what is the best feed for OEGB's to be on to maintain weight ?

[Farmlife4me]

My daughters OEGB pullet has lost some weight & her breast bone is starting to show and stick out , there is no worms in her droppings and we have her inside now .. my daughters oegb roo past away monday night from a upper resp. infection. but they were NOT caged 2gether. and I have antibotics ready for her if i need to us them, was wondering what would be the best for her to up her weight ? We are using layer crumbles from TSC ....and she gets new feed every morning and fresh water 2x a day and she still has lost weight ? she is about 5mths. old . Is there something I could whip up in the kitchen or do I need to go and buy something ? thank you very much

p.s. she is acting , eating and drinking fine ....

 

[jhm47]

There are many things that could cause her to lose weight. With worms, you do not always see evidence of them in their droppings. The safest way to diagnose worms is to do a fecal sample to determine if there are worm eggs. A vet can do that quite easily. Another possibility is that she may be infected with Coryza. If another chicken on your farm died from an "upper respiratory infection", she most likely has been exposed too.

You might try adding some fat or vegetable oil to her diet. Cod liver oil is also an excellent additive. At 5 months, it is unlikely that she would be laying yet, and feeding layer crumbles might be force feeding her too much calcium. She might do better on a grower feed, or even a gamebird feed. OEGB's are pretty small, and they need a nutrient dense feed. Go easy on the scratch and treats. Feeding her small amounts of hamburger would add lots of protein and fat to her diet, and she will love it.

Florida, eh? Send me a plane ticket, and I'll be glad to come and help care for the pullet for a couple months, at least till spring breaks around here! lol!

 

[95yj]

i keep all of my oegb's on gamebird crumbles, they do great on it and i'v never experienced a problem. How light is light, i am in no way accusing you of overreacting [in light of of the resp. inf. your doing the right thing] but i have some hens and pullets that are proven breeders, even winners at shows, that are pretty light and their breastbones are clearly defined and nearly visible w/o contact. gamebirds are not by nature a heavy, meaty or plump breed. I'd suggest contd. quarentine and giving her electrolytes [gatorade is even fine] and scrambled eggs. good luck

 

[Farmlife4me]

jhm47 ..the plane ticket is on its way !! lol ....thanks ya'll i will dif. get some gamebird feed today ...
95yj..what I mean about her breast bone is that when we got her she had a nice plumb "dolly parton" chest and now her breast bone is showing more than before.... its like I could actually pitch it with my fingers and not get any of her breast meat ....
if that can help and if it makes sense ... anywho ... I have her all by herself .... and she seems to be doing better .. she is actually holding her tail feathers up today

so.... I will def. be getting some dif. feed ....thanks to all and I will keep you in form ... still all new to this chicken business ... but I LOVE IT !!!!