Peeps in Europe!

[CurvyCoop]

whatever you feed them they should forage as well. they enjoy kitchen scraps/grass as well.

I agree, in my chicken plan I am including both a large covered run, a chicken moat around my veggie garden and access to an area of grass where I might also plant berry bushes.

All very much in the future, but I'm one of those people who loves to make detailed plans about things. I get to feel like I'm already doing something chicken-y even though it's still a ways off for me

 

[chickengr]

Yes. Free ranging as part of their feed is definitely the best. But this is officially not allowed in the Netherlands sinds October. Because of the very contagious bird flew (H5N1 ?). So I can’t recommend it.

I lived in uk for 2 years and ran away. I understood I cannot live in the northern/western countries. my free southern spirit could not stand all the rules. I felt suffocated.

from time to time wild birds bring avian influence here too. according to the vet (he is a friend and does not say many things publicly for his own safety) only chickens that are up to 2 km away from the big lakes where migration birds gather are in danger.

 

[kwik-kwak]

The feed they sell (in general) in the Netherlands is a combination of low cost ingredients and a good production or growth. Economically balanced for different kind of chicks/hens:
- egg production for laying hybrids
- fast grow for meat chicks.
- healthy feed for chicks that become laying hybrids

In Europe they sell feed that is definitely lower in proteins as in the states. I don’t know if it’s healthier.

The chicken feed sell to consumers is (in most cases) the same as the feed for farmers. It’s is not optimised for heritage breeds or ornamental breeds. And maybe not good at all to give no other food. It has way more calcium than needed. And maybe even too much to be healthy. Especially for roosters and old hens.

Interesting that the feed in Europe is usually lower in protein than in America. That it's not optimized for herritage/ornamental breeds, do you see that as a negative thing? Because I wonder what they would need extra or less. Or does it have more to do with the economic aspect, that people are willing to buy more expensive (better?) feed for them than the production-oriented industry?

As for the calcium, why is this so high. Is this because it has advantages for the industry or because of cheap ingredients?

I find food very interesting, especially because I have some problems with one of our ducks that are probably food related. It seems as if he has a low blood sugar very quickly which makes him literally collapse and paralyzed for a while (we suspect this as it has happened four times now under different circumstances but always before feeding). Maybe this is a certain genetic abnormality, but maybe we can help him with better nutrition.
We want to buy chickens soon and I want to give them good food. I may want to put together my own food as I think if the proportions are right it is healthier for them.

 

[CurvyCoop]

Yes. Free ranging as part of their feed is definitely the best. But this is officially not allowed in the Netherlands sinds October. Because of the very contagious bird flew (H5N1 ?). So I can’t recommend it.

Oh really?
All the hobby farms, zorgboerderijen and backyard keepers around me are just letting them out. Hobbyfarms and BYK in their gardens or runs and zorgboerderijen in their courtyards or pastures/ open runs.

I think I saw one lady who covered her fenced field with netting to keep wild birds out, or the chickens in of course , but most are just exposed to the open air

 

[kwik-kwak]

I lived in uk for 2 years and ran away. I understood I cannot live in the northern/western countries. my free southern spirit could not stand all the rules. I felt suffocated.

I totally understand. That's exactly why we moved to Bulgaria last year (okay also a bit for the sun ). I was born in the Netherlands and I have always lived there. Here there is so much more freedom, much more space, literally and figuratively.

 

[chickengr]

Interesting that the feed in Europe is usually lower in protein than in America. That it's not optimized for herritage/ornamental breeds, do you see that as a negative thing? Because I wonder what they would need extra or less. Or does it have more to do with the economic aspect, that people are willing to buy more expensive (better?) feed for them than the production-oriented industry?

As for the calcium, why is this so high. Is this because it has advantages for the industry or because of cheap ingredients?

I find food very interesting, especially because I have some problems with one of our ducks that are probably food related. It seems as if he has a low blood sugar very quickly which makes him literally collapse and paralyzed for a while (we suspect this as it has happened four times now under different circumstances but always before feeding). Maybe this is a certain genetic abnormality, but maybe we can help him with better nutrition.
We want to buy chickens soon and I want to give them good food. I may want to put together my own food as I think if the proportions are right it is healthier for them.

try to feed your ducks wheat + forage for a week. if your problem is feed related your duck will be fine.

 

[CurvyCoop]

Interesting that the feed in Europe is usually lower in protein than in America. That it's not optimized for herritage/ornamental breeds, do you see that as a negative thing? Because I wonder what they would need extra or less. Or does it have more to do with the economic aspect, that people are willing to buy more expensive (better?) feed for them than the production-oriented industry?

As for the calcium, why is this so high. Is this because it has advantages for the industry or because of cheap ingredients?

I find food very interesting, especially because I have some problems with one of our ducks that are probably food related. It seems as if he has a low blood sugar very quickly which makes him literally collapse and paralyzed for a while (we suspect this as it has happened four times now under different circumstances but always before feeding). Maybe this is a certain genetic abnormality, but maybe we can help him with better nutrition.
We want to buy chickens soon and I want to give them good food. I may want to put together my own food as I think if the proportions are right it is healthier for them.

Food is so interesting for me too!
I'm reading my way through the blog of a Yorkshire breeder who mainly has barneveld chickens, but also a lot of heritage breeds and some hybrids. He also occasionally rescues ex battery hens. He has a lot of information about feed and nutrition and decades of hands on experience with pretty much every kind of chicken. But even he seems to contradict himself sometimes. (I think it's also that some of his earlier feed related posts are quite old by now and he does update them, but sometimes I think he updates them with new info and forgets to take down the old)

 

[kwik-kwak]

try to feed your ducks wheat + forage for a week. if your problem is feed related your duck will be fine.

They get their food three times a day, the afternoon portion of which is fermented. They are allowed to free range in the garden during the day and eat a lot of grass and insects. However, yesterday it went wrong again. I think he is just very sensitive to this, luckily he always recovers after about 10 minutes and is immediately his happy self again. Maybe it can't be solved but I find it so sad when I find him paralyzed...

 

[BDutch]

Food is so interesting for me too!
I'm reading my way through the blog of a Yorkshire breeder who mainly has barneveld chickens, but also a lot of heritage breeds and some hybrids. He also occasionally rescues ex battery hens. He has a lot of information about feed and nutrition and decades of hands on experience with pretty much every kind of chicken. But even he seems to contradict himself sometimes. (I think it's also that some of his earlier feed related posts are quite old by now and he does update them, but sometimes I think he updates them with new info and forgets to take down the old)

Interesting. Can you give a link to this blog?

Maybe the duck is just tired , filled up and takes a nap after foraging? Or he eats from bedwelming plants ?

 

[chickengr]

when I got 6 leghorns about 2 months ago I switched to the layers mash. a few days ago both my leghorns and quails laid a few soft shelled eggs. I am back to mixed grains (corn, wheat, barley and oats), boiled eggs, grass and whatever they find in their run. with that I had (almost) never had soft shell issue.