- Jun 13, 2011
- 66
- 1
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SO...I'm a newbie and have had my chickens (4 5-mo old pullets: 2 Barred Rock, 2 Americauna) for two weeks. I bought some Purina Flock Raiser from a certain chain. I've never seen chicken crumbles before so I didn't know what they were supposed to look or smell like. I've been feeding them on this--plus letting them forage in their chicken tractor, and giving them treats--for the whole time. I managed to dump all of the bag in my metal trash can, only to discover that the clumps in the bottom were attached to the side of the bag and the sides of the bag near the bottom had a little black on them.
Mildew. darn. Those chunks weren't normal. I don't think my girls ate the moldy chunks; and I just got some new feed today. I have cleaned and bleached their feeder. I know, however, that there was likely some mold in the feed, though, even if they didn't eat the chunks.
I've seen no signs of illness, but then, what do I know?
SO....have I done them irreparable harm? Is there a home treatment to catch any problems that might arise? How would I know if they were sick?
Also....having looked around, does anyone have a recommendation of metal v plastic cans for feed? I assumed galvanized metal was better (esp. for rodent prevention) but I've heard people say they "sweat." That wasn't the problem here, since the feed (grrr) came out of the bag that way.
Mildew. darn. Those chunks weren't normal. I don't think my girls ate the moldy chunks; and I just got some new feed today. I have cleaned and bleached their feeder. I know, however, that there was likely some mold in the feed, though, even if they didn't eat the chunks.
I've seen no signs of illness, but then, what do I know?
SO....have I done them irreparable harm? Is there a home treatment to catch any problems that might arise? How would I know if they were sick?
Also....having looked around, does anyone have a recommendation of metal v plastic cans for feed? I assumed galvanized metal was better (esp. for rodent prevention) but I've heard people say they "sweat." That wasn't the problem here, since the feed (grrr) came out of the bag that way.