new research debunks trad views on nutrition

[Perris]

Unfortunately this isn't realistic for many keepers, particularly the fully confined backyard model and to a lesser extent, the some time ranging model.

I don't see why not. It's just not as convenient as a single bag of feed.
Edited to add, following any fad diet isn't convenient either.

 

[Finchbreeder]

Buy the best you can, and if possible mix your own with individual seeds.
Works for my finches.

 

[Perris]

...

This is the sort of food supplied here. It does not depend on the weather or forage.

 

[Molpet]

I think this could be applied to chickens as best diet advice.
I'm not a believer in the high protein diet for chickens.

https://www.redpenreviews.org/revie...slow-aging-fight-disease-and-optimize-weight/

You find some great sites. Nice review site. Seemed to be non bias.

 

[saysfaa]

I believe in providing lots of choice and letting the chickens, individually, choose what and how much of it to eat.

I don't see why not. It's just not as convenient as a single bag of feed.
Edited to add, following any fad diet isn't convenient either.

Actually, I agree with you.

 

[Perris]

This by itself? Or with access to your yard with a wide variety of plants and invertebrates through most of the year?

(I guess I delayed too long in deciding not to post the picture of my coop in early winter.)

For one defeated ex-dom roo, who lived in protective custody for a year (when I euthanized him as his life had become very lonely and miserable), that was his diet, with the occasional addition of a little tinned sardine, or dairy product, or mealworms.

The default situation here is access to the garden with its fauna, flora and funga dawn till dusk every day of the year.

But the point is, a varied and wholesome diet is entirely possible if you construct the mix yourself from cereals, pseudo-cereals, legumes and seeds bought separately or as mixes for eg. pigeons. As explained here and here .

 

[RoyalChick]

This is the sort of food supplied here. It does not depend on the weather or forage.
View attachment 4209305

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I believe in providing lots of choice and letting the chickens, individually, choose what and how much of it to eat.

Unfortunately this isn't realistic for many keepers, particularly the fully confined backyard model and to a lesser extent, the some time ranging model.

I don’t understand why this would be unrealistic with the fully-confined backyard model (good term, btw.) Unless someone is gone 14 hours a day, it’s easy to provide a basic whole-grain meal, dry or fermented, plus varying additions in late afternoon, etc. Feeders could be easily maintained. If the run is properly predator-proofed, it would have the added benefit of not feeding the local wildlife as well.

In fact, Perris’s feeding model would also work in this setting quite well.

It still wouldn’t have the full range of nutrients that foraging supplies, and it sounds miserable for the birds, of course. But it’s probably similar to how chickens are kept in severe-winter areas where there’s just not much left to forage after a while.

 

[Molpet]

I don’t understand why this would be unrealistic with the fully-confined backyard model (good term, btw.) Unless someone is gone 14 hours a day, it’s easy to provide a basic whole-grain meal, dry or fermented, plus varying additions in late afternoon, etc. Feeders could be easily maintained. If the run is properly predator-proofed, it would have the added benefit of not feeding the local wildlife as well.

In fact, Perris’s feeding model would also work in this setting quite well.

It still wouldn’t have the full range of nutrients that foraging supplies, and it sounds miserable for the birds, of course. But it’s probably similar to how chickens are kept in severe-winter areas where there’s just not much left to forage after a while.

Yes they don't find much when it's snow covered

 

[Molpet]

"
Pathogens such as Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli use fimbriae to adhere to the intestinal enterocytes.

A product like Varium (Amlan International), which contains a proprietary, thermally processed calcium montmorillonite, can bind the fimbriae of these bacteria (Figure 1), reducing their presence in the intestine (Table 1). This reduction in pathogenic load allows beneficial bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, to thrive with less microbial competition."

https://www.allaboutfeed.net/market...quWdLDf_s1lX2mA&mlnmsg=aK2RVNI2eZ6P_VRqEO_hPA