The Old Folks Home

[Double Kindness]

Hearing your stories about lack of good vets makes me incredibly grateful that I have a vet that is a byc member @dretd that is so awesome!! I'm new to chickens/ducks/bunnies and just really lucked into meeting someone like her. She also does crow reduction surgery on roosters, which is super nice for my urban area.

The caponizing on the other hand is not something she does, so we've been learning that on the fly. Along with processing. My bf says all this healthy real organic food we've been having since early this fall has improved his disc golf game. So it looks like I have his support in continuing this project of raising as much of our own food etc as possible.

The sucky thing about DC passing mj, is that it has to get congressional approval first. Do you see that happening with all those republicans running things again? The problem I see with the legal mj stuff is over regulation by ppl who don't even understand how this stuff grows and works etc. There is much room to improve upon the changing tides and reefer madness is no longer the driving force, but healing our planet and ourselves becomes MORE important. But what the heck do I know?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have trouble with such an incredible reduction in feed use. While I see numbers like that thrown around, it just seems too much.

Studies show in broilers an improved feed conversion - from 2.98 to 2.73 but thats a long way from 33%

Where is the reduction in feed occuring?

Almost all the reduction in feed us comes from the elimination of waste. There's no billing out and spilled feed on the floor/ground. I'd say about 3% or so of the reduction is from improved nutrition.

It's also possible that there's less loss to wild birds during the day and mice at night if I keep feed in the bulk feeders.

I don't keep extremely close data on feed consumption. I have kept monthly records on feed usage. I calculate how much I need to buy each month based on how many lots of 10 adult birds I have and how many chicks. Once I started feeding FF, I had a huge surplus and had to cut back drastically on what I ordered. That reduction is what allowed me to switch almost entirely to organic. I'm spending about the same amount of money for equal #s of birds.

Someone was saying (I think) that they would add in catfish feed to add protein, am I remembering that correctly? If so how much and what kind? It makes since to me that the chickens and ducks would need a little more protein in the winter... Idk just what I'm thinking

Catfish food, cat food and dog food may have higher protein but there are other things in all those feeds you may want to avoid.
There are other ways to add protein without the feeds intended for other species. I'm thinking canned mackerel (cheapest per ounce), fishmeal or if you only have a handful of birds, tuna or meat scraps. In many parts of the country, kidney is quite cheap if you can find it and is very nutritious. Just thinking out loud now.

They actually need the same amount of protein but more energy. The only reason they would need more protein is if they were eating more high energy foodstuffs like corn or wheat, thereby reducing the protein percentage in their total intake.

 

[vehve]

TN, best wishes to Maddy! Hope the pain goes away soon.

 

[Alaskan]

@ChickenCanoe up here it seams as if everyone keeps saying you need high protein for the cold and to stop canabalism and feather picking in the winter.

20% layer is very popular.

What are your thoughts?


Forgot to add....nope, the spouse isn't from Alaska, just told me we got to move a maximum of ONE time after we married. We moved up here....no more moves left.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I can't argue with that. I had cannibalism for the first time in my life last winter - our coldest in decades. I upped the protein and I suppose it corrected it.
As I said, the added protein need may be due to the increased consumption to meet energy needs. With lots of variables in each person's management/housing/climate/feeding regimens, it's hard to generalize.
I sometimes carry a 20% layer. The feeding instructions on the label says to feed 50% of the 20% layer and 50% scratch grains. That way one will end up with approximately 16% total crude protein.

ETA

Keep in mind too that the research is on commercial flocks or otherwise confined birds that aren't subjected to the temperature extremes our birds encounter.

 

[Amberjem]

My vets deal primarily with cats dogs and cows and don't usually care to see anything else....
Even refused to see my neighbor's horse...
Completely clueless about my ferret ... I really like my vets but practicing in a tiny little village has left them a little specialized...
No one around here that I know would take a chicken to the vet.... I have yet to meet a chicken owner in person that has ever dewormed a bird, or even knew you should.... When a friends goat stepped on a nail And needed a tetanus shot they were reluctant to order it in.... Agh.... I will call them again and see if they've even found me worming or cocci medication, and of course I'll ask about them looking at

I can understand that fortunately have weird luck with that here one of the local vets use to do some kind of bird research and stuff so they are rather savvy with bird care of course I only have experience dealing with them and birds in regards to my parrot ok, also what about dietenatious earth? doesnt that help with worming?

 

[hennible]

I can understand that  fortunately have weird luck with that here one of the local vets use to do some kind of bird research and stuff so they are rather savvy with bird care of course I only have experience dealing with them and birds in regards to my parrot ok, also what about dietenatious earth? doesnt that help with worming?

Nope apparently not...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-and-wormer-misinformations-graphic-pictures

 

[ChickenCanoe]

OK Alaskan, I just read the 20% layer feeding directions.

It says the following:

"20% Egg Granules are formulated to balance the nutritional needs of layer pullets in the first two months or more of egg production. Keep 20% Egg Granules before them at all times. Older hens, more than two months into production, may also be fed up to an equal amount of scratch grains. Regulate grain feeding according to condition of hens. If feathering appears poor, reduce the amount of scratch grain fed. Scratch grains should be fed 1/3 in the morning and 2/3 in the evening. Also feed oyster shell or granite grit in separate feeders."

I would edit the last sentence to read 'oyster shell AND granite grit' since the two aren't interchangeable.

My guess is that the thoughts of the nutritionist consulting the mill are that the onset of lay is a drain on protein and needs a temporary boost.

It's been said that a hen producing an egg a day is like a woman having an 8 pound baby every day. Quite the protein load.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I can understand that fortunately have weird luck with that here one of the local vets use to do some kind of bird research and stuff so they are rather savvy with bird care of course I only have experience dealing with them and birds in regards to my parrot ok, also what about dietenatious earth? doesnt that help with worming?

The bulk of avian vets work with valuable cage birds that for the most part don't have the same diseases as poultry are subjected to.
Most avian vets really don't want to treat chickens.
Added to that is vet schools with a poultry department have all but disappeared in recent years down from over 20 to around 5.

And the evidence of DE having any affect on intestinal worms is slim. DE works on soft bodied creatures by desiccation. I can't see how that would work in the moist environment of the intestine.

 

[ozexpat]

I feed my birds with hanging feeders in a covered area with a dark sand base. The amount of feed that hits the ground e is minimal.

I use mash as I make it myself. If it hits the ground it stands out.

I would be surprised if it's 5%.