Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[subhanalah]

sfh seem to be especially sensitive to vitamin b deficiencies. medicated chick feed contains amprollium, which is a thiamine blocker.

you might try supplementing their water with liquid vitamins (poly-vi-sol for infants without the added iron works well).  some people have found that fermenting their feed also works wonders for the sfh. I've used fermented and regular feed both without issues, but then most of my chicks go out onto grass ASAP, usually under 3 weeks old, and more than likely with a broody, but not always.

I would look first, at the feed you are using. I use the 20% chick crumbles from TSC or the 20% meat bird maker mash from southern states. I've tried higher and lower protein feeds, but not as successfully as with these ones.

many people also supplement their birds with raw chopped liver and other meat sources, if they're not able to free range and hunt for bugs. I do when I find it on sale, but with a dog eating raw, he gets first pick of what's available. (tho when he's not hungry the chickens go nuts over his breakfast).

eggs are a complete source of vitamins for laying hens. I would imagine they would be ideal for young chicks prone to such deficiencies. I wonder if it has to do with the crest because silkies are also prone to vitamin D deficiencies.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
there are considerable differences in the uses of the 2 nutrients, so I seriously doubt crest has anything to do with it... D is a fat soluble vitamin that is synthesized by the body when the skin is exposed to natural sunlight. so I would theorize that the excessive fluffiness or maybe even the melanotic skin would have more to do with that, especially for the eggs themselves, that chicks derive their nutrition from.

b deficiencies could also be attributed to parental nutrition, and with them not showing signs until about 4 weeks old, that might be a key contributor, since symptoms don't appear immediately. supplementing vitamins in the water for the first week would be my suggestion, in addition to checking on both the parental feed and what the chicks are being fed.

for breeding adults, layer pellets are NOT satisfactory as the sole source of nutrition, but should be supplemented with a variety of things, such as left overs from dinner, meat (raw is best, cooked will also be gladly accepted). occasional eggs mixed into some chick crumbles are also good for them. the use of raw foods is best, since heat damages so much of the nutrients available.

 

[subhanalah]

there are considerable differences in the uses of the 2 nutrients, so I seriously doubt crest has anything to do with it...  D is a fat soluble vitamin that is synthesized by the body when the skin is exposed to natural sunlight. so I would theorize that the excessive fluffiness or maybe even the melanotic skin would have more to do with that, especially for the eggs themselves, that chicks derive their nutrition from.

b deficiencies could also be attributed to parental nutrition, and with them not showing signs until about 4 weeks old, that might be a key contributor, since symptoms don't appear immediately.  supplementing vitamins in the water for the first week would be my suggestion, in addition to checking on both the parental feed and what the chicks are being fed. 

for breeding adults, layer pellets are NOT satisfactory as the sole source of nutrition, but should be supplemented with a variety of things, such as left overs from dinner, meat (raw is best, cooked will also be gladly accepted). occasional eggs mixed into some chick crumbles are also good for them. the use of raw foods is best, since heat damages so much of the nutrients available.

That was auto correct changing something I didn't want it to.

silkies are prone to vitamin B deficiencies. More specifically thiamine and niacin.

So no, not the fluff or dark skin factor lol. Sorry about that!


also, I would think inadequate parental nutrition would show in newly hatched chicks more so than 3-4 weeks later. The chick hatching is the product of the parents conditions only, the older ones have been eating and have developed the problem over time?

How is flock raiser for breeding chickens?

 

[ivyrash]

I am currently feeding a custom feed at about 20% protein consisting of milo, corn, oats and soybean meal to my adults. I use fermented feed most of the time and they usually get to free range a few times a week. We have a hard time with predators here so I usually don't let them out unless I know someone is going to be around to check on them periodically through the day. Do people ferment crumbles for chicks? I had tried fermenting the crumbles and it just became a soupy mess so I stopped doing it until I started with the custom mix. I have a recipe for a chick mix that I may try and start fermenting that and see how it goes.

 

[TxFlowers]

I am currently feeding a custom feed at about 20% protein consisting of milo, corn, oats and soybean meal to my adults. I use fermented feed most of the time and they usually get to free range a few times a week. We have a hard time with predators here so I usually don't let them out unless I know someone is going to be around to check on them periodically through the day. Do people ferment crumbles for chicks? I had tried fermenting the crumbles and it just became a soupy mess so I stopped doing it until I started with the custom mix. I have a recipe for a chick mix that I may try and start fermenting that and see how it goes.

I do ferment my crumbles whether it be layer crumbles or the chick starter. I keep two batches of fermented going. One for each, chicks and adults, and in each I put some alfalfa pellets and sometimes a little dog food. In the layer batch, I usually put a little scratch grains too. Yes, it gets soupy but I have a big wire colander and I scoop up enough to fill it and set the colander over a feed bucket and let the water drain out then I feed it.

 

[subhanalah]

I am currently feeding a custom feed at about 20% protein consisting of milo, corn, oats and soybean meal to my adults.  I use fermented feed most of the time and they usually get to free range a few times a week.  We have a hard time with predators here so I usually don't let them out unless I know someone is going to be around to check on them periodically through the day.  Do people ferment crumbles for chicks?  I had tried fermenting the crumbles and it just became a soupy mess so I stopped doing it until I started with the custom mix.  I have a recipe for a chick mix that I may try and start fermenting that and see how it goes.

I do ferment my crumbles whether it be layer crumbles or the chick starter. I keep two batches of fermented going. One for each, chicks and adults, and in each I put some alfalfa pellets and sometimes a little dog food. In the layer batch, I usually put a little scratch grains too. Yes, it gets soupy but I have a big wire colander and I scoop up enough to fill it and set the colander over a feed bucket and let the water drain out then I feed it. 

This is way too much work. Mixing it drier has brought me much success, I was getting ready to quit fermenting when it was more of a wet consistency.
Here's another post about it.

I've had a lot of questions lately when I post my favorite fermented feed guide on BYC.
http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

I don't want to hijack that thread, so I'm going to quote it here and answer what I can.


I fill the container a little less than half way, then Fill it past the water level a bit. Stir it through, it should be pretty hard to stir by the time you are finished.

That's when starting a new bucket. If you already have some fermented food, you add a scoop or two to the water and stir it up before adding the dry and incorporating that to a uniform consistency.

Others have said an adult chicken eats from 1/2-1 cup per day. It varies dependent on forage available as well as other things included in the diet, such as scraps.

If they don't have any left the next day, feed more this time. If they have a lot left over, feed less.

As with mixing it, determining how much to feed your flock is too dependent on too many variables for any one answer to be correct.

p.s. I stir daily when starting a new ferment, but not after the first time. If it has been pre treated with fermented media, I don't stir, but I go through it pretty quickly. I keep it covered slightly to keep humidity in. If the sides get food on them, it can cause mold from not being in contact with the ferment culture and drying out too much.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/901514/fermented-feed-should-you-be-doing-it#post_13716475

 

[ivyrash]

What I have been doing is mixing about 50/50 dry and fermented. I'm feeding a lot of birds right now and would have to use a huge container to ferment enough feed for all of them twice a day. Mixing it also cuts down on the waste from all the grain dust from the cracked grains that my birds usually wont eat. I am pretty much done hatching for the year other than the occasional batch here and there so I will be trying some different things when I do hatch again. I think I will give the unmedicated feed another try and see if I can get things lined out.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!

 

[FeyRaine]

These are the sfh chicks I got last week.
The first 3 are more coppery than the red-purple color we have been talking about.
#4,5,6 are obviously no where near the red-purple color.





I've got a bunch of half done eggs in the bator so I'll keep an eye out for that hair-dye red-purple fluf.

 

[TurnipTruck]

The little ones have started roosting!

I had them all lined up (much cuter with a long line of little bodies), but these are the only three that didn't coming running to me when I came out with the camera.

 

[Bulldogma]

TurnipTruck - great pic anyway! Yes - mine charge me every time too. LOL!