I'm Sending Feed to be Analyzed

[Aunt Angus]

No fun! One of my teenage "friends" threw a dog turd into my mouth during a sleepover, eww. Boys will be boys, I guess.

Ew. That's gross. Like, really really gross.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

44 pages is too much to read through. I just heard about this feed thing from my sister. She read this article someone wrote and how her chickens stopped laying for like 90 days (or something…I don’t remember the number) but she changed the feed and the next day they were laying. I told her that they were probably silly and just writing an article. There is so many factors that can be in play. As I do know all of this has been stated already. I am curious what the results are. My local feed store just started carrying this brand, Producer's Pride. It’s a little cheaper but I don’t know about it so I haven’t bought it. I like to stick with what I know though.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Eeeewww.

Did yoou punch him?

If you're asking me, no. I just shoved a cricket into his mouth in retaliation

 

[Joel Just Joel]

Ew. That's gross. Like, really really gross.

You're telling me! Sorry if that got us out of the family friendly realm, but it's true and pertinent to the discussion. Sort of.

 

[PapaCharles]

I think you were being fairly polite about why you think certain methods are not worth the fuss. But plenty of other people have also said that one method or another is not worth trying, because something else is better, and not all of them have been polite about it.


That's what you think. And it's fine for you to do that with your flock.
But some other people think testing makes sense, so it's fine for them to do that too.


Some of the people on this forum do have the knowledge to understand the test results, or they know where to look up the parts they don't yet know.

As for the nutritional analysis on the bag-- is that accurate? One theory is that maybe the feed does NOT match what is printed on the bag, but is actually short of one nutrient or another. Testing the feed is one way to answer that question.


I don't quite understand what you mean here.

I definitely said that people COULD switch feeds if they want to see whether it helps.
And yes, I suggested that if it helps, they could switch back to the maybe-bad feed, to see if the problem comes back (implying bad feed) or stays gone (implying some other cause).

But I don't think that people switching feeds is "part of the problem."

I know there are some people who switch feeds often, according to what is available and fresh at their local store, and some of them report that their chickens perform equally well on all the kinds they use. I have read their experiences, but never tried that myself.

Edit: I re-read my own former post, and now I see what you mean. If someone's hens are not laying, and they are changing feed to try and fix that, it is a problem IF the not-laying is caused by something else. Changing feed in that case would distract them from finding the real cause of the problem. So changing feed can be a reasonable thing to try, but eventually it's useful to figure out whether it really did help or not.

Well, I don't delve into conspiracy theories, and I've deduced that parts of this thread are based on those. If you think I've cut anyone or told anyone what to do with their flock, you are wrong and probably one who can't handle the expression from others that doesn't lock step with your own

I assume most members here are grown adults. How about you allow them to defend themselves if they've been slighted instead of manufacturing false outrage on their behalf?

 

[BelovedBirds]

My neighbor did to me like 8 years ago. But we were kids on a 40 minute bus ride so it was bound to happen sooner or later

Oh my god

 

[BelovedBirds]

Boys will be boys, I guess.

Nope, nope, noo
This saying got to go.
Being a boy doesn't justify that

 

[NatJ]

you are...probably one who can't handle the expression from others that doesn't lock step with your own

How you got that from my post has me thoroughly puzzled, since I tried to very careful to say that ALL kinds of experimenting and testing can be a good idea. I only have a problem with the idea that one method (any one) is the best and the others should be skipped or ignored.

So I thought you and I were doing the same thing: expressing opinions that don't quite match, listing reasons on one side or the other, having a sensible discussion on the subject.

I assume most members here are grown adults. How about you allow them to defend themselves if they've been slighted instead of manufacturing false outrage on their behalf?

I want to see the results of all the kinds of testing-- lab, changing feed, changing light, waiting it out, etc. And I really want the discussion to stay polite enough that this thread stays open. The mods have been closing threads that turn into rude arguments. So that is my personal interest in seeing this stay polite, and seeing all the options continue to be explored and discussed.

If you think I've cut anyone or told anyone what to do with their flock, you are wrong

You said several times that you think there's no point in sending feed to a lab to be tested, and people should just buy other feed. I might be wrong about WHY you said that. I am not wrong that you DID say it. Here are the quotes:

Unless all those variables are controlled, testing feed seems silly to me. One data point does not a conclusion make. Even variability within batches. Why don't people just buy another feed?

I don't believe I've cut down anyone's methods. On the contrary, I think it is far easier to switch feeds than go through the expense of testing. Every single bag of feed I have ever got gives the lab analysis right on the bag. Right? So, unless the person who mailed the test and gets the results back has the knowledge available in their brains to figure out what the results mean, then all we have is speculation.

 

[Joel Just Joel]

Nope, nope, noo
This saying got to go.
Being a boy doesn't justify that

You are right, of course. The kid was a jerk and I was being facetious when I justified his delinquent behavior. If he continued such behavior, he probably removed himself from the gene pool in later years.

I'm so glad you didn't disagree with my expression on the basis of being politically incorrect. That would be a great way to hurt some feelings and polarize a discussion. I reference the old song, Lola:
Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world
Except for Lola
Lo-Lo-Lo-Lo-Lola

 

[BelovedBirds]

You are right, of course. The kid was a jerk and I was being facetious when I justified his delinquent behavior. If he continued such behavior, he probably removed himself from the gene pool in later years.

I'm so glad you didn't disagree with my expression on the basis of being politically incorrect. That would be a great way to hurt some feelings and polarize a discussion. I reference the old song, Lola:
Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world
Except for Lola
Lo-Lo-Lo-Lo-Lola

I don't know that song