She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[meganhundley]

See how they are in the morning.  If they are still doing it, and more often, it's time to investigate.  Did they have anything dry or otherwise difficult to swallow?  Do they seem to have difficulty breathing?  Let us know what you see in the morning.

Are you referring to Megan's issue?  Chickens don't dunk their heads that I know of.  Ducks need to get their nares wet.

They seem to be breathing just fine, the only thing they ate was Manna Pro Egg Maker and I gave them some clover and dandelion greens but that's it. The feed is a crumble type feed.

 

[RubyNala97]

Megan's comment just reminded me that I have a question too. So my flock is 16 & 20 weeks old. I had them on flock raiser crumbles. I was due for a new bag this week and I bought egg layer crumbles. But they are not laying yet. The lady at the feed store suggested I mix in the egg layer to whatever I have left of the flock raiser and then switch over. Is it ok to put them on egg layer if they are not laying yet but should be anytime now?? Thanks.

I have a ?: My Nankins are doing something I've never seen them do before, they keep swallowing or trying to swallow. Sometimes they look like they are shuddering from trying so hard to swallow. They do this repeatedly. I normally only notice it in the evenings, I think 1 may have done it earlier in the day yesterday after I feed them some clover (no long stems). It started out with 1 doing it, she has stopped but now another hen and both roos are doing it. I just noticed them doing it this evening. The hen looks puffed up and tired, the roos seem fine other than the repeated swallowing gesture. They all ate and drank fine when I fed them dinner. I noticed that they had spilt their water when I went out to feed them, they weren't out long as the ground was still wet from them spilling it. I haven't felt their crops yet as the 1st 1's to do this never did it again after the first time and I just noticed the 2 roos and the 1 hen doing it this evening. I'll check their crops in the morning though. Are they just adjusting their crops or is it possibly an impaction or something else?

I keep remembering reading a similar post on another thread. Man, I wish I could remember the details! Sorry, Megan. I would start by checking their crops and then start googling if they are still doing it. Good luck!!

 

[ronott1]

Megan's comment just reminded me that I have a question too. So my flock is 16 & 20 weeks old. I had them on flock raiser crumbles. I was due for a new bag this week and I bought egg layer crumbles. But they are not laying yet. The lady at the feed store suggested I mix in the egg layer to whatever I have left of the flock raiser and then switch over. Is it ok to put them on egg layer if they are not laying yet but should be anytime now?? Thanks.
I keep remembering reading a similar post on another thread. Man, I wish I could remember the details! Sorry, Megan. I would start by checking their crops and then start googling if they are still doing it. Good luck!!

It is ok to switch over.

I usually wait until I get the first egg though.

 

[RubyNala97]

It is ok to switch over.

I usually wait until I get the first egg though.

I wasn't sure what to do because I didn't want to buy a 25 pound bag of flock raiser if I wasn't going to use it. But I will have younger chicks out there again soon. Didn't someone say there is one type of feed you can give everyone all the time?

 

[ronott1]

I wasn't sure what to do because I didn't want to buy a 25 pound bag of flock raiser if I wasn't going to use it. But I will have younger chicks out there again soon. Didn't someone say there is one type of feed you can give everyone all the time?

You can give them Flock raiser all the time and supplement with free choice calcium. It is not perfect though since some hens will not eat enough of the free choice calcium and some roosters might eat too much.

It is easier though than keeping both types of feed. I have a 50 pound garbage can for each type so it is not too hard. When I set up breeding pens I feed them all flock raiser and give them free choice calcium.

Layeena is a bit less expensive than flock raiser so flock raiser all the time will cost more. Also, Roosters will still live Three-ish years eating layeena--three years after you start feeding it to them. If you will not be keeping them longer than that, you can feed them all layeena.

 

[FridayYet]

I wasn't sure what to do because I didn't want to buy a 25 pound bag of flock raiser if I wasn't going to use it. But I will have younger chicks out there again soon. Didn't someone say there is one type of feed you can give everyone all the time?

I use a grower/ flock raiser for all my birds (except starter for the chicks) and have oyster shell available on the side so the layers can get the calcium they need whenever they want. Too much calcium is not good for the littles or for roosters, so I don't use layer feed.

Edit; I'm on my phone, didn't see that Ronott already gave you a similar answer. I use a trash can for feed, too.

 

[AmyPaperlady]

Quote:
Though if you go the flock raiser route, because of the birds that shouldn't have the extra calcium, you can't just assume that something labeled to be for the whole flock is--my all-in-one turned out to have the same amount of calcium as layer feed

 

[FridayYet]

Though if you go the flock raiser route, because of the birds that shouldn't have the extra calcium, you can't just assume that something labeled to be for the whole flock is--my all-in-one turned out to have the same amount of calcium as layer feed

Great point! Always read your labels.

 

[ronott1]

Though if you go the flock raiser route, because of the birds that shouldn't have the extra calcium, you can't just assume that something labeled to be for the whole flock is--my all-in-one turned out to have the same amount of calcium as layer feed

That is a great point!

Make sure that there is not too much calcium.

 

[WalnutHill]

Do you have room in the kitchen where dish washing and boiling water are done?

My kitchen is such a big space that I can't get the humidity high enough to get condensation on the windows even when I brew a 5 gallon batch of beer. But the guest bath is about 5 x 8 and has a clawfoot tub with rainfall showerhead, and it's really easy to get the humidity to "dripping" in that room.

My GQF was stuffed back there because it stunk, and because it was too loud to keep in my office, but I think it will go in there for good. I have yet to find out how well the GQF will hold humidity or the recovery time, but it can't be worse than my forced air LGs were.