Omega-3 eggs***Fish Meal Feed

[ncgnance]

Thanks to both of you for your answers. I think I'll go with the flax seed. I've used fish meal for fertilizer before, and I really don't like the smell. My chickens free range, so they get lots of natural foods, grass, bugs, etc. My cardiologist told me that pastured fed eggs are good for you, too. This is an interesting thread...

 

[CovenantCreek]

Personally, I HATE the smell of the fish meal

, but my flock barely touches the flax seed -- the fish meal they can't get enough of.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

There's been more information published the last few years about the difference in the eggs from chickens and the meat of livestock raised on pasture, rather than grain. It's pretty interesting. For our chickens, I free range and also plant extra greens for them, along with a few other foods.

For confined commercial layers, they definitely want to research the things that can be easily and cheaply be put in a feeder. I think that's why they have a lot of focus on fish meal or even flax, for the upscale market. There are a lot more of the smaller producers going to pastured livestock and chickens, as a niche market.

 

[CovenantCreek]

Quote:
My flock free-ranges roughly 10-11 hours a day, more in the summer, but even with all that they still like the extra protein provided by the fish meal. Especially now when most of them are going through molt.

 

[Wifezilla]

The pet store gave me dead feeder fish because they know I have ducks and they say ducks love them. I will find out if they are right later today. I guess that qualifies as fish meal

 

[CovenantCreek]

Quote:
I'm not sure it counts if it doesn't have the wholly disgusting smell of thousands of large, dead fish.

 

[Wifezilla]

Oh! You mean like the shore of lake Michigan after a die off. Gotcha!

 

[j.luetkemeyer]

I have been feeding my layers the Layer Mix from Countryside that contains fish meal. I haven't had any eggs taste fishy. I did have a broiler that had a hint of fish taste but it was so slight that the BBQ sauce covered it up. I would also like to add that Kelp is an excellent supplement as well. I do agree through all of my research that greens are incredibly important in their diet. I suggest planting kale, mangel beet, cabbage, and chard. I have also planted alfalfa and clovers in their range area. I am trying to completely replace the grass. I will interplant some wheat and rye in with that this spring. If you google "Egg Farming in California" by Charles Weeks, there is a lot of good information in that book. It is from the late 1800's early 1900's. There was another BYC member that had posted a link to this book for download. I found it very interesting. I need to find that thread again and thank the person for the information.

 

[Sylvie]

I read that you don't want to give them more than 10% flax seed or the eggs will taste fishy from those, too.
I have been tossing 1 or 2 handfulls of the whole flaxseed each day in the run and haven't had a dreaded fishy egg yet. They are eating them because the seeds are very apparent on the snow. I make sure there is plenty of water available with the flaxseed.

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Quote:
Am just wondering how much of that would be a wive's tale, as far as a fishy smell from flax seeds-especially if you take fresh, refrigerated flaxseed oil, it tastes nutty, not fishy. My guess is that the original article from which that information was taken from decided to clump the two together in a catagory, trying to downplay the benefits of omega 3 eggs. In fact I'm guessing that perhaps the original place that "did the studies" for this were probably regular commercial operations, trying to give a reason for buying their lower nutrition eggs! My 24 chickens eat about 2 1/2 cups of flax seeds per day and we have yet to have a "fishy" tasting egg.

The flax seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut strips, and pumpkin seeds are the first things they gobble up when I throw my treat mix down for them-they know whats good!

Unfortunately, organic flaxseeds went up from $33.00 for a 50 lb. bag to $87.00 a bag-from one month to the next! If you are getting yours rather cheaply right now, I highly recommend that you stock up quickly on them, as there is going to be a shortage of these types of food, and thus is the reason for the higher price this last time I bought them!!!