Is it worth the extra $$

[JacinLarkwell]

Okay here is a question for which I will be kicked in the knickers....The Layer Pellet thing...mine hate them so much ( I know that is rare - but maybe because i give them micro-greens, scratch, worms, grit, shells, herbs, quinoa, arugula, fennel, tomatoes, berries....). So my question is - if a chicken were to just happen to be a wild chicken out there in the world with no farmer-mommy - they wouldn't eat pellets right? So just curious why this is such an essential thing. Not denying that it is, just would love to be better persuaded. Just while we are on the topic of pellets. I ended up buying two brands that have pellets mixed in with other nutrients and soaking it all so that they get the benefit of the pellets as they eat the other stuff - but the highlight of our time together is when i head down to the coop in the morning and greet them with goodies. HELP I am a chicken enabler

It's just convenient. The pellets may taste bland, but they have all the stuff the birds need

 

[Madie'sOddFlock]

Okay here is a question for which I will be kicked in the knickers....The Layer Pellet thing...mine hate them so much ( I know that is rare - but maybe because i give them micro-greens, scratch, worms, grit, shells, herbs, quinoa, arugula, fennel, tomatoes, berries....). So my question is - if a chicken were to just happen to be a wild chicken out there in the world with no farmer-mommy - they wouldn't eat pellets right? So just curious why this is such an essential thing. Not denying that it is, just would love to be better persuaded. Just while we are on the topic of pellets. I ended up buying two brands that have pellets mixed in with other nutrients and soaking it all so that they get the benefit of the pellets as they eat the other stuff - but the highlight of our time together is when i head down to the coop in the morning and greet them with goodies. HELP I am a chicken enabler

You don't have to have pellets. You could get crumbles although that increases waste and often times increases the price. You could make your own which you seem like you're well on your way to, you just have to make sure that they're still getting the same nutrients as the pellets. Also, wild chickens aren't bred or fed for producing eggs so they tend to produce a lot fewer eggs... It's all ideas and options to keep in mind though.

 

[WTCH Ho Dog]

Huh. I always was told two female twins would be fertile but they would all be sterile with a twin brother

Not necessarily. As not all heifer twins to a bull will be sterile. We pull a blood sample on all heifer twins and send it to UC Davis for DNA testing. We occasionally see a normal heifer and a sterile bull calf twin, where the bull is either a monorchid or a cryptochid. Even with surgery there’s no guarantee he’ll produce normal sperm

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Not necessarily. As not all heifer twins to a bull will be sterile. We pull a blood sample on all heifer twins and send it to UC Davis for DNA testing. We occasionally see a normal heifer and a sterile bull calf twin, where the bull is either a monorchid or a cryptochid. Even with surgery there’s no guarantee he’ll produce normal sperm

Oh cool! I didn't know you could test them for that

 

[Folly's place]

Wild chickens, the original Jungle Fowl, are small, hens may lay 30 eggs each year, and they live in SE Asia in the tropics.
Our modern birds are larger, might lay 300+ eggs each year, and live on property that's nowhere going to meet their needs.
Home made diets are difficult and expensive to balance, and of course your birds like their goodies instead of their pelleted complete feed. I like strawberries and chocolate too!
Get a complete feed, like an all-flock feed, that's fresh by mill date where you shop, and offer oyster shell separately. then offer limited goodies, so they are getting all the nutrients needed.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Cattle aren't really supposed to produce twins, it's not safe for either the cow or the calves. And having one of the pair sterile isn't an advantage either.
Mary

 

[Ferd Berfel]

My yolks are deep yellow/ orange. The girls free range, eat the cheapest food I can find, mixed with cracked corn. They also get oyster shells, and fruit/vegetable scraps and anything the dog and cats won’t eat. The barn cats eat nearly anything. If the expensive food is so great why do they have to add marigold to make the yolk look as good as mine? Because of all the protein they get free ranging?

 

[KWynne]

My girls will not touch the Dumor at all. Either Happy Flock or Purina.

 

[icy_flames]

Organic feed and organic scratch. I'm working on switching their fresh veggie snacks to organic and also buy a good filter to put on my sink for their water. I have less than 10 chickens so it's doable for me. They go through a 50 pound bag of feed I believe every 3 weeks or so.

My reason for organic is I once saw a guy who had raised chickens for 40 years say "they have such small bodies and organs that they are more sensitive to the effects of chemicals that is in standard feed". That made a lot of sense to me.

Now I need to figure out organic dog food. I have 3 dogs that eat 6 cups of food a day. $19 for 4 pounds of organic dog food is impossible for me. I do give them a really good grain free brand.

 

[oldhen2345]

Wild chickens, the original Jungle Fowl, are small, hens may lay 30 eggs each year, and they live in SE Asia in the tropics.
Our modern birds are larger, might lay 300+ eggs each year, and live on property that's nowhere going to meet their needs.
Home made diets are difficult and expensive to balance, and of course your birds like their goodies instead of their pelleted complete feed. I like strawberries and chocolate too!
Get a complete feed, like an all-flock feed, that's fresh by mill date where you shop, and offer oyster shell separately. then offer limited goodies, so they are getting all the nutrients needed.
Mary

I thought wild chickens were more on the line of gamebirds- slim, athletic and fast. Not like the fat, spoiled yard candy I have (see avatar).