Undersized Chicks at 18 Weeks

[HorsesRMe123]

Sorry about Bella.
How are your other chickens doing?

 

[SmallStep]

I lost another one on October 16. She had a serious crop issue that I was unable to control. Tried probiotics, anti-fungal, crop bra... Out of the original six, I have four. Recently, a friend who is having kidney transplant surgery gave me the two pullets he got last spring.

The serious lesson here is that poor nutrition in those formative months does certainly make a difference and, IMO, affects development. None of the pullets have laid yet, but that's somewhat understandable, given they're integrating with my 4.5-year old girls. They're co-existing but not happy about it.

Thanks for asking...

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I have two RI Reds and two Barred Rocks.
The starter grower is 20% protein. There isn’t a date on the bag. I may have cut that end off. But I got the 50-lb. bag in April. My feed store lady—who I trust—said it was new for this season. They haven’t quite finished the whole bag, but I give them as much as they want to eat.
I called McMurrey and they’re baffled as well and asked me to send pictures too, which I have. They double checked the order and said they did NOT accidentally ship bantams.
Thanks.

Wow. They ARE small.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

All feed has a mill date on it somewhere. It could be on the guaranteed analysis tag or on the seal strip at one end of the bag or the other.
Sometimes it is in Julian date form or further concealed in some kind of code.

I'm sorry you are going through this and even the most diligent among us can make a mistake or be hoodwinked. I've been doing this all my life and still (albeit rarely) nearly buy something out of date. I too have discovered feed on store shelves that was a year and even two years old. I did force a store to take back a 60# bag of poultry nutri-balanacer that was over two years old. They weren't happy about it and tried to blame the manufacturer but research on both ends showed the feed store had kept it - unsold - for over two years because the manufacturer changed their computer system two years earlier and the new system had no record of this feed store buying any of their product.
The feed store nearest me does not remove old product and leaves it in stock for the unsuspecting. I always ask for the mill date before they even bring it out of the feed shed.
Now when they see me walk in they say, "you don't want to buy it". How unethical!
I shouldn't shop there at all but it is the closest to my house and the only thing I ever buy there is pine shavings. Even their straw is old. The inside of the bales just crumble.
Then I was happy to discover that a hardware store near me carries chicken products, including feed. It turns out their feed is over a year old also.
I must drive to another state (over an hour round trip) to get fresh feed.
I once bought a sack of barley from the aforementioned unethical feed store. I told them it was not for seeding a field but for growing fodder for feeding. They assured me that it was feed grade when they loaded it in my truck. I got it home and the tag listed all sorts of fungicides and insecticides the seed was treated with. They took it back. They don't normally stock barley and said someone ordered it who was making beer. For some reason they couldn't explain, he wouldn't buy it - duh!. I wonder why.

Even if your feed bag was milled this year, buying it in April means it is now old feed and should be discarded. Being from last year, one can't even call it feed. The statement that it was "new for this season" scares me and is a red flag. Feed is not seasonal. It is perishable and should be thought of as a loaf of bread, milk or other perishable food item.
The amino acids and vitamins are most degradable, especially the fat soluble vitamins. The fats added to feed can become rancid.
Whole grains can retain much of their nutritional value for months but once the hull is cracked, nutrients diminish quickly. Feed is mostly ground grains.
They've been eating old ground grains and most of the supplements added to make a complete feed have pretty much disappeared.

One problem as I see it, there is a mill date on feed but no expiration, sell by, best by or similar date. That isn't something required by the FDA as the regulatory agency for animal feed. Let the buyer beware.
I think your beef is with your feed store, not Murry McMurray, not the feed manufacturer. It is the feed store that unscrupulously sells old product to the unsuspecting loyal customers.
Well over 90% of feed store employees are in a category that should never be sought out for advice on anything related to chickens or other livestock. They know nothing of that subject matter.

As for how to proceed, I'm sorry to say that your birds are stunted and likely will never attain their full potential. At over 18 weeks they should be nearly finished growing.
The genetics of all animals including humans dictate that without adequate protein and other nutrients, they will be stunted. They won't reboot their youth at this age. Children that have been malnourished their entire childhood and then given plenty of good food after the age of 15 will grow but the damage is baked in.
I'm not even sure that providing a fresh feed will help a lot. They will be healthier and grow but even their immune systems have been compromised.
You need something more therapeutically supportive to kick start them.
In addition to dosing nutri-drench according to label directions, I would give the freshest starter feed you can find but also add some animal protein several times a week. I recommend some canned mackerel. Forget the cat food or dog food. Most contain too little animal protein and too many other things in it not targeted for feeding chickens. They need fish and meat. Even steak, chicken or turkey will do them wonders.

This post is excellent! Good advice!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I have used DuMor since day one and I never had a bad batch. It smells good, I think, and the chickens like it and they are all happy and healthy. My dogs like it too when they can steal some, lol.
It has good ingredients, same as Purina. I don’t get the bad press.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

This thread was an interesting read. I feel that I learned a valuable lesson about checking feed quality. I’m so sorry that happened to you, and I’m sorry you lost two of your birds.

 

[HorsesRMe123]

So sorry to hear about that. I hope it’s getting better for your pullets. Since I’m fairly new to chickens, does the slow development mean that they won’t lay eggs ever?

 

[Hidrainja4]

I have learned a lot through your experience. I am grateful that you shared it.

 

[iNetSpy]

I’m raising my second batch of babies. They’ve been on starter grower...free choice for 18 weeks. What in the world could be wrong? Help!

Did you inadvertently purchase organic chics? /shrug

 

[ackie]

They double checked the order and said they did NOT accidentally ship bantams.

I havent read the rest of the thread, but man, bantams would have been great news.

I have never checked the mill day on my feed - maybe I should start - but I've also never had growth problems.