Safety of Whole Grain feed...

[Friendly_Lurker]

I feed whole corn kernels and layer pellets, never had a problem.

 

[Peaches Lee]

I'm happy to feed a complete crumble or pelleted feed right out of the bag, and not spend time and effort fermenting anything. The whole grain feeds can definitely be a problem for some birds who pick out the good stuff and leave the rest.
A hen laying 'only' 150 eggs per year is still working very hard! 'Natural' chickens might produce 30!
I think that crop impactions happen because they happen; the individual bird has a problem with her crop, and it overfills with whatever she's eating. Years ago I had a family of birds who developed this, several by one year of age. I eliminated this family from my breeding group, and the issue hasn't appeared in any other birds here.
Of course a bird might eat something stupid and get impacted, but otherwise it's just something she's doing. Marek's? I imagine it might cause this too.
Mary

You make a good point. Genetics control a lot of things and I think as humans we truly don't understand the full magnitude of their influence or how far it goes in regards to individuals!

Do you suppose that if Marek's had something to do with it, it's in relation to paralysis of the function (muscles etc.) of the crop? Thank you for your input.

 

[DobieLover]

Thank you! In warmer months, how do you prevent the feed from going bad or rancid?

I ferment the feed in containers in my pantry. I stir once per day. I've never had a batch go bad.
I choose to mix my own feed and supplement with Flock Raiser as I don't agree with providing solely vegetable source protein to my birds. Before expanding my flock, I only fed them my mix.
They eat all of it. Nothing is left. They all may start out picking out the "choice" bits but they always finish what they are given. I feed them in 10' of troughs so everyone can get some of everything.

 

[chickens really]

I feed a balanced Grower finisher and have never jumped on the bandwagon of fermented feed. I toss out scratch once a week add in a few fruits or veggies during the week too. It's all about balancing the diet so you don't run into health issues.

 

[Molpet]

I feed a balanced Grower finisher and have never jumped on the bandwagon of fermented feed. I toss out scratch once a week add in a few fruits or veggies during the week too. It's all about balancing the diet so you don't run into health issues.

Actually fermented mash is quite old. My great grandparents used it in the winter. In summer they were on their own. Pellets and crumbles are a relatively new item, came out in the 20th century.

 

[chickens really]

Actually fermented mash is quite old. My great grandparents used it in the winter. In summer they were on their own. Pellets and crumbles are a relatively new item, came out in the 20th century.

Yes and why crumble is more desirable.

 

[Molpet]

Yes and why crumble is more desirable.

To me, it's like the processed food sold in the stores, good for convenience

 

[Perris]

why do you suppose whole grains work best with active foragers?

because in foraging they (ideally) find and eat whatever else they need (assuming there is good forage, esp. variety to be had), as whole grains will not provide 100% of what they need, even when fermented. E.g. dandelions have lots of vitamins and minerals, inc calcium.