Cube mk2 and WIR

[Chickaboo]

Phoebe has been laying soft eggs for some time, and it has gradually been getting more of a problem with them breaking and getting stuck inside, and she has been quite ill at times Anyway, she went to see a chicken expert vet, who said the only thing is to try and stop her laying (or at least less frequently). In order to kickstart this she is on a weeks calorie controlled diet , to try and stop laying for a bit, then after a week she can go back to eating as much as she wants, but not layers pelletts, as these encourage frequent laying. So I would like to know what is a long term balanced healthy diet for a chicken without pelletts?? Does anybody else do this?

[Egluntyne]

Wheat and barley, mashed up weetabix etc, cooked veg, a little tuna, some poultry spice etc.

[chooklady]

I have just posted a question 'What did chickens eat before pellets/mash?'

 

The answer is I think kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s. People in the past boiled them but that would remove any nutrition from the s"Ooops, word censored!"s.

 

I feed my dog a raw diet amd feeding my chooks pellets feels a little strange, it's a bit like force feeding but I'm not sure at this stage what to think or do about it.

[frazzled]

Okay - heres a question -

 

If you give your chickens an alternative diet to layers pellets, and they begin to lay less frequently does this mean they will lay for longer in their lifespan?

 

Surely hens only have so many eggs in their ovaries ( if they have ovaries?) and if they take it steadly could carry on laying for more years??

 

I've been wondering about this for a while, not that my two chickens have even started laying yet.....

 

Any ideas

[chooklady]

I probably haven't got a clue here but what you say seems logical, surely it is more natural. Humans are just greedy, we want everything now and blow the consequences.

[Egluntyne]

Okay - heres a question -

 

If you give your chickens an alternative diet to layers pellets, and they begin to lay less frequently does this mean they will lay for longer in their lifespan?

 

Surely hens only have so many eggs in their ovaries ( if they have ovaries?) and if they take it steadly could carry on laying for more years??

 

I've been wondering about this for a while, not that my two chickens have even started laying yet.....

 

Any ideas

 

I think you must be right.

 

I have some 4 year olds who are still laying and I do give them all quite a bit in the way of cooked veg etc so they don't all lay every day.

 

Just as well......or we would be drowning in eggs.

[Chickaboo]

Well apparently the omlet style chickens (as opposed to pure breeds) are bred simply as egg producing factories - chickens would never naturally lay eggs so frequently. This means they are very prone to egg related problems, particulary once they are over a year or two old. The layers pelletts is simply fuel for this unnatural egg production - and I think chickens have over the years become nothing more than egg producers (or food ), layers pelletts have sort of become standard fare. But yes, the more frequently they lay the shorter their potential life span. So I was thinking if I can provide a balanced diet that slows down egg production its better all round, as they are first and foremost pets to me.

[Chickaboo]

Yes, frazzled they do have ovaries

[RubyReckless]

I don't know - we female humans have loads more eggs than we use in our lifetimes, don't we? We don't enter menopause when we run out of eggs, as far as I remember from my Human Biology O-Level. There are some that just never get used.

 

I can see the argument for not breeding hens to lay loads as it must put a strain on their system.

I am all for not trying to force a hen to lay constantly (like keeping them with sun lamps to trick them to keep layingin dark months) because they deserve rests and natural rhythms as much as possible. But trying to discourage a hen* from laying eggs its body is all set to make? I'm not sure that's all that beneficial.

 

(* I don't mean for a tired and poorly hen, I mean for healthy hens)

 

However, we love our pets and we all do what seems best to us, and make different choices in good faith and with good intentions.

[HENthusiastic]

I have been wondering about them laying eggs so often and I also have a regular softie layer. I remember reading somewhere that a hen is born with a set potential for a specific number of eggs and whether they are laid quickly or slowly, there is still the same number. Its really a big argument FOR the feeding of extra treats in my opinion. I'd quite like to be able to give my May a break from laying eggs, rather than feeding up with limestone flour and calcium to try to make her lay better eggs.

Chickaboo: How are you managing to give one hen a different diet for a week?

[frazzled]

Are there many omleteers out there who have chickens 3-4 years old who are still laying

 

Eglutine - how much cooked veg do you give yours and which veg

[Egluntyne]

I give them about a couple of cereal bowls full a day between the 14 big girls......it isn't that much really when you hink about it.

 

Mashed potato, broccoli, carrot anything along those lines. Nothing oniony or leeky. I also give them leftover rice and pasta.

 

edited for typo

Edited August 27, 2008 by Guest

[frazzled]

Thanks for that. Our two go wild for cooked rice and especially spagetti . We gave them mashed potatoe tonight, but apart from an odd peck seemed to be holding out for the pasta.

 

My daughters thin white hairband fell off her head and they pounced on it thinking it was treat time - sorely disappointed.

 

How often do your older hens lay

[CockADoodleDoo]

i think if you want and easy alternative you could just feed her 50% mixed corn and 50% growers pellets mixed together in her feeder and then any other s"Ooops, word censored!"s from the kitchen. the growers will keep her big and strong and the mixed corn is really to balance it out a bit. this should bring down her egg production.

 

hope this helps

sam

[CockADoodleDoo]

or as growers are quite expensive near us you could just feed her on mixed corn that will be sufficent to keep her happy and healthy.

[Egluntyne]

you could just feed her on mixed corn that will be sufficent to keep her happy and healthy

 

Sorry....I have to disagree with this statement.

 

Mixed corn is fattening and too much is definitely not good for them., ie doesn't contain nearly enough protein, vitamins and minerals and the fatty aspect can lead to liver problems.

 

The trouble is....they do seem to like it and will eat it in preference to layers pellets.

 

Whilst it is recommended that you put a hen on a diet to stop laying after it has suffered a prolapse for a few days to stop egg production and allow things to heal internally, as a routine it is best for the hen to have layers pellets as the main part of its diet, with a few extras such as veg, pasta and maybe a handful of the mixed corn.

[RubyReckless]

I didn't think corn alone was enough?

[HENthusiastic]

What about feeding a mixture of growers pellets and layers pellets? Would that be a good balance of nutrients, whilst not putting as much pressure on the body to produce eggs daily?

[Chickaboo]

In answer to your question HENthusiast - Daphne my other chicken is broody at the moment, so giving Phoebe a separate diet is no problem at all !! I'm getting lots of interesting advice here, but it has started to make me think what is in layers pellets to encourage laying so much . And what is the difference between layers and growers pellets?

[Egluntyne]

Growers pellets are tailored to the need of the young chick between the ages of approx 5-18weeks, Typically containing round 15% protein, 5-6% minerals and little or no calcium.

 

Layers pellets are geared to the needs of the laying hen from POL (around 18 weeks on wards. Typically containing around 17% protein and 13%mineral, including calcium.