Chicken bald back

[alphabill]

Hi,

I came across this article in the Guardian today

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/may/22/chickens-eggs-coop-pets-recipe

I was wondering if anybody has this type of diet for their chickens i.e no layers pellets but a more natural diet. And are all layers pellets made of soya! I currently use organic ones but would be unhappy if they are coming from soya grown in a Brazilian rain forest as the article suggests. Would welcome peoples opinion on this?

Thanks

catherine

PS I am not sure if I have done the link correctly?

[Redwing]

thats an interesting article if a bit preachy

 

There are a couple on here who do feed straight grain diets to their chooks, it does need a bit of research to get the balance right though but if you can get it right it seems to do a good job

 

I put my trust in the scientists (sorry) and feed pellets but not dry grey dusty ones like the ones mentioned, some makes are better than others

[sadietoo]

Gosh, an interesting article that had me running to our utility to check the ingredients in my feed...and there is good news and bad news...the Small Holders pellets say on the side that they "only include non-GM non-solvent extracted soya, rather than common alternatives such as High Protein (Hipro) soya or Brazilian soya. Hipro soya is processed using hexane - a potentially carcinogenic distilled petrol product" and apparently residues of hexane are left in the oil, "causing a bitter smell". The bad news is that my girls won't touch these, preferring the Marriages Layers Mash, which of course contains 2% Hipro soya....fortunately however we are at the bottom of the big bag and so I can see if I can source something else for them.....

[EmmaE]

My mum remembers having hens in the garden when she was little - many years ago as she was born in '47! All the hens ate were kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s, some corn and whatever they could find for themselves in the garden. They lived quite happily and laid plenty of eggs until they were eventually eaten . . . Yes these days we tend to use pellets or mash as they're nutritionally balanced for all the hens needs, but wouldn't it be boring if we ate like that eh? Just a thought!

 

(and before I get shot I'd like to point out that I do use pellets!! And a mixture of treats!)

[Mollie333]

Interesting.

I use layers pellets, but they eat s"Ooops, word censored!"s, and are healthy, happy chooks!

[ISCA]

And there was me thinking it was illegal to feed any food s"Ooops, word censored!"s from kitchens (including domestic kitchens) to any livestock (including garden poultry) as per DEFRA rules

 

I know some people do, but it is still illegal isn't it? And leaves you open to prosecution, fines, prison and extermination of your flock if caught. Would DEFRA even go as far as slaughtering neighbouring flocks as well, as they did during the foot and mouth outbreak with cattle?

 

I am not trying to scaremonger, I am just curious. I do not feed mine s"Ooops, word censored!"s from the kitchen for these reasons. Writing a book encouraging others to break the law seems irresponsible, even if that law is an ass in some peoples eyes.

 

It has been illegal to feed catering waste to farmed animals in the UK since 2001,

and this ban was adopted by the whole European Community in 2003. If you are

convicted of feeding catering waste to farmed animals you can be fined or

sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison.

The law is there to help prevent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and other

animal diseases such as swine fever - catering waste can be a major source of these

diseases.

You cannot feed any kind of catering waste to farmed animals. Catering

waste is defined as all waste food, whether raw or cooked, including used

cooking oils (UCO), which arise in premises such as:

• Household kitchens

• Restaurants

• Fish and Chips/Pizza/Kebab shops

• Takeaway shops

• Canteens

• Cafes; or

• Vegetarian kitchens/restaurants

It also includes food waste from other premises (food factories, distribution

warehouses etc.) that contains or has been in contact with animal by-products (such

as raw eggs, meat, fish products) and this must not be fed to farmed animals.

'Farmed animals' includes any pet animals that belong to a farmed species, such as

pet pigs, goats and poultry.

[laurmurf]

My mum remembers having hens in the garden when she was little - many years ago as she was born in '47! All the hens ate were kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s, some corn and whatever they could find for themselves in the garden. They lived quite happily and laid plenty of eggs until they were eventually eaten . . . Yes these days we tend to use pellets or mash as they're nutritionally balanced for all the hens needs, but wouldn't it be boring if we ate like that eh? Just a thought!

 

(and before I get shot I'd like to point out that I do use pellets!! And a mixture of treats!)

 

She would have had utility breeds in the garden which, because of their more natural laying cycle, would have been quite happy laying on that sort of diet. They would have probably lived longer and kept laying 'good' eggs for longer too.

 

Modern Hybrids have been developed and bred to be laying machines, they do actually need the intensive and guaranteed nutrients from layers pellets/mash to keep them fit enough to keep laying day in and day out. It's also why hybrids 'burn out' so much quicker and have more laying tackle problems than pure breeds/utility breeds.

 

Lots of keepers of pure breeds feed their chooks on pure grains with some breeders pellets for egg quality before hatching. Mind you, these birds are usually show birds rather than laying hens.

 

I feed mine pellets too!

[squidsin]

And there was me thinking it was illegal to feed any food s"Ooops, word censored!"s from kitchens (including domestic kitchens) to any livestock (including garden poultry) as per DEFRA rules

 

I know some people do, but it is still illegal isn't it? And leaves you open to prosecution, fines, prison and extermination of your flock if caught. Would DEFRA even go as far as slaughtering neighbouring flocks as well, as they did during the foot and mouth outbreak with cattle?

 

I am not trying to scaremonger, I am just curious. I do not feed mine s"Ooops, word censored!"s from the kitchen for these reasons. Writing a book encouraging others to break the law seems irresponsible, even if that law is an ass in some peoples eyes.

 

It has been illegal to feed catering waste to farmed animals in the UK since 2001,

and this ban was adopted by the whole European Community in 2003. If you are

convicted of feeding catering waste to farmed animals you can be fined or

sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison.

The law is there to help prevent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and other

animal diseases such as swine fever - catering waste can be a major source of these

diseases.

You cannot feed any kind of catering waste to farmed animals. Catering

waste is defined as all waste food, whether raw or cooked, including used

cooking oils (UCO), which arise in premises such as:

• Household kitchens

• Restaurants

• Fish and Chips/Pizza/Kebab shops

• Takeaway shops

• Canteens

• Cafes; or

• Vegetarian kitchens/restaurants

It also includes food waste from other premises (food factories, distribution

warehouses etc.) that contains or has been in contact with animal by-products (such

as raw eggs, meat, fish products) and this must not be fed to farmed animals.

'Farmed animals' includes any pet animals that belong to a farmed species, such as

pet pigs, goats and poultry.

 

It would be really hard to uphold that law - where does the definition of 'waste' begin and end? You could easily argue that you fed your chickens specially prepared food that you made yourself for them. I DON'T give mine s"Ooops, word censored!"s - I give them their own fresh veg and marmite on toast!

And seriously - what a stupid law! I get that it's to stop people feeding meat to veggie pets that could make them ill, but that's virtually unenforceable.