Texas

[Little Wing]

Kilsharion, That is an awesome incubator! Does it work as well as it looks. Great job.

 

[Kilsharion]

Kilsharion, That is an awesome incubator! Does it work as well as it looks. Great job.

We are in the process of finding out! So far temps are staying stable. The only issue we have had has been the thermostat going insane late last night and deciding to get off by 6 degrees. Thankfully, my thermo-hygrometers have alarms that sound so it was very brief. We have figured out the trigger and applied the appropriate fix...thermostat sensor calibration issue, not design issue. So, we have our fingers crossed.

Thanks for the kind words. Been getting a ton of help and guidance on tolerances etc from Yinpue (prolly spelled that wrong)...typing on my phone so can't see the corect spelling.

 

[yinepu]

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]]

mu turkey tutors were only on the higher protein feed for a few weeks.. but even in that short of a time you could really see the difference.. they were very much evil little birds on steriods
. i know with meat birds excess protein will cause flip.. so they have to be kept on a lower %

 

[Kilsharion]

I am right on the Louisiana & Texas border & Gulf - small little place Bridge City - I'm a newbee and just getting started - hubby bought 15 acres on Cow Bayou and it had this small building sitting there, looked just right to be turned into a coop - so I have been cruising BYC for ideas and info, & gathering stuff & planning.  I'm ready but my timming seems to be off a little.  It's gardenng time here and it's takig all the spare time. Have to get everything in the ground first, nature doesn't wait.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[yinepu]

**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?).


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.

I've named her "Falcon".. she's the closest thing I have to a raptor.. now if I fell down in the coop and she landed on me I would have to change that to "Buzzard".. after all.. i have seen that gleam in her eyes!

 

[yinepu]

We are in the process of finding out! So far temps are staying stable. The only issue we have had has been the thermostat going insane late last night and deciding to get off by 6 degrees. Thankfully, my thermo-hygrometers have alarms that sound so it was very brief. We have figured out the trigger and applied the appropriate fix...thermostat sensor calibration issue, not design issue. So, we have our fingers crossed.

Thanks for the kind words. Been getting a ton of help and guidance on tolerances etc from Yinpue (prolly spelled that wrong)...typing on my phone so can't see the corect spelling.

eh.. no biggie.. I've been called a whole lot worse than that!

 

[CatKai]

So cute!!!!!!!!!

The pair of silkies!


Barred rocks; disco,funk, and raggae


The australorps; prince(ss), elvis, and cash


Americauna(EE); bonnie and clyde

 

[galanie]

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]]

It's true that too much of anything is not a good thing. But I feel that giving a layer 14-16% is just not enough. And that a growing bird needs 18-20% minimum. I tend to just give them all 18% grower once the little ones are a few months old and put out free choice oyster shell. But before that, the chicks get 20% medicated feed with even a bit of something like Calf Manna thrown in. I am talking LF breeder quality Orpingtons though and it could be that they just have a higher need then some of the smaller breeds.

 

[Kilsharion]

It's true that too much of anything is not a good thing. But I feel that giving a layer 14-16% is just not enough. And that a growing bird needs 18-20% minimum. I tend to just give them all 18% grower once the little ones are a few months old and put out free choice oyster shell. But before that, the chicks get 20% medicated feed with even a bit of something like Calf Manna thrown in. I am talking LF breeder quality Orpingtons though and it could be that they just have a higher need then some of the smaller breeds.

I am sorry if I implied otherwise. I stated in my post that 20% was not over the top. I forget my colloquialisms are not universally understood. I meant that to say that 20% is ok for providing as feed to chicks. I do feel that 22% (not 20%) in their food is a bit over the top for a grown bird, since they will get additional proteins from foraging; however, that is solely my opinion and worth precisely nothing

. Seriously, though, H&H starter-grower is 20% protein. So

Re: H&H - if you've never heard of them, you might be interested in checking them out.

 

[Kilsharion]

I've named her "Falcon".. she's the closest thing I have to a raptor.. now if I fell down in the coop and she landed on me I would have to change that to "Buzzard".. after all.. i have seen that gleam in her eyes!