Just thought I'd share.....I see alot of ?'s on this subject here.

[mullers3acers]

When is the best time to feed the girls the protien suppliment ?

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

This is a great thread.

I just finished reading Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" in which I believe he claims corn is the primary ration fed to both factory chickens and beef. I need to go back and check that - how would they get chickens to lay efficiently on corn?

My chickens aren't laying yet at 18 weeks but my BO is sporting quite a red comb and wattle. I'm about to switch them over to laying feed. I give them meal worms as treats and whatever bugs they can find when they're outside. A handful of scratch when I want them to come into the coop at night or for visitors who want to feed them.

And I found a guy at the Farmers Market who gives me as many bunches of carrot tops as I want for the chickens for free as they just get tossed otherwise. I give them a bunch of these a day because I heard it's the greens that provide the richer yolks.

I also read recently that the beta-carotene in carrots is a natural worm preventive. Does anyone know if the beta-carotene is also in the carrot tops?

 

[catdaddyfro]

Joyryder asked : Do rich yolks come form green vegitation?

bawkbawkbawk: Do carrot tops contain beta carotene?
I'll write what I've found on these two related subs.

Yellow skin is the result of the hydroxycarotenoid pigment Xanthophyll, from the feed. Corn, alfalpha, and marigold petals are sources of xanthrophyll. Yellow yolks are also a result of the pigment, which is lost in parts of the skin as hens lay eggs. As the hens lay the eggs , the pigment is diverted into the yolk so it leaves the body.... and so on. from Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry.

So, I'd say check out what contains xanthrophyll and you go from there.

mullers3acres asked: When to feed the protien supplement?

I presume you mean under which conditions to feed the sup.
I say start feeding it as soon as you notice a definate loss of production or especially if you notice alot of feathers missing all of the sudden.
If you meant what time of day to feed them?
Usually the supplement sack will have feeding instructions on the bag: like I think sacman64 said the lonestar brand said to mix 2 to 4 lbs. per 100 birds with regular rations. So now you just deduce for the amout you are feeding and mix it and feed it along with your regular schedule.

Hope this helps you guys.

catdaddyfro

P.S. don't forget them Peanut Butter and Bannana sandwiches. They're good for ya.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

I am really enjoying this post. Thank you for your time and help.

 

[catdaddyfro]

rustsyswoman wrote: I am really enjoying this post. Thank you for your time and help.

Well, I appriciate the compliments and I still see alot of posts pertaining to this thread. I'm in the process of reading a very informative book I just checked out from the library on raising poultry.

So I'll just pass on that you can get alot of good info. from your local library on these topics such as egglaying, annual molt, feeding and nutritition.

Just remember this time of the year it is a natural and a normal time for egg producing fowl to slack off laying or for some to completely stop till next laying season.

Alot of time and a little TLC wil help the ol' gals out a bunch. A little extra protien, some extra green stuff, alot patience and usually they'll come back around.

Short daylight hours and cooler temps. is just Mother Nature saying its time to rest for a while. And most need a break after all they've done over the past year. I'd be sort of tired too, going thru what happens to them ol' gals everyday. I have said in the past if they had to rely on humans to produce what they do everyday them ol' gals would probably be in a bad bind.


catdaddyfro

P.S. don't forget them Peanut Butter and Bananna sandwiches. They're good for ya.

 

[fiberart57]

Thanks a lot for this post. I have six girls, 24 - 25 weeks old and no eggs. They run about a large yard, pretty full of clutter, but I've searched all over the yard, as has my grubhound (a cocker spaniel) and I haven't found any eggs. They've been on Purina Flock Raiser for the past six weeks, a feeder always full, and get about 1 cup of homemade scratch (oats, wheat, BOSS and a bit of corn now that it's getting cold) before they go to roost, so they get it at night only.

I started giving them some Purina Cat food every other day, and I'm upping it to once a day because despite their age, they seemed to go through a significant moult. I'm not giving them much at one time; about a handful or so that I hand feed to them so as to keep the grubhound away. This has been going on for about a week and I've noticed that my EE and the Austalorpe crouch down now and let me pet them, where before they were pretty skittish. I hope this means eggs before too long.

I live in Colorado where it is pretty cool now at night but we get a lot of sunshine. My neighbor has some RIR who continue to lay pretty well so I'm hopeful that some will produce.

Thanks again, this is a great thread especially for people like me who are new and wonder if I'm doing something wrong.

Mary in Colorado

 

[chicks]

Hi there, I have bought Blue choice scratch and added BOSS. When you mean Protine supplement, what do you mean? Is there something to buy, or make your self? Help, I use Purina Layana feed and my chickens are 24 weeks old and only one is laying. i would like to add some better protine if I can. Help. Getting cold in Vermont!

 

[ChooksChick]

FiberArt57- your girls are molting?? I didn't think birds did that the first year! Perhaps the cat food isn't working well for them. I would instead use a gamebird starter, as it won't have the many additives and ingredients that cat food may contain that can be hard on chickens.

When I was concerned about getting eggs long ago, someone told me to give them fish or fish food or meal, citing the added protein would kick them into high gear and get them going.

I have a goldfish pond and gave them a few handfuls of feed, but then though I ought to stick closer to a natural, less processed source and gave them a casserole! I got out the freezer-burnt salmon, the miller infested brown rice, the stale cereal, the over due tofu (2#!) and the two-week old chicken broth and tossed it all into my iron dutch oven to bake for an hour.

They got a couple of cups of it for 4 days and then I had 5 new layers!

It was that easy...the other few came along soon after. I let them start when they're ready these days- not as nutty with anticipation!

 

[fiberart57]

Chooks Chick
I"m glad to hear the surprise in your post, but, yeah, I THINK they molted or continue. Their run and house was full of feather; enough for a pillow I'd say. There were points where the feathers were a couple of inched deep. I'd heard that they lose baby feathers and grow "big girl" ones; called a "soft molt". But I'm new and could have gotten confused.

I'm feeding them the cat chow on recommendation by several on this forum; it's Purina and 32% protein. They get about 1/3 a cup once a day.

I guess I should just learn to be more patient but I have six different breeds, I would have though one of them would start laying now.

They get Flock Raiser which is 20% protein but they really don't seem to go through it very fast. It's always out for them and I've watched them go in and out of the run to eat and then go back into the yard.

Anyway, thanks for the Gamebird suggestion; I'll consider it. Any more talk about food and they'll turf me to the Feeding forum

Mary

 

[Minniechickmama]

I have 8 Dark Cornish hens that hatched in March of this year. I got them from my neighbor (who ordered Red Production and got Dark Cornish and didn't want them) They were laying when I got them from her in August. I got 5 eggs for a couple of days, then 4 , then 3, the 1 then none for a while. Then after a couple of weeks, I got one a day around 5pm. Then I think, judging by the shape and size of the eggs, I had two laying but still getting one egg a day. Then after a couple of weeks of that, nothing.
Now, I will cut them a little slack because they were in a PVC style pen when I got them and there they stayed until a couple of weeks ago when I made them a little house that they can free range from. We are working on the Poultry Palace and hopefully they will be in there before the holidays, but they seem to love their little house and spend a good deal of time in it.
Add to this equation, I have a Standard Poodle puppy who likes to chase the ladies when we aren't looking.
Okay, so they were a bit stressed from the move. Then they had a pen that wasn't quite right for laying, (even though I had a nice 4-hole nesting rack for them), and now the days are getting shorter and colder temps are here.
What I need to know, is there a way to get these ladies back into production? I am tired of feeding them and getting nothing in return except a bunch of poop.
I am feeding a laying mash (same as my neighbor was feeding), free choice grit and oyster shell and plenty of clean water. They have been "on the range" eating lots of clover that we have as a cover crop on the site where their big house is being built.
Any suggestions would be SO nice. These seem calm and comfortable enough, and they have ample space and a nice dark nesting area to poop in, I mean lay in. Now I would like some fresh eggs again.