Peafowl Nutrition 101

[frenchblackcopper]

Calcium and phosphorus both are needed in conjunction with each other for egg shells. Four times the amount of ca. is needed during laying season than the rest of the year. My ration we figure the peahens needs between 1.90-2.30 grams of calcium per day and .4-.6 grams of phosphorus daily. We're actually making it in the 3 grams daily intake of calcium and the .75 gram of ph. per day,,,,if they are getting excess they will just poop it out as with anything unneeded in their diets, vitamins and mineral and protein wise.

 

[casportpony]

Calcium and phosphorus both are needed in conjunction with each other for egg shells. Four times the amount of ca. is needed during laying season than the rest of the year. My ration we figure the peahens needs between 1.90-2.30 grams of calcium per day and .4-.6 grams of phosphorus daily. We're actually making it in the 3 grams daily intake of calcium and the .75 gram of ph. per day,,,,if they are getting excess they will just poop it out as with anything unneeded in their diets, vitamins and mineral and protein wise.

Thanks... any idea what that is percentage wise?

-Kathy

 

[frenchblackcopper]

2.2 grams equals .08 dry oz weight of calcium. and .6 grams of phosphorus equals ,02 dry oz. If your peas consumes 8 oz dry matter daily each,in a 50 pound bag there should be 100 daily servings of feed (50lbs x16 ounces per pound =800 ounces total bag weight) This is where dry matter intake differs against guaranteed analysis of feed. There should be 8oz dry weight if calcium and 2 oz of phosphorus in the bag.100 pound bags would be double,ect.
To truly be assured your peas are getting exactly what they need your feed needs to be figured on dry matter intake vs guaranteed analysis. Making feed this way is more expensive which is how we do it now.Commercial bagged feed guarantees the contents within the bag to match the label but to insure each bird is getting everything they need you have to have an idea what their daily feed consumption rates are.
Another thing to consider,bagged crumbles weighs less volumn wise than homemade rations like ours do. A five gallon bucket level full of 16% layer ration weighs 19-20lbs,,where our ration filling the same bucket level full weighs 29 pounds or 31 pounds with CLE added over the wintertime. Feeding on dry weight intake per bird is the only way to make your own feed and insure each bird is getting everything they need.

 

[slfarms]

Very nice thread filled with good ideas. Have any of you thought of using catfish food to up your protein content for the peafowl? It contains animal fat-protein. We have a mix we are using now that averages 22% overall protein. I will be adding the shrimp, celery, and other ideas to our flock and see how they like it.

 

[zazouse]

Very nice thread filled with good ideas. Have any of you thought of using catfish food to up your protein content for the peafowl? It contains animal fat-protein. We have a mix we are using now that averages 22% overall protein. I will be adding the shrimp, celery, and other ideas to our flock and see how they like it.

I bought a bag last year , nothing here would eat it not even the fish would eat it , nor would my chickens.

Cat food is ok to use made mostly of grain now days but does have some meat.
I have chickens ducks, guineas and geese also so i have lots of eggs and feed most of them back to the animals , peas will kill you for scrambled eggs.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

I've thought of adding cat food years ago but Peas seems to prefer large seeds and cat food pound per pound is more expensive than my ration costs.We're all on a learning curve here because Peafowl are not in humans diets such as turkey,chicken,pork,and beef are. Millions of dollars are spent on research for feeding requirements on these types of animals where none that I know of is specific to peafowl alone.

 

[slfarms]

I've thought of adding cat food years ago but Peas seems to prefer large seeds and cat food pound per pound is more expensive than my ration costs.We're all on a learning curve here because Peafowl are not in humans diets such as turkey,chicken,pork,and beef are. Millions of dollars are spent on research for feeding requirements on these types of animals where none that I know of is specific to peafowl alone.

I've been told in the past to avoid cat or dog food because the salt content is dangerous for all forms of birds. Ours eat the catfish food. Something about the smell of it. I believe it's the sportsman line they sell at rural king. I'll double check the name.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

I think peas smell first,then decide if they will eat or not. You looked at my feed and noticed it's smell. This past winter I added a soybean supplement that was very high in digestable fats called CLE. When you have 6-55 gallon drums full of that in my garage,it makes even me hungry. It smelled sweet,,but it was unique in it's odor. At first the peas tried it but wasn't crazy over it. But as time went on they began to eat it great. The bag I gave you does not have CLE in it,,instead it was replaced with molasses. Before I ran completely out of the wintertime mix containing the CLE,,I had the batch made with molasses and started feeding it for several days,then in 5 pens I put bowls of both feed out,and the next day everyone that had the sweet smelling CLE in it from my wintertime ration was completly gone. The molasses mix was almost untouched. Only other diffrence between both rations was protein content in the batch with CLE was around 17%,,the new molasses batch is a strong 20% protein level

 

[zazouse]

Frenchy do you think mabe the peas stuck their beaks up to the molasses because of the iron content? i mean we always tell folks when giving poly-visol that to make sure you give the one without iron, just sayen cause molasses is a great source of iron for humans.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

I don't think peas has a great sense of smell being their nostrils is so close to their heads,not much room for scent cells,unlike some dog breeds like shepherds that has over 250 million scent cells in their long nose nasal cavity.