Chicken feed
Wesley Trotman
What is a good home made feed?
I have wheat and lupins at hand but could get other grains.
In a healthy enviroment is therer a need to feed them a cocidiostat?
Ruminants ie sheep and goats also suffer from cocidiosis but of a
different variety. I believe this is endemic and flairs up when the
animal is stressed or there is big change in their diet.
Could fowl cocidiosis follow the same occurance?. My neighbours who have
naturally raised chicks dont seem to have trouble with this disease
though there are plenty of wild birds around who may carry it.
Wes.
fran...@my-deja.com
Wesley Trotman <trot...@dove.net.au> wrote:
> I am expecting some hatchling chicks soon.
> What is a good home made feed?
> I have wheat and lupins at hand but could get other grains.
> In a healthy enviroment is therer a need to feed them a cocidiostat?
Wes
I've always used commercial chick starter on my chickens. The reason
why I've done so is primarily becasue of their need for such small bits
of food. I don't have a way of breaking up wheat and other grains
easily (although have used the food processor for small quantities when
out of chick starter).
Hoever if you really wish to stay clear of commercial stuff, I'd use as
many different grains as you can get your hands on (in much the same
way as you would feed a child) to ensure they get a good imput of all
sorts of goodies. Rolled oats, semolina, ground rice, crushed wheat,
crushed corn etc. The most important thing is grain size so they don't
choke and keeping the other birds away from their food.
I've never used a coccidostat in all the time I've had chooks. I've
had the odd chick die but not, I suspect, from disease as the deaths
have always been well isolated from each other.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
<trot...@dove.net.au> wrote:
>I am expecting some hatchling chicks soon.
>What is a good home made feed?
From Joel Salatin's book/video "Pasture Poultry Profits." He feeds
his Polyface Farm birds the following (approximately):
60% corn
11.5% peanut meal
6.5% soybean meal
5.5% roasted soybeans
7?% meat & bone meal
4% fishmeal
2.5% alfalfa meal
1.5% kelp meal for trace metals
.5% brewers yeast
a tiny bit of probiotics like acidophilus
By mass, the Polyface recipe:
4,600 lbs. of cornmeal
875 lbs. of peanut meal
500 lbs. soybean meal
425 lbs. roasted soy beans
525 lbs. meat and bone meal
300 lbs. fish meal
200 lbs. alfalfa meal
110 lbs. kelp
50 lbs. yeast
20 lbs. probiotic
Another diet for a farmer with 3000 birds
2240 lbs. tritical
800 lbs. soy bean meal
150 lbs. alfalfa pellets
9 lbs. calcium
4 lbs. poultry vitamins
7 lbs. XP4 phosphorus
A regenerative poultry diet per dozen layers:
600 lbs. of cracked corn and/or other grains
150 lbs. of cracked peanut/soy and/or other bean/seed
50 lbs. roasted peanut/soy and/or other bean/seed
80 lbs. fish meal
40 lbs. alfalfa
20 lbs. aquatic plants (at least)
10 lbs. yeast and brewing wastes
reclaimed water - as much as they want
poultry grit with lime - as much as they want
From:
Andy Lee
Good Earth Farm School
1702 Mountain View Road
Buena Vista, Virginia 24416
Phone and Fax: 540-261-8775
good...@rockbridge.net
Lately I see a lot of traffic regarding pasture poultry recipes. We
are working directly with Jeff Maddox at Fertrell to get complete
rations recipes. His telephone number is 800-347-1566. Anyone can call
him directly. He is very easy to talk with and eager to help us with
our pasture poultry questions. If Jeff isn't there you can ask to
speak to Ed Wilter or Ralph Stauffer.
Here are the recipes I am using in my broilers, layers and turkeys.
It's okay to substitute things, since some folks will not have
specific ingredients available in their areas. It is important
however, to work with a knowledgeable feed mixer, to make sure your
substitute ingredients will work. Leave out the kelp and probiotics if
not available in your area. You probably won't see a significant
difference in performance.
pasture broilers STARTER 20% protein
Per Ton:
ground shelled corn 500
cracked shelled corn 500
ground roasted soybeans 600 (must be roasted, otherwise toxic)
oats or spelt or wheat 200 (don't have to be crimped, feed
whole)(can
also use wheat middlings)
Sealac or other fishmeal 75
Nutribalancer 60
Aragonite (Fertrell) 25 (or use feeding limestone or
ground
oyster shell)
Kelp Meal 15
Fertrell or Fastrack Probiotic 2.5
Pasture Broiler GROWER 18% protein (its okay to use this as a broiler
starter, too)
PER TON
Ground Corn 700
Cracked Corn 700
Soy Bean Meal 450
Sealac or fishmeal 50
Aragonite 25 (can also use feeding limestone or
ground oyster shell)
Nutribalancer 60 (if not available in your area
work
with
your feed meal to develop a
substitute vitamin mineral pack plus di-calcium phosphate and salt)
Soy Bean Oil 25
Kelp Meal 10 (if not available,leave it out)
Probiotic 2.5 (If not available,leave it out)
Pasture LAYERS 16% protein
Cracked corn 500
Ground corn 500
ground roasted soybeans 600
Oats or wheat 200 (feed whole, don't have to be
crimped)
Nutribalancer 60
Aragonite 140 (or use feeding limestone or
ground
oyster shell)
Kelp meal 15.5
Fertrell probiotic 2.5
Turkey STARTER 28% protein
cracked corn 400
soy meal 400
ground roasted soybeans 500
Sealac or fishmeal 100
Spelt or oats 500 (First few days they won't eat
some
whole oats, that's okay)
Dynafoss or DiCal 8
Aragonite 15 (or use feeding limestone or
ground
oyster shell)
Nutribalancer 80 (or mix your own)
Some folks are having difficulty finding Fertrell products. Call
Fertrell at
1-800-347-1566 to find a dealer in your area. If you have to mix a
substitute here are the ingredients in Poultry Nutri-Balancer ,
Aragonite
and Fertrell probiotics.
Fertrell Poultry Nutri-Balancer
Guaranteed Analysis
calcium, not more than13.5%
calcium, not less than 12.5%
salt 12.5%
phosphorus 11%
selenium 0027%
vitamin A 120,000 iu/lb.
vitamin D3 40,000 iu/lb.
vitamin E 300 iu/lb.
ingredients: dicalcium phosphate, salt, kelp meal, sodium selenite,
Vitamin
A supplement, Vitamin D3 supplemnet, Vitamin E supplement,
di-Methionine,
Choline, Menadione, d-Pantothenic Acid, Niacin, Riboflavin,
Pyridoxine,
Thiamine, vitamin B12, Biotin, Folic Acid, Polysaccharide Complexes of
Iron,
Manganese, Zinc, Copper and Cobolt.
Fertrell Aragonite
percent by weight
CaCO3 min. 94.00
max. 97.00
Available Calcium 37.00
Fe2 03 0.025
A12 03 0.15
MgCO3 1.50
S03 0.20
NaCL 1.25
SrO 1.25
Si02 0.88
Fertrell Direct Fed Microbials
guaranteed analysis:
40 billion colony forming units in a 3# bag, mix one bag per ton of
finished
feed.
Ingredients:
yeast culture (Diamond V), Calcium Carbonate, Dried Lactobacillus
Acidophilus Fermentation product, Bacillus Licheniformis, Bacillus
Subtilis,
Lactobacillus Lactis, Streptococcus Faecium, (Dried Aspergillis Oryzae
Fermentation Extract)
Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm ICQ#27930345
lflo...@mindspring.com lon...@metalab.unc.edu
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech Ecolandtech
http://www.ibiblio.org/permaculture Permaculture
http://www.ibiblio.org/intergarden/orgfarm AGINFO
Wesley Trotman
Im a bit overwhelmed by your recipes Larry, my 30 chicks will appreciate the
feed quatities worked out in tons.
Wes.
pete_wi...@my-deja.com
> What is a good home made feed?
Hi Wes
I've reared chicks soley on Weetbix (crushed and wet)... till they were
able to pick up grit and grains.... but I would definately recommend the
commercial chick starter as the best start in life for young birds...
I've never fed coccidiosis treatment and never lost chicks to it...
though I have lost turkeys to "stress" (fed on commercial starter)...
if they have no contact with mum you may have to "peck" with your finger
in the feed to teach em where it is... but they soon get the hang of
it.... always provide fresh water from day one though they won't
probably touch it for a couple of days...dip their beaks in and they
will show the later chicks where it is...
HTH
see ya
Pete
John Neale Baraclough
from Wesley Trotman <trot...@dove.net.au> contains these words:
> Thanks for your info Fran and Larry,
> Im a bit overwhelmed by your recipes Larry, my 30 chicks will appreciate the
> feed quatities worked out in tons.
Yes, well.....;-)
I've reared chicks successfully using a mix of wholemeal home made
bread, put through the processor to fine crumbs with a hardboiled
egg. They need to have small meals frequently, so that they clear it
up before it goes off...every couple of hours when they are new
hatched.If you store food mix it should go in the fridge , be sure
the chill is off before you feed it. Keep all food dishes
scrupulously clean, plenty of fresh water..in a drinker they can't
get into, otherwise they get wet, then cold.
They will start scratching grass and picking at soil within a day or
two; keep moving them onto a clean bit each day, away from their
faeces.After a few days, they will take worms.At night, make sure
they have all done under cover and nor stayed out in a cold corner.
I've never needed any other treatments.
Janet
pete_wi...@my-deja.com
John Neale Baraclough <janet.a...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:
>
> I've reared chicks successfully using a mix of wholemeal home made
> bread, put through the processor to fine crumbs with a hardboiled
> egg.
Ji Janet :-)
Egg yes I forgot about that... that's an important part of any young
birds diet... I used to feed dried egg mix to baby canaries and budgies
when I was a kid...starting out with birds (feathered)..... my parents
reckon it was similar to the dried egg they used to get during world war
2...
Wesley Trotman
Your methods sounds a simple way to raise em.
Hows the petrol situation? I remember Oz had a refinery strike about 20 years ago,
the worst side of human nature showed up with thieving and thuggery, just to
obtain a few litres of petrol.
Wes
John Neale Baraclough wrote:
> The message <39C1FC75...@dove.net.au>
> from Wesley Trotman <trot...@dove.net.au> contains these words:
>
> > Thanks for your info Fran and Larry,
>
> > Im a bit overwhelmed by your recipes Larry, my 30 chicks will appreciate the
> > feed quatities worked out in tons.
>
> Yes, well.....;-)
>
> I've reared chicks successfully using a mix of wholemeal home made
> bread, put through the processor to fine crumbs with a hardboiled
Wesley Trotman
Do you have your little chicks out in the open with no heating? I note how you
said you give your chicks access to grass and worms.
John Neale Baraclough
from Wesley Trotman <trot...@dove.net.au> contains these words:
> Hi Janet,
> Do you have your little chicks out in the open with no heating? I note how you
> said you give your chicks access to grass and worms.
I haven't raised any for years, Wes, as I now buy in hybrids at
point of lay,very un pc but very easy... they never, ever go broody
:-) but we used to hatch any eggs we could get hold of..all breeds of
hen, ducks, pheasants.I would hatch them under bantams, outdoors, and
keep them outside. They can stand cold as long as their feathers are
kept dry, so whatever the run is, it needs a roof..corrugated sheets
are ideal.I think fresh air and a clean run keeps them clearer of
infections then keeping them indoors under a lamp.Even baby ducks are
best kept dry in the early stages, and if they are being mothered by
a bantam it's essential, until they get the second feathers..as the
hen has no oil in her feathers to waterproof their down for swimming.
The night time heating was the bantam :-)
Janet
fran...@my-deja.com
Wesley Trotman <trot...@dove.net.au> wrote:
> Hi Janet,
> Do you have your little chicks out in the open with no heating? I
note how you
> said you give your chicks access to grass and worms.
>
if you are raising them in an incubator then you will need to be ready
for them when they hatch and they must have heat for the first few
weeks.
Have a big box ready (cardboard will do) put some newspaper on the
floor and suspend a light globe over the top of the box till it is
hanging about 6" from the floor. Hang it more in one corner than
centrally and then watch the chicks behaviour as what they do will tell
you what they need.
If they cluster and tremble and push each other in an effort to get
near the light they are too cold - put in a higher wattage bulb. if
they head off into the far corners of the box, get a bigger box or a
smaller wattage bulb.
Chicks should be busy and active a fair amount of the time. If you
notice one sitting round looking listless and dopy for any length of
time it is not al that likely to survive (you'll soon get to know the
diff between a sleepy and a listless one).
I wouldn't put a bunch of chicks out in the grtass until they have a
fair coat of feather and that is weeks down the track. as chicks they
really are very fragile.
Her endeth lesson from poultry farmers daughter.
Fran