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Yes they do. The pecking order is a mix of birds, not by species. At the top is my EE rooster, Mr. Roo if you please...
. He runs the show followed by my 3 year old Domestic Eastern Wild tom named Evil Bas@#%d by his previous owner. Then an EE hen that looks somewhat like your favorite EE. She brooded one peachick and two of the turkey poults I have this year. She gives no quarter and takes none in return( one tough lady). Followed by the mix of turkey poults and the peafowl that create way too much drama. Last are my three EE hens that look like Barred Rocks but lay green and pinkish brown eggs. Actually they are pretty settled into their pecking order and very few things change except as the young turkeys get bigger they jockey for position with each other and the peafowl. I like my EE's best as well. The dominate roo and hen are my favs. You can relax a bit. They are a lot tougher than you think. If you acclimate them to the cold they so so much better.
Right now I'm feeding them layer pellets that are 16% protein mixed with cheap dry cat food that is about 27% protein for the turkeys and peafowl. They also get some scratch every day in the morning and before they roost to keep them warm. I use apple cider vinegar in the water with a bit of electrolytes and vitamins as as well. I got a number of these bird from a guy who uses nothing more than generic dog food and cracked corn all winter to feed them so I'm spoiling them now.
Interesting how they work out the pecking order. We haven't added anything to the water. Haven't used the electrolytes since they were chicks. Would that same mix we used then be appropriate now? What does the ac vinegar do for them? We do tend to spoil ours as well. We are feeding layer crumbles with a good scratch mix to boot. I have given them suet balls to peck on and once in awhile I bring them tuna (talk about creating a frenzy!) I go sparingly on the tuna though because I don't favor tuna flavored eggs which I hear can happen. They would eat grapes by the tons if they weren't $2.49/lb so we go sparingly on those as well, for the chickens anyway! Thanks again for the input.
Wow, I thought my birds were spoiled. Mine get stale bread from time to time as a treat and tons of greens in the summer. I use the ACV to reduce the chance of a cocci infection that can kill them. Do a search on BYC to check it out. I only add the electrolytes and vitamins because I'm in the habits of that. I'm pretty sure I don't need to do that and I don't do it with every water fill up or change. I do add the ACV every time because I have some large birds in a rather small space for them and want to give them the best chance at not getting cocci. So far so good. I'm feeding the layer pellets because I don't like the flock mix they have at my feed store and it is the best for the chickens at this point. I added the cat food because a friend who has a lot of laying hens said I should to raise my protein level for the turkeys and the chickens enjoy it as well. I'm sure that others here do things different and have other advice, but this is working for me at this point. Basically I just follow good advice from people I trust who manage birds in this area. I also followed a lot of threads on here to see what works and what doesn't. All my successes has come from people on here and people I know.....a few of those are on here as well.
Yes they do. The pecking order is a mix of birds, not by species. At the top is my EE rooster, Mr. Roo if you please...
Right now I'm feeding them layer pellets that are 16% protein mixed with cheap dry cat food that is about 27% protein for the turkeys and peafowl. They also get some scratch every day in the morning and before they roost to keep them warm. I use apple cider vinegar in the water with a bit of electrolytes and vitamins as as well. I got a number of these bird from a guy who uses nothing more than generic dog food and cracked corn all winter to feed them so I'm spoiling them now.
Interesting how they work out the pecking order. We haven't added anything to the water. Haven't used the electrolytes since they were chicks. Would that same mix we used then be appropriate now? What does the ac vinegar do for them? We do tend to spoil ours as well. We are feeding layer crumbles with a good scratch mix to boot. I have given them suet balls to peck on and once in awhile I bring them tuna (talk about creating a frenzy!) I go sparingly on the tuna though because I don't favor tuna flavored eggs which I hear can happen. They would eat grapes by the tons if they weren't $2.49/lb so we go sparingly on those as well, for the chickens anyway! Thanks again for the input.
Wow, I thought my birds were spoiled. Mine get stale bread from time to time as a treat and tons of greens in the summer. I use the ACV to reduce the chance of a cocci infection that can kill them. Do a search on BYC to check it out. I only add the electrolytes and vitamins because I'm in the habits of that. I'm pretty sure I don't need to do that and I don't do it with every water fill up or change. I do add the ACV every time because I have some large birds in a rather small space for them and want to give them the best chance at not getting cocci. So far so good. I'm feeding the layer pellets because I don't like the flock mix they have at my feed store and it is the best for the chickens at this point. I added the cat food because a friend who has a lot of laying hens said I should to raise my protein level for the turkeys and the chickens enjoy it as well. I'm sure that others here do things different and have other advice, but this is working for me at this point. Basically I just follow good advice from people I trust who manage birds in this area. I also followed a lot of threads on here to see what works and what doesn't. All my successes has come from people on here and people I know.....a few of those are on here as well.
