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Do you cook for your chickens?
I'm on a plan to increase egg production, yes, even during the winter months.
I am adding to the normal pelleted feed, cooked soy, along with oats, sunflower, alfalfa, seeds & fat.
My local grocery store is saving up some fat each week for me. I cook it down until its melted. I cook about 2 quarts of soybeans at the same time until they are soft, about 1/2 hour. I then mix the soybeans & melted fat together & carry the bucket out to the barn.I also put some Red Cell liquid vitamins in at this point because the soybeans & oil are pretty wet and it mixes well & coats the beans better. I normally put the Red Cell in their water, but now that their water is freezing, I put it in the feed mix instead so its not wasted.
Right now I'm eyeballing the amounts, but I mix into the bucket, some whole oats, sunflower seeds, just a little, a little corn, some alfalfa meal, and about half the amount of pellets I use to feed when it was all I was feeding.
Because I bring it out right away from being cooked, the whole mix stays warm, and the birds flock, pun intended, right over to eat. Even if it doesn't make them feel better, it makes me feel better that I'm giving them something warm to eat on cold winter days.
Why am I going through this fuss? When I use to feed whole grains, I almost never had sick chickens. And I got compliments from judges on how well conditioned my chickens were at shows.
I've been frustrated lately with my birds, just didn't seem quite right, and everything pointed to their feed. It was an "aha!" moment for me.
So, back to whole grains for my chickens...We'll see how it goes for the next few months.
YOU will have to keep us posted. Though don't forget to let us in on cost and trouble doing all this stuff. Have you been having trouble with sick chickens?
I haven't posted about the hen I have in the "hospital". She's been eating and standing ok. I have her on layer feed also. She did lay and egg yesterday. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised since she is a Del. Everyone else is fine. I believe her to be one of the Harter girls. I've banded all mine, so even though they are together I can tell them apart.
The occasional sick bird should not be to upsetting. I don't think we can always be sure of the genetic history.
This "Red Cell" vitamins is that the Brand name of them or are they something special?
Yes, Red Cell is the name, its a horse vitamin, I buy the generic equilivant, can't think of th ename right now, but its right next to the Red Cell on the shelf at TSC. I'm having more things happening lately that I never had happen before, so I'm going back to my old ways...In the long run it will probably cost me the same as if I was buying pellets at $17 per 50 lbs. but I think its better for them. I'm only mixing in the soy every other day, to make it easier on me...Its not too much work. The soy beans cook in half an hour, I put the fat in with it when its hot so it coats it all, carry it out to the barn, & mix it with the other grains. They dove into it today like it was candy...
