Peafowl Nutrition 101

[Resolution]

Bandbaustin, I could swear I answered your question but I don't see it here.
I hope you don't mind that I won't be discussing UK on this thread. If you have any comments or questions about it I'll take them on the thread dedicated to it.

The second product photographed here is a winner. Milo AKA sorghum and millet are really ideal for peafowl. Think about the plants they grow on- peafowl height and perfect size and shape- also surprisingly nutritious and no GMO versions on the commodities market as of yet.

The first product looks like a fantastic food for cats but feeding poultry parts to birds is a non-starter for me. I don't know what antibiotics or hormones the chickens were on or what they were fed-and it's sort of creepy. I don't mind feeding chicken to my falcon or beef to the dogs but chicken to peafowl that might be a bit too close- akin to seeing monkey parts for sale in China...blegh blegh blegh-


Combination of feeds - I'd drop the cat food and find another product with no poultry included to feed in concert with your scratch grain.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Resolution,I don't live far from Wagners Bird feed and they bring all ingredients in their facility then mix according to certain analysis for diffrent species of songbirds,ect This being my first year actually breeding and attempting to hatch my "home grown" breedings,I placed a call to them today about buying in bulk millet and sorghum seeds.
All my birds now eats about 2 large scoops of commercial crumble 16% ration per day.I've always given them banannas,letteuce left overs,and popped corn but reading your suggestions really opens up a very diverse menu to enhance their diets.If I replace 1/2 of the daily commercial crumbles each day with 1/2 scoop of millet and 1/2 scoop of sorghum seeds is this sufficent?
I am now buying banannas and putting do not eat signs on them so they can get overripe here and can supplement these 2-3 times per week,as with celery minced up finely topdressed on their new ration.Seems the smallest popcorn shrimp is fairly cheep as well and that can be fed twice a week.

 

[Resolution]

Sounds like you've got it worked it out- just don't break the bank!.
It's got to be economical and consistent to be of any lastingl value.
I think that most of us started with out much preparation and we get it into our heads that crumbles and pellets are cheap- but they're not cheap. You're buying air- fortified and enriched filler and air- with some nutrients. Better to fill them up with better, fresher sources of natural food. It's cheaper in the long run and you won't be one of the people logging on sick with worry because you've got a bird that won't eat or a bird that's got an eye infection or a respiratory ailment. Why? Because you'll be maintaining -or rather helping to maintain a healthy gut flora in your birds and a more diverse ratio of nutrients. This leads to a boosted immune system. That's key. So many well-meaning hobby farmers have gotten their commercial breeding down pat on poultry rations they forget what short life spans poultry actually have. If every hobbyist that ever purchased a peafowl that got sick- even six months later- if they took that bird back to whomever they purchased that bird from and demanded a refund- that would change things.
These chronic bacterial infections are carried from place to place by healthy looking birds. When those birds go through any kind of stress- even good stress their immune functions begin to flicker and crash. Poultry farmers are not looking at nuances in development save for what the market supports. It's all about yield and most poultry species are fast maturing- fast growing birds with short life spans- exceptions- waterfowl- ratites- -but anyway- keep up the good fight. It's our collective flock we're managing. The one that belongs to our present as well as our future.

Resolution,I don't live far from Wagners Bird feed and they bring all ingredients in their facility then mix according to certain analysis for diffrent species of songbirds,ect This being my first year actually breeding and attempting to hatch my "home grown" breedings,I placed a call to them today about buying in bulk millet and sorghum seeds.
All my birds now eats about 2 large scoops of commercial crumble 16% ration per day.I've always given them banannas,letteuce left overs,and popped corn but reading your suggestions really opens up a very diverse menu to enhance their diets.If I replace 1/2 of the daily commercial crumbles each day with 1/2 scoop of millet and 1/2 scoop of sorghum seeds is this sufficent?
I am now buying banannas and putting do not eat signs on them so they can get overripe here and can supplement these 2-3 times per week,as with celery minced up finely topdressed on their new ration.Seems the smallest popcorn shrimp is fairly cheep as well and that can be fed twice a week.

 

[Resolution]

Raw or cooked, brown rice is the most traditional food poultry and peafowl alike.
A whole cup of brown rice per day -provides lots of bulk in the crop as well as energy and it's very inexpensive. Will the birds eat it? That's a good question. Birds are notoriously finicky about foods they've never seen or tasted before. That's a good idea for wild birds naturally. Just put tiny bits of rice in the feed and increase over time. Eventually they'll think it's a great idea and pretend like it was always their own idea.

 

[Arbor]

Not sure how this plays into the nutrition part, but its along those lines. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure. I heard from an old breeder once that feeding raw hamburg to a hen will increase the number of eggs it can lay in a season. Seeing as these birds are normally omnivores, and tend to eat a lot of protein rich insects, would this be possible?

 

[Hens and Roos]

Raw or cooked, brown rice is the most traditional food poultry and peafowl alike.
A whole cup of brown rice per day -provides lots of bulk in the crop as well as energy and it's very inexpensive. Will the birds eat it? That's a good question. Birds are notoriously finicky about foods they've never seen or tasted before. That's a good idea for wild birds naturally. Just put tiny bits of rice in the feed and increase over time. Eventually they'll think it's a great idea and pretend like it was always their own idea.

So feeding raw brown rice won't cause problem for the peafowl?

 

[Resolution]

Nope. In fact, in India, China, Japan, South East Asia and Indonesia, the Philippines brown rice is the first ingredient in every fowl ration-followed by millet and then corn generally-and/or wheat. Getting your birds to decide they'll eat it is the challenge. Once they've discovered that they actually like the nutritious seeds (rice) ( of the grass species that has always been a staple for peafowl- long before human beings were involved-) they'll get benefit from the addition of rice into the program. It's quite a lot cheaper than so many other seeds. Cooked brown rice goes over better- it's a good way to get them introduced to it- start with cooked brown rice with a bit of raw rice added- stir in a bit of rice crispies- start a trend in the feed box- take them back to tradition- so strange that peafowl are kept anywhere outside of Asia- or is it strange that peafolk that keep these birds in western countries don't feed them like they are from the orient?

 

[Resolution]

CHICK PEAS can be more nutritious for chickens specifically short-lived production broilers, nevertheless, it's an important article that speaks to the issue of overfishing of ocean fish resulting supply problems. It also speaks toward the value of an under-utlised and easily grown alternative to many commodity ingredients like corn and wheat. Dried chickpeas are also inexpensive when purchased in bulk, especially if you contact large scale chickpea producers for non food grade product. This has generally simply gone past the use by date or may have discolouration due to being picked too early, frost or drought etc. It may also be slightly buggy. Please spread the word to people rearing chickens and pheasants that are in need of alternative supplements of high nutritional value.

All that said, Peafowl, Junglefowl other than Red and Grey, and Pheasants of the subtropical or high altitude digging species ( basically any species that needs heat in the winter or is a digging species like Cheer and Monal) still need some % of animal protein in their diets, at least seasonally as they have requirements for certain amino acids in certain ratios and at certain levels that can simply not be met with vegetable sources of protein.

Regardless of species, Garbanzo Beans AKA Chick Peas are not fed out as the maintenance ration but rather as supplements. They can be fed at a 4 to 10 ratio. Four parts chick peas to ten parts scratch grain or five parts layer pellet for chickens.

For species that require animal protein including peafowl, save some money and just feed at a one to ten ratio. Save you feed budget for ingredients with animal protein to be fed just a few times a week making them more affordable.

 

[Hens and Roos]

CHICK PEAS can be more nutritious for chickens specifically short-lived production broilers, nevertheless, it's an important article that speaks to the issue of overfishing of ocean fish resulting supply problems. It also speaks toward the value of an under-utlised and easily grown alternative to many commodity ingredients like corn and wheat. Dried chickpeas are also inexpensive when purchased in bulk, especially if you contact large scale chickpea producers for non food grade product. This has generally simply gone past the use by date or may have discolouration due to being picked too early, frost or drought etc. It may also be slightly buggy. Please spread the word to people rearing chickens and pheasants that are in need of alternative supplements of high nutritional value.

All that said, Peafowl, Junglefowl other than Red and Grey, and Pheasants of the subtropical or high altitude digging species ( basically any species that needs heat in the winter or is a digging species like Cheer and Monal) still need some % of animal protein in their diets, at least seasonally as they have requirements for certain amino acids in certain ratios and at certain levels that can simply not be met with vegetable sources of protein.

Regardless of species, Garbanzo Beans AKA Chick Peas are not fed out as the maintenance ration but rather as supplements. They can be fed at a 4 to 10 ratio. Four parts chick peas to ten parts scratch grain or five parts layer pellet for chickens.

For species that require animal protein including peafowl, save some money and just feed at a one to ten ratio. Save you feed budget for ingredients with animal protein to be fed just a few times a week making them more affordable.

Have some chick peas soaking on the counter to be given out a bit later today. Will be interesting to see how they like them. Was able to find a forage cake and gave them a bit of that- they are eating it slowly-had to soak it abit first. I have found that the peas pick and choose what they want to eat throughout the day.

 

[FrenchToast]

Quote:

So, how'd they like the chick Peas? Inquiring minds want to know !!! I'm going to subscribe to this thread. I have 7 peafowl and love learning how to feed them better and Cheaper !! lol