thoughts on hatchery white leghorns

[kfacres]

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Yeah, something sounds missing from their diet or environment. Mean roos can just happen out of luck by the nature of roosters, but egg eaters often start for lack of something in diet, boredom, finding out eggs contain good stuff some how, cramped spaces or something of the sort.

Mine have all been flighty, but have their own jittery personalities. A professor's daugher had two leghorns of the same bunch that were handled and spoiled so much that you'd have not thought it was a leghorn by it's mass and how easily you could just walk up to it and pick it up. It even brooded chicks... and yes, this was a leghorn sibling of the leghorns I was using for production.

Let me clarify.... I don't have any problems with my birds. I was wondering if the problems the guy I am getting a roo from would continue. I never thought about a feed problem..... hum....

My birds get plenty of protein and I have not had these problems. I feed layer feed with spent grains added for more protein and everyone is doing great. I had a few roos that had floppy combs and they straightened right up after we add more protein (game cock and grains). I start adding the spent grains to feed at about a month. Cuts my feed bill and helps with giving them some more protein. BUT not TOO much. I know not to give too much protein.

I feel better about the birds now that makes sense, lack of protein. I should have thought of that but I am new to this and things don't jump out at me yet.

THANKS!

What's your spent grains? I've never heard of a cereal grain that would raise the CP level of layer feed... In order to up your protein, your either going to have to use bean meal, a byproduct type protein booster, or some commercial ration balancer...

Sorry, but I bet you adding grain to your diets are doing the opposite.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

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I am confused here. Are the pullets who are egg eaters and mean to each other YOUR birds or the birds you want to get from this other fellow?

As for the rooster it has been my experience that aggression is bird specific for reasons that are not entirely clear to me. But it's an easy problem to deal with if one of his sons is himself mean.

 

[gallorojo]

Spent grains typically refers to the leftover malted grain from the production of beer or whiskey. While low in energy, as the carbohydrates have been extracted to make the beer, etc, the spent grains still have all the protein intact. Therefore, by weight, they are quite high in CP.

Here is a good link-a bit technical, but good info.

http://www.fao.org/ag/AGA/AGAP/FRG/AFRIS/Data/468.HTM

 

[kfacres]

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Those are either refered to as 'byproduct', or 'biproduct'-- never heard it called a "spent grain"...

If you're refering to feeding DDGS, or CGF-- there's restrictions on how much of those feeds should be allowed in a bird's diet, as well as cottonseed hulls. With rations including much more than 10% in most cases-- you'll burn your birds out in a hurry from the inside out...

 

[gallorojo]

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Those are either refered to as 'byproduct', or 'biproduct'-- never heard it called a "spent grain"...

If you're refering to feeding DDGS, or CGF-- there's restrictions on how much of those feeds should be allowed in a bird's diet, as well as cottonseed hulls. With rations including much more than 10% in most cases-- you'll burn your birds out in a hurry from the inside out...

DDGS is what I am refering to. I'm not saying they are an adequate entire ration, just that they do have decent CP, but certainly not balanced protein. By-products is too broad a term , that could be a lot of misc. crap. Thanks for clarifying what you were talking about, with the DDGS etc. I guess the poster will have to add what they themselves mean by spent grains. DDGS are not bad, in reasonable amounts, like you say. Wheat bran and middlings would be a lot worse, though. Not trying to argue with you, just trying to get us all on the same page.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Those are either refered to as 'byproduct', or 'biproduct'-- never heard it called a "spent grain"...

If you're refering to feeding DDGS, or CGF-- there's restrictions on how much of those feeds should be allowed in a bird's diet, as well as cottonseed hulls. With rations including much more than 10% in most cases-- you'll burn your birds out in a hurry from the inside out...

DDGS is what I am refering to. I'm not saying they are an adequate entire ration, just that they do have decent CP, but certainly not balanced protein. By-products is too broad a term , that could be a lot of misc. crap. Thanks for clarifying what you were talking about, with the DDGS etc. I guess the poster will have to add what they themselves mean by spent grains. DDGS are not bad, in reasonable amounts, like you say. Wheat bran and middlings would be a lot worse, though. Not trying to argue with you, just trying to get us all on the same page.

I have never heard it called anything but spent grains

The guy I get them from calls it that. That is what they are advertised as on Craigslist from home brewers. This is only barley nothing else so very high in protein, between 30-40%. It is not their only feed and they are very healthy and fine. Better looking now than when they were only eating layer feed at 16%. they are getting about 22-23% protein. No floppy combs anymore! I read a study about spent grains and the only side effect was more and better eggs and healthier birds. Not to mention it cuts my feed bill too

.

Back to the original question. I am only getting a Roo and my birds are not mean. So I am hopeful that these traits will not have been passed down to this little roo that has never been in the general flock.

 

[kfacres]

in my chicken rations, I'm feeding quite a bit of DDGS, CGF, Cottonseed hulls, and Corn/ SBM. I'm feeding the byproduct feeds to the max...

I'm also feeding the crap out of them in our sheep and cattle rations.. IMO, it's the more economical way to go. Just be sure you have plenty of mineral available, and get your co products tested, most are extrmely high in P... sometimes even toxic.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

If you're only interested in eggs then go with the hatchery stock. Why not?

However, if you're actually interested in chickens and are excited by the challenge of breeding and developing the knowledge of how to improve your stock, you could choose a traditional egg-laying breed and maintain a well thought out, intentional breeding program that would help that breed return to a place of honor among egg-layers. At the same time, it's easy enough to maintain a flock of layers from hatchery stock to fill cartons. So doing both shouldn't be all that difficult.

Besides, then you're actually doing something. Maintaining a flock of hatchery layers only gives so many returns in the way of stimulation. After a few years, you have the whole system down pat, and they quickly become just another chore. Breeding a proper heritage fowl along production lines is engaging year round and is an on-going process that draws on and fosters expertise. That kind of mastery leads to a sense of purpose and vocation, which is nice. All of the craftmanship and creativity is removed from the process when nothing but a hatchery layer program is maintained.

 

[kfacres]

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I'll go ahead and copy my post from about 10 up- in case you didn't read it.

I have my cornish birds, and a pair of SQ Ameraucanas to tink around with, in terms of making meat birds, and show birds, or just pure birds-- that's not what this goal is aimed at. This goal, is to make eggs, plenty of them, on very little feed... sounds to me like everybody has just confirmed my thoughts as the bird of choice in this situation.

No, the brown egg laying, hybrid birds won't reproduce themselves- but like I tried to (unsuccessfully) get across in my previous post-- was they really won't be needed to reproduce. In terms of replacing my original birds, I could do one of two things- mate them to some kind of red sexlink male-- and get a hodge podge of egg layers, which in theory should lay brown eggs, being brown is dominate- but yet plenty of brown eggs... or mate them to my Amer male-- and get blue eggs, or greens. Either way, more desireable than white- but still with the leghorn body style and genetics; atleast in half.

To remain my leghorn body type- and charactoristics, I'm guessing that I could run a Leghorn hatch mate roo on them, and be able to reproduce them successfully.

I don't really care what color the bird is, or what it's body style looks like.. I want eggs cheaply and efficiently

 

[Yellow House Farm]

That's cool. I had read it, the whole thread in fact. What I was implying was more than a "tinkering around with" but rather something more involved. As I stated, if it's just eggs, go hatchery. Anything else will take a high level of dedication over a series of breeding seasons to breed up whatever stock you might procure in a breed of choice.

Good luck~