " to mean some protein, a carb (rice, polenta, mash potatoes), a veggie (steamed brocolli, peas, , carrots) minus much seasonings and low in fat-- for my flock of 16 birds-- 8 and 12 weeks old.... They have free access to Purina start n grow at all times and free range about in our small back yard area-- appear healthy and thriving...
They are Jersey Giants, and I dont expect them to lay til Spring (one is roosting on my leg as I type- chicken obsession is being on your laptop on Backyard chickens while you are IN your chicken yard...)-- but someone said that they wont lay if I feed too many scraps?....
we are a small family of 3 (maybe the odd house guest or two, plus 3 dogs, so averages 5 persons?)
so not too concerned with our birds' production of eggs -- they are pets, and love the look and temprament of the Breed-- we would like to use eggs for baking and maybe go through a dozen in 10 days or so...
we are OK with them starting laying in the Spring....
So would like feedback...THX in advance....

 

[Erica]

I've heard that commonly too, CAjerseychick, and my feeling is it's sort-of true but not really. That is, if your scraps are high in protein, not too high in salt (bad for birds' kidneys) and fairly low in fat, they won't delay laying and may well bring it on quicker (if there's a lot of protein). I'd be a little concerned about any processed food (hamburger buns etc), as they'd be taking away space in the crop for more nutritious food, and milk that hasn't been soured with probiotics can sometimes cause diarrhea, but it's a question of balance.

As the birds get close to lay it may be a good idea to reduce the scraps but only so you can be sure they're getting the right minerals for eggshells (they need a lot of calcium carbonate).

cheers,
Erica

 

[CAjerseychick]

I've heard that commonly too, CAjerseychick, and my feeling is it's sort-of true but not really. That is, if your scraps are high in protein, not too high in salt (bad for birds' kidneys) and fairly low in fat, they won't delay laying and may well bring it on quicker (if there's a lot of protein). I'd be a little concerned about any processed food (hamburger buns etc), as they'd be taking away space in the crop for more nutritious food, and milk that hasn't been soured with probiotics can sometimes cause diarrhea, but it's a question of balance.

As the birds get close to lay it may be a good idea to reduce the scraps but only so you can be sure they're getting the right minerals for eggshells (they need a lot of calcium carbonate).

cheers,
Erica

THX Erica,
I work in a hospital and so much food goes to waste (not even compost) and my chickens love scraps it seems a shame not to utilize what we got....