showlow
16 posts
Oct 04, 2005
5:01 PM
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Here I go--I feed my kit birds cleaned wheat (11%) approx. 1 cup per 10 birds. Do you guy's think they can live on this? I handle them every day, so far none are feeling light. I feed twice a day and fly once a day. Breeders get pigeon pellets (19%) all they can eat. I feed pigeon mix (15%) to spare birds and y/b's. I used to get Red wheat,but have been unable to get it here in Taylor,Az. The feed stores say they have never heard or it. Please give me some feedback on this,like what do you feed your birds? thanks guy's--------Bob
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
174 posts
Oct 04, 2005
5:25 PM
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Two cups for 10 birds a day? That is a bunch! I am surprised they are even eating all of it. If they are really young, yah you can get away with feeding them that much. But as they mature, you'll definitely want to cut that amount back to keep control over them. I use a cooking cup for feeding and it holds roughly 30 tablespoons of feed. I give a 20 bird kit one of these cups once a day and they do just fine. In fact, some of them need less as they begin to screw around on the loft roof instead of trapping in. There is no text book amount. You kind of have to feel them out and see what amount seems to work best for your birds. Keep an eye out for the chow hounds and make sure and feed the ones that are rolling quite a bit a little extra.
Brian.
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showlow
17 posts
Oct 04, 2005
5:41 PM
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No--I feed total of 1 cup per 10 birds--20 birds get 1 cup in the AM, 1 cup in the PM. My question is, do the kit birds need more than straight wheat? I feed them pigeon mix once a week (15%). They fly about 25 minutes and trap in within 2 minutes.
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Alohazona
69 posts
Oct 04, 2005
8:45 PM
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Bob, 25 minutes is a perfect fly time for rollers.
My rollers will trap within 30 seconds,after their fly,if they don't they camp out for the night,unless its a bird/birds ,I know to be hard workers,thats different.As for only wheat,I would balance it out with milo, and what peas are available in your area,and save the wheat only thing,for inducing performance or trying to adjust the height,the kit is flying.The amount to feed is just some thing you'll have to experiment with,but I would try to get them to trap quicker than 2 minutes.What are the ages of the kit birds??ALOHA,Todd
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big al
132 posts
Oct 04, 2005
10:15 PM
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Hi Bob,
25 minutes is a good time for a kit to fly, although I like my youngsters out a little longer to get stronger on the wing.
I do think that feeding kit birds twice a day is too much if you're feeding a full cup each time. Even if you fly twice a day that's too much. For my particular family, I use red winter wheat to get them flying higher or to get them a little light to promote more activity when needed. My birds will not do good on a diet of straight wheat. They get light and eventually inactive! Normally they get 12% grain mix. I use peas when a boost is needed. This works well for me.
Bob you kind of have to just watch your birds closely to see what they respond to best. Make note of the posts on this site. There are some awesome rollermen here. Take the advise that makes sense and apply it, but again see what works for your particular birds. In most cases you won't get a wrong answer but sometimes an answer that's not compatible with your particular family of birds, and some answers that are.
PS
Are the squeakers I gave you on the wing yet? Expect HEAT in about 3-4 more months!
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See you in the roll!
Big Al
"High Plains Spinner Loft"
Last Edited by big al on Oct 05, 2005 11:02 AM
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big al
134 posts
Oct 05, 2005
10:57 AM
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upcd,
That's one heck of a kit!!!!
Ooooh I don't know 3 & 1/2 to 4 cups? LOL!!!!----------
That kit would be a falcon's fantasy!! :-)
See you in the roll!
Big Al
"High Plains Spinner Loft"
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siddiqir
56 posts
Oct 05, 2005
1:35 PM
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showlow, I believe just wheat would not take them any where in the long run (and most likely they will start hitting the ground if stain is from hot family).
They roll quality will suffer if you feed wheat for weeks. At some point they will start flying for 5 minutes (just circle around and want to come down on wheat only).
Feed them balance diet like wheat/milo/peas mixture. Find out what % work best for you. I do 30%/30%/30% but over time birds get too strong and get stiff on me. I then break then down with milo...like 50% milo and 25% peas and 25% wheat.
The standard is 1 Cup per ten birds. A cup hold about 8 ounces. Little more in winter and little less in summer. That would just work out fine.
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showlow
18 posts
Oct 05, 2005
1:53 PM
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Thanks Sid--That's good info. Birds are doing OK, but still trying to get feed dialed in. They do OK on 15% pigeon mix, but were not rolling at all, I switched to 11% wheat (straight,no mix) and they roll a little better. About once a week, I feed the pigeon mix. I have been seeing Cooper hawk's hit at the bird's, but they haven't got any birds yet. A pair of Falcons got after them the other day,knocked feathers out, but didn't hurt any birds. They kit back up and keep flying, so I guess I am lucky, (birds are lucky) I see posts that add corn to feed in winter, my birds leave the corn,guess they will eat it if they get hungry enough. Thanks again for your input.
Bob
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Velo99
101 posts
Oct 05, 2005
3:17 PM
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Okay Showlow,
Try this.I have almost exclusively young birds in my 23 bird kit.
I went to a 7/3 schedule. I mix a big coffee can of milo with one cup of 17% mix added. I feed this for 4 days after a 45 min fly. I then go to the second mix. One third mix and 2/3 milo for the last 3 days. On the off they get straight mix. If you whistle your birds in try to keep them at 35 -45 minutes. They will get used to it. I feed almost three cups of the first mix, two and a quarter of the second and one and three quarter of the mix. So far so good. I have been on this schedule for 2 months now . I like it and the birds perform pretty decently almost everytime.
Add a dab of grit and some vitamins once a week as well. It took me a while to come up with this. It works well for MY birds.
I have had healthy and happy birds for over a year.
YITS and good luck bro.
V99
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siddiqir
61 posts
Oct 07, 2005
10:17 AM
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V99, is it yo-yo feed you taking about?
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Velo99
102 posts
Oct 07, 2005
8:50 PM
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Sid,
Not really a yo yo in the true sense, more of a protein yo yo. I feed more of the lighter seed to make the birds feel full and give them the carbs to be able to perform. I feed the mix on the off days to build them back up for the next week. No one wants to go 7 days a week with out a break
This is my everyday program. I can do this year round til it is time for the flys. Then I would simply shorten the time between layoffs, and shorten the seed according to the time needed to get a good time in and out.
YITS
v99
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