I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[7L Farm]

Ok!! I talked to the man the owner of Forco. He had studies done with this product & said by all means its good for Chickens. He said it really helps their digestive track & helps them with stress & also helps them with absorbing the feed your feeding your animals. I'm no nutritionist so its hard for me to communicate what he was totally talking about. He markets the product targeting Horses. Its just the way he runs his business. That's how he chooses to market the product. Makes since because normally people with horses means big money I guess. I don't raise horses I raise birds. Well, we kept talking & I told him what about me feeding this product to my Bob White Quail. He said by all means. He told me the amounts to feed & so on.
So I'm totally satisfied about using the product & will continue using the product. One thing is for sure he guaranteed that there's no way it will hurt the birds it will only help them enough said. Carol he said he got your texts & would be texting you back.

 

[7L Farm]

should you feed (game bird feed) to chickens in molt??

Yes, I fed mine GBS & 20% lay pellets when they were molting it helped them grow their feathers back. I mixed it half & half. Someone might have a better solution but thats what I did.

 

[azygous]

That is some very good news! Mavrik had me quite concerned. I was very upset last night before I went to sleep, worried I could be killing my chickens. You have NO idea how much I love and dote on my precious chickens.

The Forco rep hasn't got back to me yet, but I'm so relieved to know Forco isn't hurting my babies.

I really would love to know what he said about dosage, though. I'm giving them two scoops for fourteen hens since they seem to need that much so everyone ends up getting some before it's gone, and it's gone FAST!

By the way, my problem recidivist feather picker Flo has improved. She hasn't molested any feathers the last two days, so it's just a matter of a brief relapse. I believe we just may have found a true miracle cure.

 

[7L Farm]

Your OK on the amount your feeding. The guy I talked to lives in Colorado he's the manufacturer/ owner. We talked for quite awhile. Yes, the above mentioned shouldn't of said what he said without being able to back up his information.He had me doubting the product & I hear ya I don't wanna hurt my livestock/ pets.

 

[equius]

Hi, I'm Jim Rea and I am an on line distributor of Forco. I have used Forco on my chickens and the owners of Forco used it for their birds when they were in the business of raising Cornish Game Hens.

Forco is a Prebiotic not a Probiotic. The difference is that Probiotics are live cultures and Prebiotics aren't. The practical effect is that Probiotics are likely to have 90$ or more of them killed in the acid bath of a chicken's stomach and from what I read on the Internet chickens have a very acid stomach. Prebiotics, on the other hand, are microbe food and feed whatever species of micro-flora that are doing the work of digesting whatever the chickens are eating. Those micro-flora bloom and die depending on what the chicken is eating, so from my perspective we're better off to feed the microbes that are doing the work rather than introducing a microbial species that may or may not be helpful. That's not to say that Probiotics are bad, I just don't believe they are as effective as a Prebiotic.

I used Forco for my chicks this spring and they all ran up and crowded around the Forco and ate it until it was gone. I didn't do any scientific studies but it sure seemed like they were healthy and grew quickly. I had some problems with pasty butt before I used the Forco and none after. Of course this is anecdotal evidence, but it seemed to work well for them. I feed the adult chickens a mixture of 1/4 Forco and 3/4 dry soybean meal. The soybean meal has 45% protein and I think it helps with feather plucking.

I suspect he results azygous has seen is the result of the Forco making the chickens digestive system more efficient and utilizing the protein more efficiently that is already being fed. To me that's pretty good evidence that Forco is helping the birds.

We recommend feeding 1 oz. per ten birds. I don't think you can over feed it, I would not offer it free choice although I can't see a good reason not to other than the cost.

Right now the cost is $14.95 for one pound and $24.95 for five pounds. the price of the 5 pounder will go up substantially the first of September.

If you have any more questions I will be glad to try to answer them.

Jim Rea

 

[azygous]

Jim, thanks so much for taking the time to clarify things, especially the recommended dosage. I think I'll cut back to a scoop and a half now that the girls are all doing so well with the feather picking issue. What I did was to set up a little tray that fits inside the oyster shell free choice feeder. All fourteen hens take their turns at the Forco each morning until it disappears. However, no one hen seems to overdo it.

My worst culprit Flo continues to show no interest in feather picking since her relapse last week. This is as close to a miracle cure as there is one. Flo was a very serious feather picker, to the point of being psycho, from a very early age. That she reformed after seven weeks on Forco, and has continued to be reformed, is testimonial to the product.

I'm so glad I tried it!

 

[equius]

Thanks, I'm glad it's working for you and I hope my "chicken division" of Forco picks up.

Jim

 

[ShakeragSusan]

Thanks for all the information!

And thanks to Jim, for pointing out there is indeed a difference in pre-biotics and pro-biotics. We have no feather picking problems here, but it sounds like something all chickens and guineas (and cats and dogs) would benefit from.

 

[7L Farm]

Gosh darn it. Its going up in price. Just like all feed . I think its about time to go up on my eggs as well. I'm gonna get some more. I haven't really noticed anything yet but I just started feeding my birds. I've also started feeding my quail the product as well. I've started putting Forco on top of their feed in the feeder. I guess that will work.

 

[azygous]

It takes a number of weeks before you should expect to see results from using the Forco supplement. I may have given up too soon had it not been for the friends who recommended it stressing that it took six weeks minimum before they began to see improvement in their problem pets.

As I mentioned before, it took almost two months before Flo demonstrated any change in behavior.

I want to report a new development. I have a Buff Brahma Joycie who has been bald on the neck, back and rump for over a year. I had another Brahma a few years back who was similarly stricken. "Stuck-in-molt" some call it. Someone on BYC suggested I feed her more protein, so I fed canned tuna. It jolted her out of molt and she regrew all her feathers.

Yesterday, I noticed the stubborn pin feathers on Joycie's neck have begun to lengthen. Finally! It could just be she's entering fall molt and they have been stimulated to grow by that. Or maybe Forco is improving her situation, too, by making her nutrient absorption more efficient.

It's too bad Forco will be going up in price, but if it solves these annoying problems, I'll live with it.