the first year of Soy Free Eggs

[Resolution]

Chicken Al,

In my opinion, it's well worth the drive to procure high quality feed. You can store enough to only make that trip once every few months. If you combine UltraKibble with that organic scratch grain the birds' consumption should drop down~ forty percent. We must keep in mind that this is the time of year when people must really work hard to improve the diets of their birds. I'm going to spend some time now and write up something about growth, moult, cellular regeneration- the three pivotal nutrition based functions that we absolutely must pay the closest attention to this time of year and well into the fall.

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
Yes, your maths are correct. That's how the product is so economical. Cut down on how much the birds eat daily while optimizing their nutrition.
I dropped the protein level to get rid of the soy. Consequently, this formula is even more digestible than the original kibble.

 

[Resolution]

The thing about moulting is that it’s all about cellular regeneration.
I remember as a kid someone had it in their mind that once the hens stopped laying to moult it was time to just throw them some scratch- no more expensive soft pellet for them. Many of the hens ended up going bald with broken quills that never moulted. It was common at just about everyone’s hen house on at least one hen.
Eventually that “old hen” would end up in the stockpot.

Later I learned that really, we aught have been supplementing their diet with the most optimal nutrients to help the birds regenerate every cell on their bodies as they would in nature. Of course the birds moult anyway and regeneration is taking place constantly. What I’m trying to impart here is that –you may be able to help your birds increase their immune systems, produce superior feather structure and body functioning.

Chickens aren’t machines but we tend to keep them that way. They’re generally hatched in enormous incubators –brooded under electric lamps and turned into statically efficient environments. We feed them incredibly consistent diets and let them sleep in microhabitats that we’ve created- that act as repositories for season after season of feather dander, dust, fecal dust and etc. – Moulting can end up being incredibly stressful on the birds- and yes there are different kinds of moults.

Concurrently, while their parents are moulting, the chicks of the year are growing exponentially- overnight it would seem so quick is their development (save for those races and species that are very slow growing).

In nature, the birds time this part of the year with the time of the greatest bounty- the insect season- when insects fill the vegetation- working their hardest to prepare – mate, die or migrate before the dry season. This is when the chicks and moulting adults are eating an optimal diet-

And this is when I personally feel- this is only my opinion- that soy foods are most deleterious for your birds. I also believe that breeding pairs should be kept on soy free diets as well, all year round. But the most important season is actually well upon us. Its time to start nourishing the cellular regeneration so close behind us.

When you supplement wisely, judiciously, effectively- you’ll notice such great differences in plumage pattern and pigment, in facial skin and leg scale hue- . With the right diet a captive Green Junglefowl may be nearly as brilliant looking as those in the wild. The same is true for domestic fowl. Of course they’re not wild creatures but one can turn on the genetic switches that turn on the jungle hues.

 

[chickerdoodle]

I think its great you brought up the topic of ubiquitous GMO soy. I do think though some fiber in peas is fine, but perhaps it should be in lower quantities.

I have been feeding a locally grown organic, soy and corn free mash with fish meal and flax in it. Since it locally grown and packaged it is a very fresh product.

My hens are gorgeous, healthy and lay 5-6 eggs a week each. They really love the feed too. It only comes in a mash so I mix it each morning with some water --just enough to make it a little sticky so they'll get all the vitamins and minerals in each bite. I had to start doing this because I have a cross beak hen who needed to be able to get more food so this helps her get a nice full crop every day--then I realized how much better it was for all of them and they all love it. I do have dry available all day as well and they get fresh organic greens and any slugs, bugs, worms they find or dig up.

 

[Resolution]

I said something about peas yesterday that was not entirely accurate. They do not produce phytoestrogen! Their protein is partially available to landfowl and substantially more so than soybeans. Legumes contain relatively low quantities of the essential amino acid methionine. To compensate, some vegetarian cultures serve legumes along with grains, which are low in the essential amino acid lysine, which legumes contain. Thus a combination of legumes with grains can provide all necessary amino acids for vegetarian human beings. Of course landfowl, including chickens are for all intensive purposes insectivorous at least for periods of the year. Omnivore by habit, invertivore by design. (it's all in the form and function of the digging bill and raking feet.). By using fish meal you've walked all the way around that conundrum. Nice move! My only comment about your regime is the term mash. Of all the soft feeds, mash is my least favorite. It's wasted the most as it's so hard to pick up with the bill. Scattered mash turns the substrate sour and easily mixes with feather dander and environmental dust to produce poultry smut, that least desirable environment in the poultry yard and hen house because it is a breeding ground for bacteria.

Something you might think of doing is make up big batches of extra soupy oatmeal and mix all your feed ingredients within. The gruel should be fairly solid and not watery when you're completed with it. Feeding would take place in large tip proof dog bowls or in large open containers that are readily picked up for convenient sanitation.


Fresh peas might be one of the best foods one can feed their birds because they contain certain essential oils and sugars not found anywhere but in fresh green seeds and green fruits that landfowl do sustain themselves on naturally (versus dried seeds).

 

[welasharon]

Resolution
I have read till I am dizzy. I just acquired a trio of o shamo. What would you suggest for me to feed them mixed with the ultra kibble?
sharon

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
Shamo and their ancestral stock are all these enormous Austronesian game fowl that really aught to be on a diet more in tune for a junglefowl than a domestic chicken- that is if you intend to keep the same birds alive for decades- versus the 14 months and turn them over for new stock methodology of the high production framework.

Shamo Diet ( also ideal for Yokohama, Onagadori, Minohiki, Serama, Silky, Saipan, Chabo, Sumatran, basically any Asiatic breeds that are purely Asian in hitory and development)

UltraKibble 40%

Buckwheat 10%

Barley 10%

Canary Seed 20%

White Millet 20 %

I would also feed cooked brown rice and stone fruit- cherries and plums, dark red fruits high in antioxidants - as management food ( i.e. "treats" ) regularly as well.

Also, take the time to fashion the best possible dust bath that you can manage. Shamo really gleam if their feathers can be maintained and that requires some coarse sand and wood ashes- kept fresh- add as much ground black pepper and cinnamon as you want to the dust wallow and a bit of DE and coarse ground lime.

Also, keep the birds hungry. Only put out small portions every day and do not feed any more of the maintenance diet until every grain and kibble has been consumed.
For satiation and stimulation keep a foraging pile in front of them-radishes with their tops, apples (the riper the better) and lots of leaf litter from the woods.

 

[southerndesert]

Good info here... THANK YOU! Now to go back and read through again....

 

[ChickenAl]

Resolution, I've been adding the ultraKibble at the rate of 10% to the Countryside Organics layer. I have noticed they leave some of the kibble (not much, though) in the feeder when it runs out of layer feed. They love the kibble when it is fed separately. Should I feed it on the side or continue to mix it in the feed?

 

[welasharon]

Quote:
Shamo and their ancestral stock are all these enormous Austronesian game fowl that really aught to be on a diet more in tune for a junglefowl than a domestic chicken- that is if you intend to keep the same birds alive for decades- versus the 14 months and turn them over for new stock methodology of the high production framework.

Shamo Diet ( also ideal for Yokohama, Onagadori, Minohiki, Serama, Silky, Saipan, Chabo, Sumatran, basically any Asiatic breeds that are purely Asian in hitory and development)

UltraKibble 40%

Buckwheat 10%

Barley 10%

Canary Seed 20%

White Millet 20 %

I would also feed cooked brown rice and stone fruit- cherries and plums, dark red fruits high in antioxidants - as management food ( i.e. "treats" ) regularly as well.

Also, take the time to fashion the best possible dust bath that you can manage. Shamo really gleam if their feathers can be maintained and that requires some coarse sand and wood ashes- kept fresh- add as much ground black pepper and cinnamon as you want to the dust wallow and a bit of DE and coarse ground lime.

Also, keep the birds hungry. Only put out small portions every day and do not feed any more of the maintenance diet until every grain and kibble has been consumed.
For satiation and stimulation keep a foraging pile in front of them-radishes with their tops, apples (the riper the better) and lots of leaf litter from the woods.

Excellent and very concise! I can work with this. Yes these are pets and I want them to be around as long as possible. I've had a dog and a cat live to be 22 and you don't do that without paying attention to diet so I know how important it is...I just was lost on the chicken thing! Thank you so very much!
sharon