What do you think of this video?

[EggWalrus]

I don't think she has all her facts right. Whole corn is pretty hard to digest and I've seen it in their poo, like it just passes through them. So I doubt it would make the yolks any darker. I know greens, weeds, fodder and any dark red/orange veggies will darken yolks.
I couldn't watch the whole thing either.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Well, Bless your heart

Now THAT'S funny! My hubs is from the deep south so yeah I get it.

 

[gtaus]

For the most part, I enjoy watching Becky's videos. Like anybody's opinions, I take what I think might work for me and try it out.

As to her video on feed, from everything I have read, having extra calcium is important to the birds - as well as grit if your birds are not free range. I posted a thread Easy DIY PVC grit and calcium feeder for your chickens which I built for my chickens and is working great for me. It only got one response, but that's OK. I do think having grit and calcium is important and now I have good dispensers that are almost waste free. I got the idea of the PVC grit and calcium feeders from YouTube, and posted the link to the video if anyone is interested.

Becky goes into a long talk about all those extra "treats" as I would call them. IMHO, the best thing to do is have a well balanced, formulated, layer feed for your girls available 24/7 and I don't recall her even mentioning that fact. Maybe she mixes her own feed. Anyway, I can get feed at various protein %'s so I don't bother mixing my own.

Becky must have lots more money than me because mealworms are VERY expensive where I live. The other day I was checking out the poultry supply at my local farm store and a 10 lb. bag of meal worms was something like $42.00!

I have been throwing whole corn into the coop all winter, along with some chicken scratch, and it encourages the chickens to peck and scratch the deep litter in the coop. Plus, the corn is supposed to help keep them warmer in the cold winter temps. But you need to have grit available at all times if you expect that whole kernel corn to break down before it passes. Recently, however, I have noticed that my chickens are not eating the whole corn as much as before, so I'm cutting back.

I don't think Becky talked about other options of supplemental feed, such as fodder, which is something I have done all winter and has worked out great for my birds. I grow barley fodder in Dollar Tree plastic dish bins and give my 10 girls a half dish pan of fresh, green, lush barley grass fodder every morning. They love it. They eat everything from the tip of the blade of grass down to the root mat. Any unsprouted barley seeds are quickly consumed. At any rate, it's the only green plants my girls get to see/eat for a good ~6 months out of the year where I live.

And what about kitchen scraps? I think there are a lot of people who are still throwing out kitchen scraps instead of feeding them to their chickens. Chickens are omnivores. There is very little on their list of things that they should not eat. They eat most everything cooked in our kitchen so our scraps and leftovers go to the chicken run. Again, only as supplement to their main commercial feed.

OK, my response is almost as long as Becky's video, so I'll end it here. But thanks to the OP for starting the discussion as I always seem to learn from the community and try to give back when I can.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Becky must have lots more money than me because mealworms are VERY expensive where I live. The other day I was checking out the poultry supply at my local farm store and a 10 lb. bag of meal worms was something like $42.00!

I've never purchased meal worms and likely never will!
Not sure how much $$ Becky has now - I do know she started out struggling, but over time built her youtube channel, website, etc., etc. She has a book and her videos are on Amazon Prime as well! Like her or not - she's become quite popular.
https://www.amazon.com/Beckys-Homestead/s?k=Becky's+Homestead

 

[gtaus]

Like her or not - she's become quite popular.

I like her. I think I've seen just about every video she put out on YouTube about chickens. There are many other good, and popular, homesteaders on YouTube as well. One of my favorites is Justin Rhodes and his family. But I manage my chickens in a complete different way than either of them. Not saying better.. just different which works for me.

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

Some of you have said that this lady doesn't know what she's doing, etc. Well, what do you think of this video? Is this true information?
@aart @Wyorp Rock @Egg - Static @21hens-incharge

I can't really say its wrong, But it seems to be incorrect as well. I guess that depends on the needs of those chickens.. (undecided)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I like her. I think I've seen just about every video she put out on YouTube about chickens. There are many other good, and popular, homesteaders on YouTube as well. One of my favorites is Justin Rhodes and his family. But I manage my chickens in a complete different way than either of them. Not saying better.. just different which works for me.

We watch a LOT of youtube, usually that's the main source of quick entertainment for us. We have Roku and the only other thing I have is Prime. Of course you can get free streaming news too.

 

[007Sean]

I don't think she has all her facts right. Whole corn is pretty hard to digest and I've seen it in their poo, like it just passes through them. So I doubt it would make the yolks any darker. I know greens, weeds, fodder and any dark red/orange veggies will darken yolks.
I couldn't watch the whole thing either.

@EggWalrus , you are correct! Whole corn passes through most animals, including humans. That's why it should be cracked first. And almost any "greens" will darken the yolk!

 

[gtaus]

@EggWalrus , you are correct! Whole corn passes through most animals, including humans. That's why it should be cracked first. And almost any "greens" will darken the yolk!

I bought some whole corn for my chickens this winter. At first, they seemed to eat it all up. Now, however, I see whole corn on the ground and not being eaten. So I have started cracking my remaining whole corn and next time I will be buying cracked corn. Question, if the chickens are eating their grit, should not the whole corn get "cracked" up and digested in the chicken's gizzard? Humans and most other animals do not have gizzards to crack up and process whole corn. Just wondering if the chickens should naturally be able to digest whole corn better provided they are eating grit.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Humans and most other animals do not have gizzards to crack up and process whole corn.

We have teeth. Not sure how many people eat corn without chewing it first!