The BANTAM ORPINGTON Thread

[Lacy Blues]

Have you tried giving him yogurt? How about LIVE mealworms? Maybe some raw beef cut into small pieces?

On the yogurt, too much would cause diarrhea but about 1 teaspoon for each of them would be beneficial. It brings balance and introduced healthy gut bacteria. Make sure he is able to eat his teaspoonful. Do you ferment their feed or feed it dry? Fermenting makes the protein in it more available to them.

I don't know anything about scratch and peck feed but if it's a good feed there's no reason to change it, just supply oyster shell and she should eat it and lay her eggs just fine.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Have you tried giving him yogurt? How about LIVE mealworms? Maybe some raw beef cut into small pieces?

On the yogurt, too much would cause diarrhea but about 1 teaspoon for each of them would be beneficial. It brings balance and introduced healthy gut bacteria. Make sure he is able to eat his teaspoonful. Do you ferment their feed or feed it dry? Fermenting makes the protein in it more available to them.

I don't know anything about scratch and peck feed but if it's a good feed there's no reason to change it, just supply oyster shell and she should eat it and lay her eggs just fine.

Thanks for the reply Lacy Blues.

I have tried giving him yogurt, kefir and buttermilk. He won't touch them, Snickers will but he won't. I do put probiotics in their water, that has been the only way to get probiotics in him so far.

Scratch and Peck is an organic, no soy, no corn, non gmo feed and I have tried fermenting it and unfortunately none of our chickens will eat it that way. Which has been very frustrating because I have tried fermenting it about 8 times only to have to throw it away because no one will eat it. I would give anything if they would eat it that way as it really is better for them.

I have never given him raw beef.....I have given him cooked beef and he loves it but never raw. Guess what he is getting for dinner tonight?

As for the live mealworms, I need to put on my big girl pants and start to raise those too. We put in a new raised bed garden this weekend and he had the best time looking for earthworms in the tilled soil so I know he really is a chicken and will eat live worms! LOL!

 

[Lacy Blues]

For the fermented feed, if you try again, maybe just do a small batch and when you serve it, make sure it is a little on the dry side and/or sprinkle some dry feed on top of it. That's how I start my chicks. They just look at it the first time and they all start shaking their heads as if they already know its going to stick to their beaks. So funny to watch! You can use yogurt as part of the liquid in the fermented feed. I don't feed yogurt all the time but on occasion I will mix about a half quart into the water going into the dry feed to let it grow while the feed is fermenting. Make sure you use plain and unsweetened yogurt as the sugars in other flavors kill most if not all of the beneficial bacteria so that yogurt is just a substitute for ice cream with no benefits at all. With the chicks being introduced directly to yogurt, they will pick it off my finger before they dive into a mound of it. They all shake the excess off their beaks and it splatters all over but they clean it up.

What is the protein level in your feed?

 

[Peanutsmomma]

For the fermented feed, if you try again, maybe just do a small batch and when you serve it, make sure it is a little on the dry side and/or sprinkle some dry feed on top of it. That's how I start my chicks. They just look at it the first time and they all start shaking their heads as if they already know its going to stick to their beaks. So funny to watch! You can use yogurt as part of the liquid in the fermented feed. I don't feed yogurt all the time but on occasion I will mix about a half quart into the water going into the dry feed to let it grow while the feed is fermenting. Make sure you use plain and unsweetened yogurt as the sugars in other flavors kill most if not all of the beneficial bacteria so that yogurt is just a substitute for ice cream with no benefits at all. With the chicks being introduced directly to yogurt, they will pick it off my finger before they dive into a mound of it. They all shake the excess off their beaks and it splatters all over but they clean it up.

What is the protein level in your feed?

Hmmmm...... when I made my fermented feed I used only filtered water so maybe I will give it another try with some added yogurt. The last time I made it I did drain off the liquid and mixed in some oats to dry it out a bit but did not add additional dry feed. Maybe I haven't been giving them long enough to eat it? Our older girls will eat yogurt and I agree it is hilarious to watch them with their little yogurt beards.

The Scratch and Peck is 20.5% protein from fish meal. In my research I did read that fish meal can exacerbate conditions like Clostridium (which I just knew he had but he tested negative for two different types) because it contains amino acids that feed the bacteria which in turn can cause diarrhea. We took him off of the Scratch and Peck feed and put him on another feed with pork protein and he didn't like it as well, lost weight and still had the runny stool. So we went back to what he would eat.

Thank you for your suggestions Lacy Blues, I really do appreciate your help.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I meant to say earlier that you can get live mealworms at Walmart in the sports department. They sell them as fishing bait. Or if you have a Bait n Tackle shop nearby, they would likely have them too. You don't have to raise them to be able to get them, though it is probably cheaper in the long run if you end up buying a lot of them.

I have found that the only time my birds relish oats is if I soak them in oil or sprout them and they're very hard to sprout (for me anyway).

Is your feed pelletized or is it whole grains?

If you can get yogurt into him, try feeding those bacteria. They apparently like pectin which you can get from the skin of green apples or the white under the orange rind of an orange. Of course they like dairy as well but I wouldn't give them anything that's been pasteurized. Buttermilk is an option too though it usually doesn't have the varieties of live cultures that a good yogurt has.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

I meant to say earlier that you can get live mealworms at Walmart in the sports department. They sell them as fishing bait. Or if you have a Bait n Tackle shop nearby, they would likely have them too. You don't have to raise them to be able to get them, though it is probably cheaper in the long run if you end up buying a lot of them.

I have found that the only time my birds relish oats is if I soak them in oil or sprout them and they're very hard to sprout (for me anyway).

Is your feed pelletized or is it whole grains?

If you can get yogurt into him, try feeding those bacteria. They apparently like pectin which you can get from the skin of green apples or the white under the orange rind of an orange. Of course they like dairy as well but I wouldn't give them anything that's been pasteurized. Buttermilk is an option too though it usually doesn't have the varieties of live cultures that a good yogurt has.

Well, I gave him the raw beef when I fed them their dinner and he acted like it was the best think he ever ate!

So that will definitely be on the menu more often. I normally buy crickets for them at the local bait shop, so I will check to see if they have the mealworms as well. I did take a class in chicken keeping last year from a local farm where they taught us how to raise our own meal worms so I probably need to dig up my notes on the subject. Right now, they can get their little beaks on plenty of earthworms but that will come to an end when we put up our garden fence.

Thanks for the tip on the green apple skins, I will pick up some tomorrow. Apples are one thing that he loves but I have been trying to limit the fruit I give him as I did not want to make his poop situation worse. Maybe I should grind up some of the skins and put it his feed?

Oh, the Scratch and Peck is whole grain and is not heat processed.

 

[Lacy Blues]

If the feed is whole grain, I don't understand why they won't eat it fermented. It would look the same and should be softer.

You might need to find out if he has worms. Has he been checked for them? I ask because crickets and earthworms carry thread worms and roundworms. I'm not trying to send you into a panic to where you run out and get some Wazine or Safeguard or anything like that. You feed a good feed so I doubt you would jump to use poison on your birds. There are other milder treatments but the first step is to know whether you need to be concerned about them.

I'm super glad he liked the beef! He's a happy boy tonight!

 

[Faraday40]

"I told her not to worry b/c chickens can't read."

Seriously, I think Cookie, "The Bantam Menace" needs her own thread!

Yes, Cookie has a superiority complex. SHE certainly thinks she's the queen. I'm not sure why the big girls don't beat her up. They just let her get away with all her antics.

When she walks across the grass it looks like she floats. (Of course we've only had snow for some time.) Because of all her fluff, we don't see those little feet moving. She looks like she glides while everyone else walks & waddles.

I think you'll soon have your own stories to tell about a finicky rooster. That's something I can't imagine. My parents own a fussy dog while our lab will eat anything organic. I even caught him eating chicken poop! Yuck! I hope you get Coco feeling better & eating well soon.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

If the feed is whole grain, I don't understand why they won't eat it fermented. It would look the same and should be softer.

You might need to find out if he has worms. Has he been checked for them? I ask because crickets and earthworms carry thread worms and roundworms. I'm not trying to send you into a panic to where you run out and get some Wazine or Safeguard or anything like that. You feed a good feed so I doubt you would jump to use poison on your birds. There are other milder treatments but the first step is to know whether you need to be concerned about them.

I'm super glad he liked the beef! He's a happy boy tonight!

No, he does not have worms. He did when we first got him back in September (4 different types of parasites plus 2 different bacterial infections) so we did a round of Valbazen after he was well enough to tolerate it, then tested again and he still had round worms so the vet suggested a round of Safeguard (which she assured me was safe as it is used in pregnant animals). Now they are completely parasite free. I take them in once a month for a little check up since they were so sick when we first got them and on our last visit 2 weeks ago she basically said that she does not know why his stools won't firm up. She called someone in a position of authority with the agency that deals with poultry health in the State of Alabama and was told that it was his diet that was causing his issues. Sooooooo..................I started switching feeds and no dice, no matter what I feed him he still has runny stools. I made the decision to go back to the Scratch and Peck because he likes that better than any other feed. Our vet is actually surprised that they survived their horrible health problems and we call them "miracle" chickens. The fact that they have been tested for so many things and come back clean is comforting and bothersome at the same time since I cannot find a reason for his runny poop. Snickers eats the same thing as Coco, has the same routine etc...as they are devoted to one another and she is perfect in every way.

I am going to try the fermented feed again made with some yogurt mixed in but I might just have to resign myself to the fact that he will never be a robust eater. He is eating enough so that he is gaining a little bit of weight but he just feels like feathers and bones when I pick him up.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Yes, Cookie has a superiority complex. SHE certainly thinks she's the queen. I'm not sure why the big girls don't beat her up. They just let her get away with all her antics.

When she walks across the grass it looks like she floats. (Of course we've only had snow for some time.) Because of all her fluff, we don't see those little feet moving. She looks like she glides while everyone else walks & waddles.

I think you'll soon have your own stories to tell about a finicky rooster. That's something I can't imagine. My parents own a fussy dog while our lab will eat anything organic. I even caught him eating chicken poop! Yuck! I hope you get Coco feeling better & eating well soon.

Thanks for the well wishes for Mr. Coco.

Gosh, I wish I could borrow Cookie to get our big girls in line. LOL!!! They are so mean to our sweet little Snickers. She is the sweetest little chocolate and as hard as she tries to fit in with the big girls, they just won't let her run with them. As soon as she goes broody I am going to get her some bantam eggs to hatch so she and Coco can have their own flock. I don't think I should let Coco father any chicks since he might have some sort of genetic deficiency going on in the digestive department.