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Post by flowerpower on Mar 4, 2009 5:57:13 GMT -5
Why the catfish feed?  |
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Post by cff on Mar 4, 2009 6:46:17 GMT -5
It adds pure meat protein to the ration to bring the protein up to the level I like best and helps to allow a larger whole grain addition in the ration plus its readily available and reasonable priced.
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Post by flowerpower on Mar 5, 2009 6:33:48 GMT -5
I looked at the tag for floating catfish food yesterday, like 36% protein. Very high. I can't wait til my birds can free range again. There are a few spots where grass can be seen. I give them some wild bird food there to keep them occupied and so they can exercise. It's mostly broomcorn & millet which they seem to enjoy. CFF, you are not snowed in, are you? I heard there was a whole 2 inches down south. I thought maybe NC declared a state of emergency.  |
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Mar 5, 2009 8:43:14 GMT -5
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Post by cff on Mar 5, 2009 11:28:18 GMT -5
The fish feed is high protein but it really helps to balance out the ration, I noticed a lot of small problems went away when I started feeding my homemade mixture – feather picking – egg eating are things of the past now. Were not snowed in (it melts fast down here J ) but we did get 2” of snow, nasty crap should cause a state of emergency. Why you Yankees can’t keep your snow above interstate 40 is beyond me  . We never send you guys any of our triple digit temperatures in the summer time I looked at the tag for floating catfish food yesterday, like 36% protein. Very high. I can't wait til my birds can free range again. There are a few spots where grass can be seen. I give them some wild bird food there to keep them occupied and so they can exercise. It's mostly broomcorn & millet which they seem to enjoy. CFF, you are not snowed in, are you? I heard there was a whole 2 inches down south. I thought maybe NC declared a state of emergency. |
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Post by flowerpower on Mar 6, 2009 5:29:22 GMT -5
Why you Yankees can’t keep your snow above interstate 40 is beyond me . We never send you guys any of our triple digit temperatures in the summer time It may break 100 F here a few times a yr. That's more than enough for us. Y'all can keep those hot, humid days. I wanted to ask a really dumb question. I know, big surprise. lol On a rare occasion, I will get an egg that is soft. Is there a name for this? What actually causes it? Thanks |
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Post by grungy on Mar 6, 2009 5:35:25 GMT -5
Sounds like you might need to add calcium. Try oyster shell, supplies calcium and grit.
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Post by cff on Mar 6, 2009 8:31:31 GMT -5
Vitamin D3 is crucial in the absorption of calcium. Without it, all that good calcium we offer our Poultry passes right through the body without being absorbed. In outdoor pens, Poultry are able to produce D3 via a chemical reaction to sunlight. If your pens are closed up during the winter, they are unable to do this. Sunlight through a window doesn’t work. The ultraviolet light needed doesn’t pass through the window glass. A good vitamin with a D3 supplement is almost always helpful.
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Post by plantnut on Mar 6, 2009 22:05:47 GMT -5
cff Do you ever sprout the wheat in your mix?
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Post by cff on Mar 7, 2009 1:02:22 GMT -5
I have but it doesn't hold up nearly as well as the oats. cff Do you ever sprout the wheat in your mix? |
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Post by flowerpower on Mar 7, 2009 5:54:04 GMT -5
Sounds like you might need to add calcium. Try oyster shell, supplies calcium and grit. I do give oyster shell in the winter. And my birds are never locked up during the day. I don't care if it's 10 below, the door is open. lol I only see maybe 2 or 3 or these transparent eggs in a yr. So I am not gonna stress about it. Do I really need to be giving "grit" if I give oyster shell? |
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Post by bunkie on Mar 7, 2009 14:53:54 GMT -5
we just gave ours the oyster shell fp. i just found this new radio show some of you might be interested in..... New Radio Show for Chicken Enthusiastswww.radiosandysprings.com/showpages/backyardpoultry.phpBackyard Poultry with The Chicken WhispererAndy G. Schneider better known as the Chicken Whispererô has become the go-to guy for anything chickens. Over the years he has helped many people start their very own backyard flocks. He is the owner of Atlanta Pet Chickens, Classroom Chickens, and is the Founder/Organizer of the Atlanta Pet Chicken Meetup Group that has quickly grown to over 400 local members! He has been featured on CBS News Atlanta, HD News New York, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Front Page Story), and many other publications. He is currently working with CNN, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, and Farmers Almanac TV on stories about keeping backyard poultry. In fact, he is currently working on a "How To" video series with Farmers Almanac TV. The Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whispererô is a nationally broadcast radio show all about keeping backyard poultry, and living a self sufficient lifestyle. Each week the Chicken Whispererô welcomes special guests from all around the nation to talk about keeping backyard poultry, and living a more self sufficient lifestyle. Guests include certified avian veterinarians, feed representatives, product representatives, and the who's who in the backyard poultry industry. Show segments include Special Guests, Chicken Trivia Contest, Chickens In The News, Chicken Happenings, Self Sufficient Lifestyle, and we often go live to poultry shows all across the nation. Tune in every Saturday morning at 9:00am EST.... |
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Post by grungy on Mar 7, 2009 17:03:15 GMT -5
I don't give grit. Just oyster shell and it doesn't seem to hurt any of the chickens we have raised over the past 35 years. Actually I use oyster shell all year around in a deep pan so the chickens can have at it anytime they want. 10 birds go through about a cup a week if this information helps you.
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Post by flowerpower on Mar 8, 2009 5:22:15 GMT -5
It does help. Thanks bunkie and grungy. I was only giving the grit (crushed granite) "just in case". The ground was frozen and I was giving them seed outside.
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Post by Emerald on Jun 7, 2009 13:36:56 GMT -5
I'm a bit behind on this thread about feeding chickens in the winter but I have given my babies some of the rabbit pellets that have been soaked in hot water - you take about 3 to 4 cups of the rabbit pellets put them into a large heat proof bowl(I just bought a cheap metal mixing bowl) and then I pour a kettle full of boiling water over them let them puff up and let the mash cool till it is not boiling hot but still warm and then feed it to the chickens- they love the warm mash of the ground grasses and other things that are in the rabbit pellets. It seems to keep the yolks nice and yellow/orange, now I only do this a couple of times a week.
I also try to grow big winter squashes and then when I crack one open for dinner I cook what we want and then just give them the other pieces with the seeds and goo. I accidentally froze a whole bunch of good Australian butter squash one fall and instead of trying to use it- I just put a frozen squash in with the chickens once a week they pecked that instead of one another. I am hoping that the big sugar beets that I am growing this year will store well and every so often they can have one of them to snack on. By the way- the greens from sugar beets are very yummy!
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