Illinois...

[GatsbysGirl]

Wow, I need some of that coop seed. Where do you get it? It's hard work building them, much easier to just plant them and water them till they grow.

I just spit water all over my keyboard!

If you figure that one out let me know. Much easier than building one with my DH.

 

[NotAFarm]

I want some coop seed too!

If your marriage can survive coop building, it can survive anything!

 

[GatsbysGirl]

I want some coop seed too!

If your marriage can survive coop building, it can survive anything!

Isn't that the truth! We are getting ready to build coop #2, and we aren't agreeing on anything.

 

[MissFrog]

So would it make sense to say that maybe our Silkie might be all grown up and ready to lay eggs but she might just be not laying because it is cold outside? And that she might start once the weather improves...?
She is the most charming bird we have and she has us wrapped around her 5th toe... every night, when DH goes out to lock the other birds inside their coop, she gets to come home with him and sits on the edge of her basket, on the couch in the TV room until the next morning, when he goes out to open up the coop. That happened because when we got her and the other "new girl", we were afraid that the other girls would pick on her during the night when we were not watching. And because she could not walk up in the coop. So she has been spending every night inside, enjoying extra snacks while watching TV with us, while the others freeze their fuzzy butts out in the coop in sub-zero temps. They lay eggs every day, and she does not... where is the justice in that?
And I need coop seed too. Poultry show season is around the corner and we will face surpopulation if we can't grow a new one soon...

 

[tbitt]

Oh my, your hen has it WAY too good! Bless her for figuring you out so well!

I have heard, that feeding them too much protein can cause them not to lay. But I don't know for sure...that could be an old wives tails.

(Some old guy in the feed store told me that when I was buying corn for my ducks/chickens. I mix corn in their winter feed for an extra boost of energy and "warmth" )

 

[ducks4you]

Silkies reliably lay about one egg/week. They are show birds.

 

[kfacres]

Oh my, your hen has it WAY too good! Bless her for figuring you out so well!

I have heard, that feeding them too much protein can cause them not to lay. But I don't know for sure...that could be an old wives tails.

(Some old guy in the feed store told me that when I was buying corn for my ducks/chickens. I mix corn in their winter feed for an extra boost of energy and "warmth" )

corn isn't protein-- corn is energy...

I mix my protein levels to 20-21 percent in my breeder birds- and they lay better than their mates in the general egg laying pen.

Protein in excess- is just excreted out the body. It doesn't do any harm, nor good.. .just excreted.

Actually, the opposite- feeding not enough protein, and too much energy- will cause them to quit laying. Think about it- eggs are made of what- protein and calcium-- primarily.. Without enough of either- you're not going to get eggs.

 

[tbitt]

Thanks for the reply Kfacres... I see I was wrong by calling it protein.

By rour reply I think the guy at the farm store was pretty much right. Too much of the corn in their diet will/can casue them to lay less.

We did decrease a bit of the corn. Not sure I want to totally quit it here in winter... The ducks have started to lay again.

 

[MissFrog]

Yes, we don't expect much production from her... we are just worried that there might be something wrong with her because she has not started at all. We are not sure how old she is because she got her "grown up" not as a chick, but she was born last spring, maybe April or May.

As far as feed, we give all of them: organic feed + scratch (corn, oats, etc) + dried worms for treats when we need them to return in the coop, etc. They get to go out of the coop when we're home and they graze in the little grass that is exposed from the snow. And we try to give them a head of salad or something like that once in a while so that they get actual green food in the middle of winter. I hope we are giving them the right stuff, this is our first year and our first winter. The other breeds are laying without any problem, only the silkie is not...

 

[kfacres]

"COMPLETE" feed isn't named for the heck of it. Those feeds are geared to be a sole diet for the birds labeled as such. Sure, each company will vary from each other slightly. But the basic nutrients and minerals for the animal will be present in each one.

By adding ANY other things to the diet, you are increasing, or decreasing something... by adding scratch, it's increasing energy, and decreasing protein.

whole shelled corn is 8-9% CP; oats and barley are 11-12%. Common chicken layer feed will be from 13-17%.

If you mix the feed, or the birds consume a 1:1 ratio of shelled corn and layer mash- you drop in CP by 3-8%... If you are anywhere near the extreme- you're asking for trouble.

For those who think chickens need 'treats', or 'scratch'- you'd better be supplimenting them with a protein source, or it's not adequite for bodily functions.

I feed my breeder birds commercial layer feed laced with bean meal to up the CP to 20%- my general egg layers get whatever the cheapest layer feed is at the local feed store where all our other livestock feed comes from. The general eggers get free ranged each day- where they can pick up after the rumminants--- however, they can also average that out with natural protein sources....