Texas

[showbarnmom]

That's it....I'm giving them steroids and protein! I want eggs! Jk jk lol

 

[Little Wing]

That's it....I'm giving them steroids and protein! I want eggs! Jk jk lol

Their pee pees will shrivel up!

jk jk

 

[Kilsharion]

I have talked to several breeders that use a higher protein feed like turkey starter which is 22% I think. I have tried it and seems like the chicks did grow faster.

Cute chickies!

I feed a started mash from H&H that I mix with milk and molasses each morning (and heat just a wee bit - 30 to 45 seconds in the mw). They absolutely love it, and I hold the bowl while they eat it. It encourages them to get used to me being around without me having to chase them down . I'm lazy like that. Now days, my girls come and crawl all over me when I go out. They sure did seem to sprout up pretty fast. They get their wet mash in the morning, dry in their feeder and then scratch grains in the afternoon. About twice a week, I snag mealworms and/or crickets and give to them (generally only when they are in the brooder since I tractor them and they get plenty once they are out in the coop). The first time they see moving stuff in there is the cutest thing to watch.

Me and my girls:

Mo's my favourite out of all my chickens. Has the most character, the most curiosity and is just hilarious. S/he loves to hang out with Kirby (the pup you see in the video).

 

[yinepu]

Higher protein feed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/286598/pros-cons-of-high-protein-feed-for-chicks

I know there's probably a few more floating around...

 

[Little Wing]

I feed a started mash from H&H that I mix with milk and molasses each morning (and heat just a wee bit - 30 to 45 seconds in the mw). They absolutely love it, and I hold the bowl while they eat it. It encourages them to get used to me being around without me having to chase them down . I'm lazy like that. Now days, my girls come and crawl all over me when I go out. They sure did seem to sprout up pretty fast. They get their wet mash in the morning, dry in their feeder and then scratch grains in the afternoon. About twice a week, I snag mealworms and/or crickets and give to them (generally only when they are in the brooder since I tractor them and they get plenty once they are out in the coop). The first time they see moving stuff in there is the cutest thing to watch.

Me and my girls:

Mo's my favourite out of all my chickens. Has the most character, the most curiosity and is just hilarious. S/he loves to hang out with Kirby (the pup you see in the video).

Shhhhh! If my chickens get wind of this they will go on strike!!

 

[yinepu]

I feed a started mash from H&H that I mix with milk and molasses each morning (and heat just a wee bit - 30 to 45 seconds in the mw). They absolutely love it, and I hold the bowl while they eat it. It encourages them to get used to me being around without me having to chase them down . I'm lazy like that. Now days, my girls come and crawl all over me when I go out. They sure did seem to sprout up pretty fast. They get their wet mash in the morning, dry in their feeder and then scratch grains in the afternoon. About twice a week, I snag mealworms and/or crickets and give to them (generally only when they are in the brooder since I tractor them and they get plenty once they are out in the coop). The first time they see moving stuff in there is the cutest thing to watch.

If I still had goats mine would get goodies like that.. but I'm too lazy and they are such brats anyway... I keep telling them they have a job to do.. they look at me and demand more corn.. *sighs*
I swear whole corn is like crack to them...

I have one cuckoo maran hen that flies over and lands on me every time I go into her coop... she thinks she's too good to eat from the feeders with the others.. insists that I stand there and let her peck feed out of the bucket until she's done...

 

[Kilsharion]

Higher protein feed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/286598/pros-cons-of-high-protein-feed-for-chicks

I know there's probably a few more floating around...

Someone on there put that extra protein putting stress on the body is a myth. This is inaccurate. It is not a myth. Excess protein particularly by an animal that is not a carnivore can and does cause kidney problems later in life. It will often shorten the life expectancy by years. If you don't care about the life expectancy, excessive protein will indeed cause the bird to get large quickly and to grow larger than birds kept within a tolerable limit of protein. 22% is not over the top, though you don't want to continue at that level for the life of the bird unless you expect that life to be relatively short. 30+% may be pushing it even at an early stage because their kidneys have to work extra hard while they are still continuing to develop.

That's the thing you have to be very careful of - that they do not get more protein than the body can handle. The problem is that excess protein doesn't manifest itself in the bird getting sick or having a poor growth rate, etc. It manifests in having a larger bird faster. If that is your goal and you are growing them up to slaughter early - go for it. If you want a bird that will be productive and last a good long while - you may want to have them on a lower protein diet than some might suggest for the quick growers. It just depends on what you want out of your birds.

When they get older, the keys are going to be calcium and vitamins. They can die from egg production if they don't have enough. They start leeching it from their own bodies to provide it to the eggs, and if their diet isn't sufficient to cover the loss - yes, they can die of calcium loss. They also need to be getting plenty of vitamin D (actually allows them to make use of the calcium they intake via food - thus why time in the sun is so important) and avoiding excessive vitamin C (it leeches calcium).

[[edited as I had left out a key word]]

 

[showbarnmom]

Their pee pees will shrivel up!

jk jk

Oh no! Then I'm going to have over compensation issues! They are going to want bigger coops and want to drive monster trucks or sports cars! Crap! I can't afford that.

 

[Cockle-Dood]

Great info Kilsharion! i think ill stick with my 18% starter and just give them some boiled eggs or something for treats now and again. gives me room to play without going overboard!

 

[Kilsharion]

Shhhhh! If my chickens get wind of this they will go on strike!!

**snickers** My husband has asked me if I plan to keep this up as I get more and more birds (re: the 46 cycling through the incubator + the four dozen more inbound + bantams around May, etc)...I told him it depended on my pocketbook and on how they ate. The girls in the video actually don't eat the dry food in their feeder much at all. They are foraging crazy, much preferring grass and weeds and the occasional bug that wanders through (to its death) to eating feed - except for their morning mash and scratch. My other girls (and roo), however, have very little interest in grass and weeds and plow through feed like crazy. So - it kinda balances out bugetarily (like my new word?).

If I still had goats mine would get goodies like that.. but I'm too lazy and they are such brats anyway... I keep telling them they have a job to do.. they look at me and demand more corn.. *sighs*
I swear whole corn is like crack to them...

I have one cuckoo maran hen that flies over and lands on me every time I go into her coop... she thinks she's too good to eat from the feeders with the others.. insists that I stand there and let her peck feed out of the bucket until she's done...

That's too funny. I've actually told Mike that at the rate we are going through milk, I need some goats. He just laughs and shakes his head.

I totally can picture the Cuckoo bossing you around.

That's just too cute a picture.