Mitzi and Rinda, thanks tons! I thought about putting them on gamebird feed to increase their protein. I already give them fermented feed and occasional scrambled eggs. They got eight boiled eggs yesterday morning and this morning they got a big container of diced chicken. Little cannibals loved it. But the eggs and chicken aren't a regular addition, because I have a purpose for the eggs and I rarely eat chicken. Over the winter I fed them daily BOSS, and I'm wondering if I should go back to that.
I'll give the calf manna a try. It looks a little pricey for a 50 lb bag of feed, but it would be worth even if it only makes me feel better about their health. Is it just a supplement? Or do you feed it in the same amounts as the other grains or crumble you give?
Also, speaking of fermented feed... I'm afraid I got a bacteria in one of my feed buckets. I had an issue last week where some of my juveniles spiked a fast fever and started gape-mouthed breathing, wheezing on each breath. The sweet little girl who died in my arms was the first one, and I'm almost positive she asphyxiated, but without any signs of sinus or tracheal infection. Right after her, I had several other juveniles start to display the same symptoms, just not to her degree. I destroyed all the remaining feed in those buckets, just in case. It may be that I just let my liquid level get too low, which I caught within hours, so while there was no growth that I could see, the bacterial growth could still have exploded off of whatever is always around. Other than ACV, do you guys put anything in your feed to help minimize any bacterial growth risk?