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Leicester_H

Moulting & Chick Crumbs

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Hi

 

Now its getting cold, Boo has decided to have a bit of a moult !

Fortunately she's not losing too many feathers (yet)

But being a 'paronoid mum' I have just bought a bag of Chick Crumbs (tinned tuna was going to get very expensive !)

- until I read the bag I hadn't even put 2 and 2 together and realised they were crumbs for feeding to chicks !! (don't know what I though they were !!)

 

Anyway, how much do I give them (Chikki doesn't seem to be moulting but will eat the same food)

I was thinking of mixing it 50:50 with the layet pellets while she is obviosuly losing feathers - does this seem sensible ?

 

H

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I've never really seen the point in feeding chick crumb - maybe someone can enlighten me :? . The average protein content in chick crumb is 16/17% and in layers mash/pellets 15/16% - in some brands it's the same. I can't see that making much difference to the chicken's health. Anyway, only my opinion :wink: .

You may as well use it up - either that or hatch some chicks :lol:

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Fee, that's exactly my view - I was going to order some until I saw the protein content on the packet was only a tiny percentage more than the ordinary pellets.

 

I know some people on here swear by them though - is there anything else in them? :? I couldn't see the point once I'd read the contents list.

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I bought a kilo (44p from the local pet shop, same price as layers) to feed to mine, as none are laying and Bossy was determined to have a complete head to toe moult :roll: I bought it as I thought it would have things to help grow new feathers, but nothing to encourage egg laying, which I didn't want them to do whilst moulting, if that makes sense :?

 

I gave them a 3/4 filled plastic cup worth each afternoon in their treat bowl, and they ate the lot, encouraged by Bossy clucking at them as if they were her babies :roll::roll: (I think she read the label :D )

 

Bossy now has the most amazing set of black with iridescent green shimmer feathers and from the back looks like a black Orpington 8) Not sure it was the crumbs, but they cost no more than normal food.

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Well I've just had a shock....all this talk about protein content made me wonder what percentage of protein there is in the Organic Whiskas cat food I gave to my girls when they were moulting.

 

I am dumbfounded to see that it is a staggering 8%! Yes...Eight...you read that correctly.

 

And yet.....as soon as I gave it to them I saw immediate results. :?

 

It must be in a form that is more absorbable.

 

Louise....are you there?

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....all this talk about protein content made me wonder what percentage of protein there is in the Organic Whiskas cat food I gave to my girls when they were moulting.

 

I am dumbfounded to see that it is a staggering 8%!

 

:shock: don't think I have ever looked at the cat-food packet ... but that doesn't sound much for a cat, let alone a chicken!

 

I've only fed mine cat-food occasionally (the chickens I mean, not the cat) when there's been a flavour that he has gone off, and I wanted to use it up. I won't bother in future.

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Sorry to have missed this - it's my fault for posting about chick crumbs :oops::roll:

 

I use them with the regular pellets when they are moulting to boost their protein intake (incidentally, mine have far more protein than the ones Fee mentions). They seem to work well - my girls have recovered from their moult far quicker than normal and have grown some gorgeous new feathers.

 

Anything with extra protein will do fine though... tuna is good, but if you prefer your birds to be vegetarian, then chick crumbs are a good bet.

 

I was recommended them by my vet, then also (coincidentally) by a top breeder.

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:? Can I ask which Chick Crumbs you use? Because the A&P Organic ones which I was looking at on GJW Titmuss' website were definitely only 1 or 2 % more than the layers pellets.

 

I'd be interested if there are some with more protein in, because I'd really rather keep the girls vegetarian if I can. (although they did eat a dead mouse the other day before I could stop them! :vom:

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I had a look at a packet of IAMS cat food in the supermarket this am just out of curiosity. The adult/dried sort.

 

That was 32% protein.

 

One heck of a difference.

 

Now I am really confused. :?

 

That's because the tinned/pouched catfood has a much higher water content. If you add the equivalent volume of water to dried food, the protein percentage goes down accordingly. It also explains why "wet" cat food has only half the protein % of dry chicken food such as pellets or mash, but is nonetheless a good protein source for chickens.

 

I give mine a porridge made of layers mash, live organic yogurt and tuna to build them up - they love it and it's an easy way to sneak some poultry spice or other supplement into their diet (they usually have pellets).

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I had a look at a packet of IAMS cat food in the supermarket this am just out of curiosity. The adult/dried sort.

 

That was 32% protein.

 

One heck of a difference.

 

Now I am really confused. :?

 

That's because the tinned/pouched catfood has a much higher water content. If you add the equivalent volume of water to dried food, the protein percentage goes down accordingly. It also explains why "wet" cat food has only half the protein % of dry chicken food such as pellets or mash, but is nonetheless a good protein source for chickens.

 

Aahh....I see......I think. :lol:

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