Easy to grow. Knowing that I just may plant some next spring for the birds. Finding a way to grind it may pose a challenge but not impossible to do.
With Marek's in my flock I always have birds that are less thrifty than others, especially during molt and the cold winter months here. Hard to separate them out so these two birds get this food and these three get that food and these 8.....well you get the picture. In fall I start buying scratch grain and mix sunflower seed with it and give the main flock of BO's and Wellsummers three cups of the mix in a feeder along with regular crumbles mainly to make them think they are getting more of the scratch mix. That is their daily ration of that and for the rest of the day they get their regular crumble. I've noticed my thin birds gaining a bit of weight and holding it over the winter months and my healthier birds maintaining on this ration.
It's just heartbreaking to pick up two or three hens with keel bone ratings of 3-4 and then pick up one with a rating of 1 who is eating like a horse but not gaining weight and a rooster who is a 0- rating who is also eating like a teenager but not gaining weight.
It's a constant juggling exercise just to figure out what to do and when I finally found a combination of grains and seeds along with food that works it's like here ya go gang, chow down. And I hope for the best.
If the Indian corn would add more protein to their diet then that would be worth the trouble of growing it.
But then I have to start worrying about increasing the protein in their diet.
See there I go, juggling again.
With Marek's in my flock I always have birds that are less thrifty than others, especially during molt and the cold winter months here. Hard to separate them out so these two birds get this food and these three get that food and these 8.....well you get the picture. In fall I start buying scratch grain and mix sunflower seed with it and give the main flock of BO's and Wellsummers three cups of the mix in a feeder along with regular crumbles mainly to make them think they are getting more of the scratch mix. That is their daily ration of that and for the rest of the day they get their regular crumble. I've noticed my thin birds gaining a bit of weight and holding it over the winter months and my healthier birds maintaining on this ration.
It's just heartbreaking to pick up two or three hens with keel bone ratings of 3-4 and then pick up one with a rating of 1 who is eating like a horse but not gaining weight and a rooster who is a 0- rating who is also eating like a teenager but not gaining weight.
It's a constant juggling exercise just to figure out what to do and when I finally found a combination of grains and seeds along with food that works it's like here ya go gang, chow down. And I hope for the best.
If the Indian corn would add more protein to their diet then that would be worth the trouble of growing it.
But then I have to start worrying about increasing the protein in their diet.
See there I go, juggling again.
