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21hens-incharge said:
Kiki,
Your dinner sounds Superbowl worthy to me!! :drool:drool:drool

Hubby is cooking tonight. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a veggie.......likely broccoli.


Smuv,
That is really odd feathering. Maybe a genetic thing BUT I doubt that since they have different parents.
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We are having meatloaf too! Mashed taters and peas too
 
Smuvers Farm said:
Wanted to ask the group about this before I put it to the BYC community.

Our taterholes have looked *odd* since birth.... and, now, they are feathering in weirdly. They almost look BALD in some places..... or they have an elongated feather shaft.

View attachment 1255895

They are going on 5 weeks old, so they should all be fully feathered by now yes? Some are still fuzzy. It's the damndest thing!
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Sometimes you get chicks that feather in slower than other it's not abnormal. I've heard of it happening several times
 
BantyChooks said:
x2... I kind of roll my eyes and chuckle whenever I see "dON'T eVEN tOUCH layer or your birds will DIE". I suspect management may make a difference significant enough that some folks have no trouble and others have some; mainly free range vs a bare run and scraps vs no scraps. I feed a ton of said scraps.

I bought oyster shell a few years ago. I still have most of it. The birds aren't really into it.

I sell most of my birds after 3--4 years of age but the one hen I did keep the longest (that somehow avoided predators) made it to 9. She might be still kicking; I don't know. I gave her back to my neighbour for some special care. She ate layer her whole life barring chickhood.
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I'm convinced they won't eat OS unless they feel they need it. There are so many Don'ts out there that are based in fact but not reality.

I recently answered a thread about plants from the cabbage family killing chickens. It's true that 40 years ago, feeding cabbage type plants to your chickens would kill them. All foods have toxins, the key is to not overload on any one. 40 years ago, feed was rich in rapeseed meal because it was a cheap by product of making the oil. Back then they formulated feed assuming that we don't provide treats and maximized the meal to the absolute limit. So the toxin was at it's max tolerable level in the feed. Sorry, can't spell it and too lazy to look it up. So, if chickens were eating that feed and given anything from the cabbage family, they would die. Canada saw this as a huge problem and underwent a process to hybridize the rapeseed plant and eliminate the toxin... Well they got a 90% reduction in the toxin and re-branded the product as canola. So using canola meal in feed didn't cause the other problems.

I recently also had a conversation about oats. Oats have a nutrient blocker in them and if fed too many the birds can't absorb the nutrients they need from their feed. The OP on this thread was feeding 100% oats... And not understanding why the birds were declining. I told her to stop with the oats and just give a balanced ration and give the girls time to adjust. I was challenged by another member (who btw is clueless—but knows everything). Oats and barley in combination or alone cannot exceed more than 20% of the birds diet or they will inhibit the birds ability to absorb vital nutrients. Another word I can't spell and am too lazy to look up.

Ok... Off my feed soap box. I do have frustrating days out here and do have friends who just don't get it, but better left alone than addressing directly.
 
rjohns39 said:
I'm convinced they won't eat OS unless they feel they need it. There are so many Don'ts out there that are based in fact but not reality.

I recently answered a thread about plants from the cabbage family killing chickens. It's true that 40 years ago, feeding cabbage type plants to your chickens would kill them. All foods have toxins, the key is to not overload on any one. 40 years ago, feed was rich in rapeseed meal because it was a cheap by product of making the oil. Back then they formulated feed assuming that we don't provide treats and maximized the meal to the absolute limit. So the toxin was at it's max tolerable level in the feed. Sorry, can't spell it and too lazy to look it up. So, if chickens were eating that feed and given anything from the cabbage family, they would die. Canada saw this as a huge problem and underwent a process to hybridize the rapeseed plant and eliminate the toxin... Well they got a 90% reduction in the toxin and re-branded the product as canola. So using canola meal in feed didn't cause the other problems.

I recently also had a conversation about oats. Oats have a nutrient blocker in them and if fed too many the birds can't absorb the nutrients they need from their feed. The OP on this thread was feeding 100% oats... And not understanding why the birds were declining. I told her to stop with the oats and just give a balanced ration and give the girls time to adjust. I was challenged by another member (who btw is clueless—but knows everything). Oats and barley in combination or alone cannot exceed more than 20% of the birds diet or they will inhibit the birds ability to absorb vital nutrients. Another word I can't spell and am too lazy to look up.

Ok... Off my feed soap box. I do have frustrating days out here and do have friends who just don't get it, but better left alone than addressing directly.
Click to expand...

I think I may have read some of that thread. I do understand the frustration. :hugs
 

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