International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[TexasBlues]

I think they were talking about cracked grains and processed pellet foods like chick crumble. I’ll go back and see if I can find the exact info.

 

[Tstraub]

I listen to the poultry keepers podcast (very entertaining) and they said nutrition can cause white feathers, like feeding stale food that is past shelf life. They said something like chick crumbles only have about 30 day shelf life.

I’m going to have to check out that podcast. I currently listen to bawk talk and crazy chicken people. I’m always looking for something to listen to while I’m at work.

 

[TexasBlues]

I’m going to have to check out that podcast. I currently listen to bawk talk and crazy chicken people. I’m always looking for something to listen to while I’m at work.

I think you’ll like it. There’s no BS filler talk. Everything is succinct and on point.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/poultry-keepers-podcast/id1689903946?i=1000615835287

 

[chickengr]

I listen to the poultry keepers podcast (very entertaining) and they said nutrition can cause white feathers, like feeding stale food that is past shelf life. They said something like chick crumbles only have about 30 day shelf life.

cracked corn has 2 day shelf life. after that nutritional value drops rapidly. that's what my vet told me.

 

[chickengr]

Interesting, the grain is harvested in the summer/ fall and stored till its gone. I would think there are times that its older than 30 days just sitting in the warehouse waiting to go on the shelves.

whole grain has long shelf life.

 

[Tstraub]

I think you’ll like it. There’s no BS filler talk. Everything is succinct and on point.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/poultry-keepers-podcast/id1689903946?i=1000615835287

I tried listening to it since I’m working tonight. It seems entertaining and informative but I’m having a lot of trouble hearing the guy with the deep voice. I work at a grocery warehouse driving a spotter truck. I spend all night moving trailers to and away from the building so the people inside can load or unload them.

That guy’s voice is just too close to the tone of my truck’s engine and the engines on the front of the refrigerated trailers 3 ft behind my head. I’ll give it a go for my commute to and from work in my personal car.

 

[TexasBlues]

Interesting, the grain is harvested in the summer/ fall and stored till its gone. I would think there are times that its older than 30 days just sitting in the warehouse waiting to go on the shelves.

I found this about ground grains

Pg 158 of The Small Scale Poultry Flock by Harvey Ussery quoted Jeff Mattocks regarding "stale feeds". Mattocks states, "Feeds are at the optimum level for up to 14 days, and are satisfactory up to 45 days after grinding or milling. After 45 days, the feed is generally so stale or oxidized that poultry appetite will be serverely depressed. Oxidation starts immediately after the grinding or cracking of the grain."

Pelletized feed has some kind of stabilizers added and they stay good for 3-6 months.

 

[marchick]

whole grain has long shelf life.

Maybe I need to go to whole grain. With the ruff winters. It needs to be good longer than a week. We get snowed in and may not leave for a while.

 

[marchick]

I found this about ground grains

Pelletized feed has some kind of stabilizers added and they stay good for 3-6 months.

That's good with the weather bad. I can't go get feed sometimes.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

I usually stock up on layers pellets when I can get them cheap from someone I know, because I can be confident they’ll last a while in the shed, (£5 a 40lbs bag rather than £12+) and pick up fresh cracked corn and wheat when I need it. I use a ratio of 1 bag of layers to about a third of grains, stored in containers in each pen for a week or so. The only problems I get are if the containers aren’t shut properly and get damp, but generally this doesn’t happen.
This works well for me, gives the chooks more variety than pellets alone, is mostly mess free to stop attracting rats (I find the dust from layers mash gets left for rats), keeps the yolks orange, and is the most cost effective solution I have. Obviously this is very dependent on a person’s location, contacts, etc.