Anthony-Smith
Chirping
- Apr 16, 2019
- 39
- 34
- 64
Hey Y'all, got a question concerning chicken feed. Bear with me here.
What has me thinking about feed is the fact that one of my hens (an Isa Brown) passed away yesterday. The cause of her death is unknown. She seemed absolutely fine just the day before! That being said, I wasn't paying the closest attention to her, or any of my chickens for that matter as nothing stuck out to me as being "wrong". If there was something going on, I didn't notice it. I found her in the coop at night just laying on the floor, dead. Rigor mortis hadn't fully developed yet when I found her, so she wasnt dead that long.
A quick search online, and I found out that Isa Browns have an average life-span of 2 - 3 years. I purchased all of my Isa Browns a little over 3 years ago. Funny thing is, she is the ONLY hen I have that I don't know her age. She wandered on to our yard, and my wife put her in our coop thinking she had escaped. Upon examining her, I found a loose zip tie around her leg, and knew she wasn't ours. I couldn't find the owner, so we kept her. So I don't know how old she was.
So, hopefully she died of old age. But, to be thorough, I decided to examine all other death possibilities. Aside from things like parasites, sudden chicken death, disease, eggs not passing (It could be any of those, as I have not done an autopsy. Is this even possible on a hen that now fully has rigor mortis?), the only other thing I could figure was the feed, or water.
I JUST changed the kind of water feeder they had. It was a gift from my grandmother. It has two little cups with a peg in each. When the peg is moved, it fills the cup with water and they can suck it out. The original water feeder was the standard kind you can get at Tractor Supply. They kept kicking dirt in it, so I had to fill it more often. Maybe she died of dehydration with the new device? The only other thing I can consider is their feed. I get the Dunmore 16% layer feed at Tractor Supply. I have used this stuff for over 3 years now, and haven't had any problems. That being said, I always mix it with cracked corn. Two scoops layer feed, 1 to 1 1/2 scoop of corn. I just found out that chickens need at least 16% protein, and mixing this much corn in the mix may be too much!? Ive done this for the duration of their life and never had any problems however.
Well, given that Ive had my Isa browns for over 3 years, I'm beginning to prepare to purchase more hens to replace them.
I currently have a mixed brood of 3 Easter eggers, 1 Barred Plymouth Rock, 2 Leghorns, 1 Rhode Island Red, and now 2 Isa Browns (and 1 Barred Plymouth Rock Rooster). I'm thinking about getting a few different kind of breeds in the next batch (Ameraucanas, more RR's etc). I'm looking for the cheapest feed solution that wont be a strain on their health. Should I not mix corn, or maybe not mix that much? Maybe I need to add oyster shells? I don't want to waste a bunch of my time finding free/cheap ways to feed my birds. They are cheap, and IMO not worth dedicating a bunch of my time too making sure I can do things in a self sustainable manner (which is an idea I love btw, but from what Ive seen it takes more time than I currently have available).
Sorry for the long post, but any help with all of this would be great!
What has me thinking about feed is the fact that one of my hens (an Isa Brown) passed away yesterday. The cause of her death is unknown. She seemed absolutely fine just the day before! That being said, I wasn't paying the closest attention to her, or any of my chickens for that matter as nothing stuck out to me as being "wrong". If there was something going on, I didn't notice it. I found her in the coop at night just laying on the floor, dead. Rigor mortis hadn't fully developed yet when I found her, so she wasnt dead that long.
A quick search online, and I found out that Isa Browns have an average life-span of 2 - 3 years. I purchased all of my Isa Browns a little over 3 years ago. Funny thing is, she is the ONLY hen I have that I don't know her age. She wandered on to our yard, and my wife put her in our coop thinking she had escaped. Upon examining her, I found a loose zip tie around her leg, and knew she wasn't ours. I couldn't find the owner, so we kept her. So I don't know how old she was.
So, hopefully she died of old age. But, to be thorough, I decided to examine all other death possibilities. Aside from things like parasites, sudden chicken death, disease, eggs not passing (It could be any of those, as I have not done an autopsy. Is this even possible on a hen that now fully has rigor mortis?), the only other thing I could figure was the feed, or water.
I JUST changed the kind of water feeder they had. It was a gift from my grandmother. It has two little cups with a peg in each. When the peg is moved, it fills the cup with water and they can suck it out. The original water feeder was the standard kind you can get at Tractor Supply. They kept kicking dirt in it, so I had to fill it more often. Maybe she died of dehydration with the new device? The only other thing I can consider is their feed. I get the Dunmore 16% layer feed at Tractor Supply. I have used this stuff for over 3 years now, and haven't had any problems. That being said, I always mix it with cracked corn. Two scoops layer feed, 1 to 1 1/2 scoop of corn. I just found out that chickens need at least 16% protein, and mixing this much corn in the mix may be too much!? Ive done this for the duration of their life and never had any problems however.
Well, given that Ive had my Isa browns for over 3 years, I'm beginning to prepare to purchase more hens to replace them.
I currently have a mixed brood of 3 Easter eggers, 1 Barred Plymouth Rock, 2 Leghorns, 1 Rhode Island Red, and now 2 Isa Browns (and 1 Barred Plymouth Rock Rooster). I'm thinking about getting a few different kind of breeds in the next batch (Ameraucanas, more RR's etc). I'm looking for the cheapest feed solution that wont be a strain on their health. Should I not mix corn, or maybe not mix that much? Maybe I need to add oyster shells? I don't want to waste a bunch of my time finding free/cheap ways to feed my birds. They are cheap, and IMO not worth dedicating a bunch of my time too making sure I can do things in a self sustainable manner (which is an idea I love btw, but from what Ive seen it takes more time than I currently have available).
Sorry for the long post, but any help with all of this would be great!