molting/protein?

[Yard full o' rocks]

I "made good friends" with the local grocery store butcher. When they cut meat, there is a lot of scrap that is thrown away. My butcher friend will save it up for me and "sell" it to me VERY cheaply

I take it home, brown it well and then separate it into roughly 1/2 lb packages. I freeze them and take them out about once a week and feed it to the birds. They LOVE it, it increases protein levels as well as fats needed for feather sheen.

 

[centrarchid]

I mix the supplements after grinding as the powders tend to fall thru to the bottom of the grain mill and do not get thoroughly mixed in unless they are added afterwards. Grinding everything together prevents one bird from eating all the sunflower seed for instance, or one bird only eating millet, etc. which was happening when I first started feeding whole grains. Grinding everything together seems to stop this issue and they eat everything equally since it is all the same consistency.

Mine do the same at first but they quickly learn to go after a little of everything. It takes a little time to adapt to the variety.

 

[bana]

Dear sir
i hope you will be well ,please i need informations about brown lohmanm layer hens,about its product , feeding ,ages .and it disease .
All my wishes
Yours Adnan

 

[stages]

Thanks everybody for all the great ideas to help my flock thru our first molt =)

Me too. I'm soaking all of this info up before I build my coop & buy my birds.

 

[purpletree23]

My girls are going through an awful molt. One by one it seems. I have one that I would be embarrassed to have people see because she looks like she went through a hurricane. Poor thing even walks funny because of the pin feathers on her legs.

Anyway.......for this years molt I'm trying Nutrena brand Nature Wise Feather Fixer. I saw an ad for it and purchased it at Agway. Anyone can google it to get more info. Seems like a great product but my chickens won't eat it. So back to the previous years solutions for extra protein.

Ground up leftover meat, full fat yogurt, scrambled eggs, hulled sunflower seeds and chicken or turkey carcasses (baked) that everyone has around this time of year. I even have neighbors who save them for me. They think I'm nuts but that's OK. Those bones are picked clean when the chickens are done with them. It keeps them busy too. I also came across something by accident. My soil sample results came back from the state cooperative extension as being low in nitrogen. The organic fix for that is soybean meal. I purchased what I needed (my feed store is a drive through so I never saw the bags until I unloaded them) and noticed on the bag that it said animal feed. I read the label and found that the soybean meal is the leftover hulls from processing soybeans. The tag on the bag said the protein amount is 48%. The meal also has leftover oils etc. I called the feed store and asked them if I could feed it to my chickens. After belly laughing (I'm still learning) he said that I could add it as a supplement to the regular food. Twice a day I give my chickens just enough meal that they can clean up in 10 minutes. On other days I give other protein sources.

My family also uses natural peanut butter. I don't stir the oil back into the peanut butter before using I pour it off and save it. When I give the chickens leftovers from the fridge I mix in about a tablespoon of the oil or use olive oil if the food isn't fatty or oily already.

The rest of the Feather Fixer is being disguised in other foods and the chickens are eating it. Nothing goes to waste here. As for the carcasses my neighbors give me there must be at least 2 more meals of meat on the bones. But that's another post.

 

[TwoCrows]

Dear sir
i hope you will be well ,please i need informations about brown lohmanm layer hens,about its product , feeding ,ages .and it disease .
All my wishes
Yours Adnan

Welcome to BYC!

I have never had the pleasure of owing any of these birds or even seen one. But I hear they are very good layers, laying nearly everyday. They are also a friendly breed and are pretty common in Europe. I would imagine they are as durable in health as any other chicken and are raised in the same was as other breeds of chicken.

 

[BLT79]

Your birds shouldn't really molt until they are about 18 months old. did your Rooster go through an illness that you are aware of or some sort of stressor?

no illness to my knowledge! and I can't think of any factors around that time that changed or was different. is it possible he was just getting his big boy feathers in? because now his neck all around is nice looking!

 

[suebgbr]

I saw somthing on the TV today. It was for ferrets (kind of like a polecat). Would it work on chickens?
It was 2 tins of tuna, half a tub of fresh cream, a few big spoonfuls of smooth peanut butter and a carton of soya milk. Mix together snd serve!

 

[Michael Apple]

I saw somthing on the TV today. It was for ferrets (kind of like a polecat). Would it work on chickens?
It was 2 tins of tuna, half a tub of fresh cream, a few big spoonfuls of smooth peanut butter and a carton of soya milk. Mix together snd serve!

Feed that combination on a regular basis and you'll have sick birds in no time. It really isn't as technical as some people would have all of us believe. Animal protein is superior to plant protein. Some animal proteins are more easily digested than others. Comparing milk with meat products, we find that experiments favor chickens receiving milk as recorded by L.W. Cassel in 1927 (footnote from G.F. Heuser's Feeding Poultry, 1959). Nothing has changed. Milk proteins were also found to assist with larger eggs than meat proteins. Tests were performed with liquid milk, evaporated buttermilk, evaporated cultured skim milk, etc. Buttermilk came out on top at 2.5 to 5% levels in mixed feed rations or grains according to egg production, weight, and hatchability of eggs. The benefits of buttermilk , besides easily digestible proteins, are also vitamins A, C, D, calcium, and probiotics. The added benefit of being more palatable in my experience than yogurt, means chickens will more readily eat good amounts of it. I use a 1% milkfat buttermilk.

Purpletree23 pointed out a very important practice of not feeding more than his/her chickens can eat in 10 minutes. When using buttermilk or milk products, it is very important to not let it sit and get rancid, or attract flies. Flies are the known vector for tapeworms and botulism that affect chickens.

 

[chickisoup]

 
I saw somthing on the TV today. It was for ferrets (kind of like a polecat). Would it work on chickens?
It was 2 tins of tuna, half a tub of fresh cream, a few big spoonfuls of smooth peanut butter and a carton of soya milk. Mix together snd serve!

Feed that combination on a regular basis and you'll have sick birds in no time. It really isn't as technical as some people would have all of us believe. Animal protein is superior to plant protein. Some animal proteins are more easily digested than others. Comparing milk with meat products, we find that experiments favor chickens receiving milk as recorded by L.W. Cassel in 1927 (footnote from G.F. Heuser's Feeding Poultry, 1959). Nothing has changed. Milk proteins were also found to assist with larger eggs than meat proteins. Tests were performed with liquid milk, evaporated buttermilk, evaporated cultured skim milk, etc. Buttermilk came out on top at 2.5 to 5% levels in mixed feed rations or grains according to egg production, weight, and hatchability of eggs. The benefits of buttermilk , besides easily digestible proteins, are also vitamins A, C, D, calcium, and probiotics. The added benefit of being more palatable in my experience than yogurt, means chickens will more readily eat good amounts of it. I use a 1% milkfat buttermilk.

Purpletree23 pointed out a very important practice of not feeding more than his/her chickens can eat in 10 minutes. When using buttermilk or milk products, it is very important to not let it sit and get rancid, or attract flies. Flies are the known vector for tapeworms and botulism that affect chickens.

Great information! One question please? What about using powdered buttermilk to bump up a commercial feed like Nutrena?