Got this advice from a professional blue-ribbon breeder who has been breeding, raising and showing birds for over 50 years - he has some of the best and most sought-after specimens of chickens, pigeons, quails, turkey, pheasants, peacocks in the country.
He breeds on a small scale as to give all his birds TLC from hatch till old age (some of his roos are 8 years old but look years younger!), his birds are all super healthy and never have health issues.
This is what he feeds to ALL the birds, no matter the breed, sex or age:
45% turkey growth crumbles (26% protein)
45% cracked corn
10% layer crumbles
plus:
fresh fruits, vegetables and the occasional treat such as shelled unsalted peanuts, BOSS, etc.
crushed oyster shell in a separate container for the hens (free choice)
More corn in the winter, less in the summer.
There is no waste, since the "flour" collected at the bottom of food dishes gets fed to the chicks and young birds.
It costs him $35 a month to feed all his birds this way!
He swears by this recipe and as I've seen his flock twice now (and have 3 pullets from his stock), I can attest that he must be doing something right.
I just switched my flock over to this recipe as their main food ration and let's see how it goes. He said that feeding too much calcium to the roos (ie, layer food) is bad for their kidneys as they can't process the extra calcium into egg shells, birds need more protein and if hens need added calcium for eggshells, to give free-choice crushed oyster shells. His hens hardly ever eat any and form beautiful eggs, so who knows?
Anyways, thought to share this with you.
He breeds on a small scale as to give all his birds TLC from hatch till old age (some of his roos are 8 years old but look years younger!), his birds are all super healthy and never have health issues.
This is what he feeds to ALL the birds, no matter the breed, sex or age:
45% turkey growth crumbles (26% protein)
45% cracked corn
10% layer crumbles
plus:
fresh fruits, vegetables and the occasional treat such as shelled unsalted peanuts, BOSS, etc.
crushed oyster shell in a separate container for the hens (free choice)
More corn in the winter, less in the summer.
There is no waste, since the "flour" collected at the bottom of food dishes gets fed to the chicks and young birds.
It costs him $35 a month to feed all his birds this way!
He swears by this recipe and as I've seen his flock twice now (and have 3 pullets from his stock), I can attest that he must be doing something right.
I just switched my flock over to this recipe as their main food ration and let's see how it goes. He said that feeding too much calcium to the roos (ie, layer food) is bad for their kidneys as they can't process the extra calcium into egg shells, birds need more protein and if hens need added calcium for eggshells, to give free-choice crushed oyster shells. His hens hardly ever eat any and form beautiful eggs, so who knows?
Anyways, thought to share this with you.
