Redwing Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 One of my girls has been through a reasonably comprehensive moult and the other three have had mini moults. These started in Nov Two of the mini-moulters are now looking amazing but the other two (both Gingernut Ranger types) both have bald bottoms still I have checked for beasties, found none but dusted anyway. The feathers are starting to show through (white 'tubes') so it does look like the end of the moult but they have looked like this for weeks and it is taking ages for them to re-feather! I am feeding tuna (in spring water) twice a week but what else will have the necessary protein in that I can try? Should I feed the tuna every day for now? They have continued to lay which I guess doesnt help.... They are perfectly fine and happy, they have no sore or red patches and no one is pecking at anyone else they are just a bit moth-eaten and bald looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Not had a moult to contend with yet but I think I read that chick crumb is good for moulters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 oooh! good call, I will try and get hold of some, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I bought some yonks ago at my horsey suppliers. It only cost about £3-4 . Never used it yet . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 what about poultry spice, I've heard of that being given when moulting or Lifeguard tonic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 I have been using Battles Poultry Drink on and off since December I think I was told that its the liquid equivilent of Poultry Spice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 My little monsters have persuaded me that leftover cat food is good for feather-growing (and tastes good too!) . We're now working on a definition of "leftover" that doesn't involve shoving the poor cat off the plate . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Heard someone swear by Lifeguard tonic for re feathering. mine won't touch the water it is in! Exttra protein in several forms. Mealworms, some tined Tuna, not in brine & rinsed, some cat food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley-Jean Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I give mine a teaspoonfull of cat food per day each while moulting (preferably not chicken variety) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Not had a moult to contend with yet but I think I read that chick crumb is good for moulters? Yes ANH is right, I have also used it recently for my post -op girl Ella and she has come on leaps & bounds since eating it....it really got her appetite back so can highly recommend it. Mealworms are also good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Thanks all, I have mealworms I also have cat food but the box is a 'Poultry Special' pack so I may need to re-think my shopping habits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddle Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 corn and soy beans have quite high in protein content. and are less fatty than meaty products. having said that i know someone who swore by and fed her chickens rice mixed with mayoniase and poutry spice to help with the moult which is fatty as hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 The general advice about corn is not to overdo it with laying hens, just a handful occassionally as a treat, as it is very fatty, and not particularly nutritious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 this is interesting as mine are about a year old I guess so should be moulting soon shouldn't they?? although no sign yet! I always give poultry spice in the food with their garlic powder anyway now through the winter as my thoughts were it could only help not hurt them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddle Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 sorry not meaning to have as whole diet just as a pick me up protein source ass apposed to/ compared to meat looking at fat cal to protein cal ratios looks about 1:1 in most cat foods http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/CanFoodNew.html and IMO is isn’t nice fat, its old manky meat not fit for human consumption packaged up for cats which have a digestive system built to cope with it. tuna or codliver oil do seem a bit better, but i find myself asking the question i feel those prior to the BCG outbreak should have pondered.. did chickens eat much fish in the wild, live worms and woodlice etc would have been staples not dead stuff going rancid. then again what we see as a chicken today is very much different from their un domesticated form.. they’ve probably been fed meat for years now.. well until DEFRA regulations came into play which say NO MEAT should be fed to them. corn however has a much more protein biased composition http://www.berlinkauf.com/sell_corn_gluten-200405.html (sorry couldn’t find dried corn, assuming powdering keeps general stats more so than tins of green giant which is heavily scewed by water content) I always thought corn was a good food only deficient in tryptophan and lysine (both of which are provided in the soya, which is why the broiler hens and "corn fed chicken" do so well on it.. yes not perfect balance for laying, layers pellets or mash provide that.. but in the batteries their not so fussy about bulk, of course neither are all that bothered about health or plumage. sorry i'm just going round in circles here. corn has high cellulose content, essentially what feathers are protein and cellulose fibres from what i can remeber. just giving another option really. personally i wouldn’t be comfortable feeding my girls cat food or fish, i may buy mealworms, maggots etc or go louse or worm hunting in the garden though if i think more meat will help Edited to Add: ooops i'm worng.. dried corn is only approx 8-15% protein, the corn gluteny stuff is a byproduct of milling process ith a high protein content! ediyted again to add ... hmm their not excatly comp[arable, if i had a tin of cat food to see weights of pretein fet etc but anyways from wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn#Nutritional_value Popcorn, air-popped, no additives Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) Energy 380 kcal 1600 kJ Carbohydrates 78 g - Dietary fiber 15 g Fat 4 g Protein 12 g Thiamin (Vit. B1) 0.2 mg 15% Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.3 mg 20% Iron 2.7 mg 22% going to give up on not quite proving any point at all now, doh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I personally would not feed fish or meat to a chicken - whether this be cat food or tinned tuna - it just doesn't seem natural! Here I use Chick Crumb (protein = 24%, which compares to 16% in layers pellets in the smallholders range - other brands may be slightly different), plus poultry spice or battles poultry drink depending on which comes to hand first. I guess the new ex-batt layers pellets would also provide the boost needed to some extent. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks all for taking the time and trouble to reply, lots of interesting info here My local garden centre sells chick crumb by the scoop so I bought five scoops and some Poultry Spice yesterday morning and have mixed it up with some Bokashi bran and am feeding it as a porridge morning and evening Hopefully it will have the desired effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
