The Old Folks Home

[ronott1]

Harmful to any bird not actively laying.
People say they feed all their birds layer because when a bird dies, they don't do a necropsy to find out the real cause. They say, "I don't know why he died".

The following study show that roosters die at nearly 4 times the rate of hens due to kidney damage.
http://www.pjbs.org/ijps/fin1947.pdf

It also affects sperm motility.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20434855

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10780656

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12530920


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10780656

Last paragraph
http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/chicken_gout.html
Last paragraph
http://www.agbiosecurity.ca/healthy...m and Vitamin D3 problems in laying birds.pdf

http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/12/2300.abstract

Graphic photos of urolithiasis.
http://nhjy.hzau.edu.cn/kech/synkx/dong/2bao/UrolithiasisChina.pdf

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/02/calcium-mixed-flocks-vs-mixed-feeds.html

I am often surprised when people do not know this. Just to stress the point, Stop the layer while the hens are molting even without a Rooster too. The extra protein in grower is good for them then.

How do you feed a roo a different diet than the hens if they are housed together? My roo gets layer feed because I can't think of a way to feed him separately.

The only 2 ways I can think of are to house the rooster separately and give him conjugal visits for 3 days every 2 weeks.

Otherwise, feed a grower, finisher or flock raiser and make sure the hens always have oyster shell available.

I do both of these things. The flock gets visits in the evening and is fed grower in their pens.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I am often surprised when people do not know this. Just to stress the point, Stop the layer while the hens are molting even without a Rooster too. The extra protein in grower is good for them then.


I do both of these things. The flock gets visits in the evening and is fed grower in their pens.

That's because most people zone out when the topic comes to nutrition; human, poultry or otherwise.

The only time my birds get layer feed is when I have an entire flock of pullets/young hens that I know are all laying and no rooster. That is rare.

Very good point about stopping layer when they start to molt. I've been recommending that for years. Switching to a higher protein starter/grower will help with the molt too.

 

[Cynthia12]

Reuters - Farmers in SE Asia have successfully crossed a Production Red with a penguin. The resulting bird swims like a fish, walks upright, and lays five eggs a week year round.

 

[Cynthia12]

So I get on today to tell yall great news and I get great news!! One of my Ducklings hatched under my Buff Orpington, I graduated college and I won the contest for the closest guess to the time and day for the 260,000 member, So now I have a 12 month gold subscription I think

Now this is JUST RIGHT! CONGRATULATIONS, IN BOTH OF YOUR GOOD NEWS.

 

[Cynthia12]

That's because most people zone out when the topic comes to nutrition; human, poultry or otherwise.

The only time my birds get layer feed is when I have an entire flock of pullets/young hens that I know are all laying and no rooster. That is rare.

Very good point about stopping layer when they start to molt. I've been recommending that for years. Switching to a higher protein starter/grower will help with the molt too.

Some scrambled eggs help too. Have a girl that has started to molt, hoping it will be a light one. I have only had one go into a real bad molt after all the years of chickens here. Knocking on wood! I hope she doesn't go too bad. She is my best OE layer. Most of mine that go into molt, still lay also.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Don't you find that a very hard molt tends to be a faster molt?

I've never had a hen (that I'm aware of) lay eggs during molt. Perhaps it has happened.

 

[Dragonfly216]

... I've read a couple of places about layer feed being bad for the roosters, too much calcium and it affected the kidneys, I think it said, but I also hear a lot of people feed their mixed flock layer feed. What do you guys think?

Harmful to any bird not actively laying.
People say they feed all their birds layer because when a bird dies, they don't do a necropsy to find out the real cause. They say, "I don't know why he died".

The following study show that roosters die at nearly 4 times the rate of hens due to kidney damage.
http://www.pjbs.org/ijps/fin1947.pdf

It also affects sperm motility.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20434855

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10780656

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12530920


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10780656

Last paragraph
http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/chicken_gout.html
Last paragraph
http://www.agbiosecurity.ca/healthy...m and Vitamin D3 problems in laying birds.pdf

http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/12/2300.abstract

Graphic photos of urolithiasis.
http://nhjy.hzau.edu.cn/kech/synkx/dong/2bao/UrolithiasisChina.pdf

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/02/calcium-mixed-flocks-vs-mixed-feeds.html

 
Harmful to any bird not actively laying.
People say they feed all their birds layer because when a bird dies, they don't do a necropsy to find out the real cause. They say, "I don't know why he died".

The following study show that roosters die at nearly 4 times the rate of hens due to kidney damage.
http://www.pjbs.org/ijps/fin1947.pdf

It also affects sperm motility.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20434855

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10780656

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12530920


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10780656

Last paragraph
http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/chicken_gout.html
Last paragraph
http://www.agbiosecurity.ca/healthy...m and Vitamin D3 problems in laying birds.pdf

http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/12/2300.abstract

Graphic photos of urolithiasis.
http://nhjy.hzau.edu.cn/kech/synkx/dong/2bao/UrolithiasisChina.pdf

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/02/calcium-mixed-flocks-vs-mixed-feeds.html

I am often surprised when people do not know this. Just to stress the point, Stop the layer while the hens are molting even without a Rooster too. The extra protein in grower is good for them then.

 
How do you feed a roo a different diet than the hens if they are housed together? My roo gets layer feed because I can't think of a way to feed him separately.

 
The only 2 ways I can think of are to house the rooster separately and give him conjugal visits for 3 days every 2 weeks.

Otherwise, feed a grower, finisher or flock raiser and make sure the hens always have oyster shell available.

I do both of these things. The flock gets visits in the evening and is fed grower in their pens.

I knew I could count on you guys for an educated response, I didn't think it would be so quick! Thank you very much. That was the conclusion I was coming to as well. So now I need to do more research. The only places nearby that sell the grower or broiler organic feed are two hours away or more. Living near a big city seems to make my choices few and far between. On a positive note, the place I found nearby wasn't listed on the organic's site as a local distributor, so I'm hopeful that if I call every single feed store within an hour or so if me, that I might find one with organic broiler feed! That's ok right, if they don't have grower or flock raiser?

 

[Wisher1000]

Processed feed is designed to meet the animal's needs and be convenient for the owner. If you want to go organic, I would come up with several options and do what is best for you. Research the requirements of your birds and figure out what organic options can be bought locally and combined to do the job. It may be that a combination of feeds, in the proper proportions, for other birds or animals will provide the necessary nutrients and are readily available in organic version (or maybe not, I haven't tried.) You might also look into ordering through a feed store or on line. Good luck!

 

[Dragonfly216]

Processed feed is designed to meet the animal's needs and be convenient for the owner.  If you want to go organic, I would come up with several options and do what is best for you.  Research the requirements of your birds and figure out what organic options can be bought locally and combined to do the job.  It may be that a combination of feeds, in the proper proportions, for other birds or animals will provide the necessary nutrients and are readily available in organic version (or maybe not, I haven't tried.)  You might also look into ordering through a feed store or on line.  Good luck!

You're quite right. I've been looking into possibly mixing the grains myself. I have a percentage chart and different ingredients that would go into a chicken feed, done up by a university. I'm having a hard time finding the organic grains locally. But I should be able to order bulk. Still just researching since the babies are only nine weeks old yesterday

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've researched feed a long time and worked in the feed industry. The primary difference in all the feeds (starter/grower/finisher/all flock/layer/breeder) are calcium and protein content.
All feed formulas are based on best research. Most feeds will give the minimum nutrients needed to maintain growth or laying ability at the least cost. More expensive feeds MAY do a better job. Organic and GMO free are much more expensive because they are just harder to come by.
Breeder feed should have slightly higher levels of vitamins/minerals and higher quality protein to give better hatch results.

IMHO, one can't save money or create a better quality feed than buying bagged feed unless they buy bulk ingredients by the ton. Then they better have enough chickens to go through that feed in a week or two or the nutrient quality will degrade.

The one thing that is good about commercial poultry production, whether it be for eggs or meat, is that their chickens/turkeys get very fresh feed. They own their own mills and it is usually fed to them within a day or two of manufacture.

As far as mixing grains, look at a feed ingredient label. There are lots of things that need to be in a chickens diet that aren't found in legumes and grains. Selenium, copper, zinc, iron, magnesium, B complex, E, D, A, Methionine, Lysine. There are supplements out there for these things but they are in quantities that supplement many tons of feed.

I've tried to come up with a plan to make my own feed and I realized the ingredients I would buy were way more expensive than buying feed. It is just the economy of scale. One attempting to do so will be buying 50 lb. bags of grains and legumes and other ingredients. The manufacturers are buying train loads. A bag of organic grain is more expensive, in most cases, than a bag of complete feed. Then one still needs to get all the supplements into the mix, buy a grinder or hammermill and a mixer.

I'm not trying to step on anyone's parade, I'm just reporting what I've discovered.