My pullets are 8 weeks old. I was reading about moving from chick "starter" to "developer" for laying hens, starting at 8 weeks until they go onto "layer" at 18 to 20 weeks. It said that if developer was unavailable (it is) it was just as good to add and gradually increase oats into the chick starter, starting with 1/10 and gradually moving up to 1/3 or 50/50. Does anyone know do you use un-milled whole oats, "cracked" oats or oatmeal. Does it matter?
Pullets and Oats?
My guess is that any processing strips the nutrients (or some of them) from the grain. Not sure how their gizzards deal with oats though. Most animals seem to like it from what I've seen.
MollyD
I've been told they are more likley to eat CRIMPED oats
Thanks MollyD and crestedchik. "Crimped" huh? I've heard of that. Oats are very hard--I've tried cooking them myself and they don't soften. I think crimped may be part of a feed I use to give my pony. I'll ask for that and see what happens. Thanks again.
We give ours oats as a treat, they love it. On another forum there is someone who recommends giving chickens oats if they arn't feeling well. We found that when we had the chicken with the broken egg in her oats was the only thing she would eat.
Smedgekles, I use to give my 4 month old roosters whole oats as a treat too (the oats were left over from when I tried to cook them--not a good idea). I just worried about making it a major part of 2 month olds diet. I figure almost anything they will eat size-wize, they can probably digest if they have grit. But oats are pretty tough. I had no idea until I tried to eat whole oats myself:0)
The crimped ones are horse feed
suppose to be easier to eat
mine are spoiled. they get organic cooking oats as treats now and then...
Catscan I take the whole oats and crumble them up so they are smaller and easier for the little ones. We also give them other things like fruit pieces etc. If they were with a mother hen they would be eating whatever she ate and then some :)...bugs, small rocks, etc.
Hi smedgekles. Oh they are eating bugs and small rocks and whatever else they can find. I found crimped oats at the feed store and now am the proud owner of 50lbs. Hope they like it. Haven't looked to see if it needs crumbling. This brood is much pickier than the last--they aren't even that fond of scratch. But they love grass!
Well if they don't like the oats then I guess you'll have to get a horse, LOL (if you don't have one already) They will probably love them. What breed of chicks do you have?
I have 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Welsummers (they are very large birds), a Buff Orpington, a Delaware, and a Cuckoo Marans. They all have very distinct personalities. Hoping for more!
Yep, every bird has its own personality. It really is interesting.
Next year I'm thinking of adding some Welsummers to the flock
MollyD
i HOPE to be getting a welsummer THIS year.... my dear hens need a nice roo. hope he is spoiled, LOL
We are waiting for the crow or some nice sickle feathers:0)
come on, baby, CROW already!
Gave the girls (?) their first taste of crimped oats---At first they were not interested, but after a few minutes of greedy grass eating they came back to the oats--so I think it is going to be a success. The books say to introduce new feed very gradually. I am starting with 1/10 and moving up each week to a final 50/50 mix. Then at 16 weeks I'll move them to layer pellets.
Sorry Tamara, the Welsummers are just very quiet birds.....Really sturdy, tall, strong legs, great foragers. I am suspecting the sickle feathers may be the first clue. I noticed that the Marans is starting to molt. so with daylight lengthening it may happen before 4 months. Are you interested in a pullet?
if it lays eggs i'll take it LOL
We use crimped oats with the individual feeds for the
goats and my horse. I started adding it to the chicks diet
when I moved them outside 2 weeks ago. They are now
9 weeks old, and really love the oats. They are also free
rangeing all day, and they seem to be very very happy.
What a beauty. Look at that fluff.
Oh my goodness truest, look at those legs! I wish I could have feather legged breeds here. Maybe a few bantams I can keep in all winter--but we just have such a long wet winter.......What kind of chicken is that? Is the color blue? (I know nothing about colors:0)).
That's Amelia Earhart. She's just been different
than the other cochins. When I would have her perch
on my hand, of course both wings would go out at
first for balance, but then she would fold just one wing,
and forget about the other one, so she had this strange
wing thing going on. She's a blue, and has some of the
best feathering on her legs of my black, splash and blue
cochins. She took a long time to feather out, she still is
not done- I don't think. Such a sweety!
hope you ahve a boyish name for that sweetie!
Yeah, I have thought of that possibility- I forget who
said, but slow to feather-bigger wattles and comb- a roo.
I just can't imagine McM goofing that bad, when I ordered
8 pullets and 1 roo, and I lost cochins with the AE mostly.
It appears I may have a splash roo, a blue roo, a black roo,
and 2 blues and a black pullet. I'm starting to get ticked
again. Still up in the air. I'm looking for rounded feather
ends on the pullets necks, and maybe their behaviour for
confirming roo's.
I know truest----It is sooooo hard to determine sex until they decide to declare it. I guess even crowing is not definitive--all you can go by is the preponderance of the evidence---or an egg.
i was reading my SoP the other night. seems the male cochins are MUCH bigger...
truest, maybe we can trade some cochins. mine are bantam, but i don't think i have ANY roos thus far... i still have three too small to tell though... no mkae that five LOL. i am lsoing ocunt...
LOL. I think I will know for sure when there's an egg!
How old are they when they start to lay? 5 months?
That would put that time around July or August. May be
too hot then.
SO glad you brought that up, TF! If I have too many,
and you have too few, I would love to trade with you.
I'm still working it in me leetle head what colors I want
and need, etc. So, how would that work for you if your's
are bantams? I wouldn't mind having a couple bantams,
at all.
Does anyone know where to get the USPS approved
shipping boxes for birds? I have seen a couple of
game sites that have them, but can't remember where
they are, I've looked at so many.
joan, check here
http://www.poultrysupplies.com/index.htm
joan, here is oscar and a couple of his girls. the like tomatoes and bread
Does anyone know if you need a health certificate to ship out of state?
Thanks for the link, Kathy. hey, your birds are
looking very good! Hope you get some pretty
eggs come time. Mine go bullistic over bread.
oscar always wins when it comes to maters!
Hmm, I don't know about health certificates. Maybe
your vet knows, or your state ag site, Cat. In thinking
about trading birds, and checking out Kathy's link,
I am thinking it is better to trade the cochins sooner
than later, as there is a weight limit for those boxes.
I think mature cochin roo's get to about 9 lbs, and
at least the smaller ship box has a 7 lb limit.
catscan, umm, i think to ship into texas they need to be four months old, and have tested for AI, and Pull/typhoid... hadn't thought of that before, but i think that is what i was told...
truest, yes, they should only be half grown when they start laying. the boxes are not cheap, but maybe cheaper than gas LOL.
kittyjo, adoarble birds, what are they?
I think Kathy's are easter eggers. And I am willing to
bet that the shipping boxes are cheaper than gas.
Also can't put a price on finding some healthy, pretty
birds that don't have to ship too far.
Yes, Cat, I understand about the long wet winters.
Before I got cochins, I read many keep them in in
wet weather as mud balls form on their feet. The
place I found my antique dining table had a pen
with cochins that he had had for a year, and either
his didn't originally have much foot feathering, or the
mud drying and breaking off had ruined the feathers.
Mine have been out after rains, and gotten them dirty,
but I haven't seen any mud collecting on them. I have
a lot of sandy soil, and very little goo mud.
tamera, they are new hampshires
ah, they are nice!
thank you, i like them