Missouri-Flyer
503 posts
Apr 22, 2007
12:05 PM
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If the breeders are fed equal amounts of peas,milo,and wheat, will this be enough to keep them and their young healthy?
Grit is always provided also.
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Jerry
Home of "Whispering Wings Loft"
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Electric-man
250 posts
Apr 22, 2007
12:33 PM
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I also mix in a black oil sunflower seed from wal-mart. Keeps their feathers shiny.I mix it with milo, wheat and peas when I can afford them.$23 dollars for 50lbs. I also keep in a seperate feeder 15% egg ration crumbles! They don't eat alot of that though. Mine will eat the sunflower seeds before anything else, so I make them pretty well clean everything else up for the most part!
Val
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Velo99
1063 posts
Apr 22, 2007
1:49 PM
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Jerry,
It should be sufficient. The grains are a little big for some of the small chicks. Might I suggest adding wild bird seed to the mix. It contains a some smaller seeds that are more readily consumed by the chicks. It also has very tiny granite grit. 6 bux a 20 at walmart.
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V99
Flippin`The Bird!
http://www.bluedotloft.50megs.com
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Missouri-Flyer
505 posts
Apr 22, 2007
4:21 PM
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Thanks Val and Kenny,
I have some wild bird mix. I will add a tad to see if they like it..They have no problems eating the grains I give them. I have always used pigeon mix, but due to the cost rising all the time, I bought seperate grains, and 50 lbs of mix, just to see if they will survive on the peas,milo,and wheat, and if not then I have the mix to fall back on, but as of now, 2 days later, they are eating all i give them...again, thanks
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Jerry
Home of "Whispering Wings Loft"
Last Edited by on Apr 22, 2007 4:22 PM
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nicksiders
1604 posts
Apr 22, 2007
5:20 PM
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Jerry,
I think that will do well. I always feed safflower with the peas; wheat; and milo. That raises the fat level a little higher. I also always present vitamins in the drinking water. Tony's store has some choices with the vitamins and electrolites. For the grit I have added to it some oyster shell and it is red grit.
Nick
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Snicker Rollers
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Velo99
1064 posts
Apr 23, 2007
5:03 AM
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Jerry,
I guess when they are little bitty they do get pretty much straight milk huh? Duh!! lol
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V99
Flippin`The Bird!
http://www.bluedotloft.50megs.com
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Missouri-Flyer
507 posts
Apr 23, 2007
7:34 AM
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Kenny, LOL....I got ya..
Nick, I will get the safflower seeds and add them also....I did purchase the vits.- and minerals from Tony a while back, and use them every other week, along with ACV every other day....I do the same for the kitbirds..they appear to all be healthy as ever!...Thanks again Guys
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Jerry
Home of "Whispering Wings Loft"
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motherlodelofts
1754 posts
Apr 23, 2007
8:16 AM
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Val and Nick is right, you also need a heavy fat oil seed , one of the most economical feeds for breeders is lay pellets.
I figure that mixing my own still costs me no less than 15 bucks per pound , I can get a commercial mix for $17 that is 16 0/0 which is what I have been using for my breeders.
For my youngsters I mix about what you are mixing now which I wouldn't think is but 12-14 percent , which I think is to0 light for the breeders .
Not that it won't work as wild pigeons I'm sure get much less , but we want ours to get all that is needed.
Scott
Last Edited by on Apr 23, 2007 8:20 AM
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Double R
43 posts
Apr 25, 2007
3:09 AM
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Jerry,
If you don't mind driving to Pittsburgh KS. You can get a pretty good mix there for around $9.oo per. 50lb. bag. It has 3 differant peas, wheat, and milo already mixed. I add safflower and millet to my mix. If you buy enough for 3 or 4 months it's worth the drive...E-mail me if you want their phone number.
P.S. We missed you Saturday..
YITS...Robby
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Flyin Hawaiian
165 posts
Apr 25, 2007
4:03 AM
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Hi Jerry,
Keep in mind that if your protien level is higher than 16 % and you are feeding a mix and not a pellett you will notice that the breeders will tend to eat much of the peas within the mix and leave the wheat and pop corn if it is available to them in your mix. The oily seeds such as millett rape and safflower combined with austrian peas maple peas vetch etc will cause some of the quills not to break through the shaft end when feathering out on the young. The fix to this is to cut the feed down with a neutral seed such as milo or wheat in order to bring the protien level down to avoid this in your young.
Ivan
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Missouri-Flyer
516 posts
Apr 25, 2007
6:04 AM
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Thanks Robby,
I have been using Blue Bonnet from SoMo in Springfield for the past 3 years and have had no problems, except the fact that they seem to do as Ivan stated, and waste the popcorn, and peas for the most part.
I bought a few hundred pounds of individual feeds this time hoping to cut the waste. They appear to be eating the wheat,milo,and peas without much waste..I do give them a shot of the commercial mix every evening to make sure they are getting what their used to...Thanks guys..
P.S....I had planned to make it Saturday, to atleast Bill Roys, but got caught up at work.
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Jerry
Home of "Whispering Wings Loft"
Last Edited by on Apr 25, 2007 6:05 AM
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J_Star
855 posts
Apr 27, 2007
6:48 AM
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I notice that when you give the breeders a mix, they go through it and pick what they want. They waste allot of seeds. For this reason, I only give them one type of seed at a time. When I give them safflower, it is in a form of a treat and in separate container just like the grit. My birds will waste the peas and the wheat. It all depends on what the weather is going to be. They seem to sense the tempreture change for the evening or the next day and select the seed to suit there needs!!! But wasting feed is out of the question for me. They get what they get otherwise, go hungry.
Jay
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Double D
334 posts
Apr 27, 2007
1:02 PM
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I recently switched to layer pellets and while I can tell the breeders don't seem to prefer it to seed, the young seem to be developing alot quicker. My birds always did just what Ivan said and left the wheat and corn. With the pellets, the young get the best mix and the hens get more calcium in addition to oyster shell that I give them so that they can keep up with egg production. I switched because I was having some issues with calcium deficiency. I have also moved to an open loft breeding system and will be adding a aviary to the outside of the loft so the breeders can get out into the fresh air and sun.
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Darin Olson
Checkerboard Lofts
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Newflyer
103 posts
Apr 27, 2007
1:39 PM
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I too have a problem with the breeder feed. I used the pellets for a good time, but the stool is very messy and smells more then when I feed regular feed. Is their any other good store bought feed for the breeders other then the pellets? I agree with the others, when I feed a good pigeon mix they do just pick out what they like and leave the rest or kick it out and waste it. Iam sure many of us have this simular problem.
Paul
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Double D
335 posts
Apr 27, 2007
8:54 PM
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Newflyer,
I use the Nutrina brand of Layer Pellets for chickens. No question that when the stool is fresh out it smells worse than seeds but once it dries a little my loft doesn't smell any different than it did with seeds. Scott said he'd used this brand of pellet in the past and liked it because it caused the birds to have stool that was closer to normal. If you can find this brand, I get it at a store called CAL Ranch, I think you'll find it's better than the pellets you've used in the past.
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Darin Olson
Checkerboard Lofts
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Newflyer
104 posts
Apr 28, 2007
3:59 PM
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Double D....I have used that brand also. But I still find the stool to be quite loose too. Guess I'll just have to put up with the mess....LOL. Breeding season will be over soon for me anyway. Thanks for the advise.
Paul
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Gregg
93 posts
Apr 28, 2007
8:36 PM
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Jerry,
Nick, Scott and Ivan hit it right on the head. You have provided the protein and the carbs. Only thing missing is the fat content. Safflower will do the trick. Youngsters need a high fat content to grow at the fast track rate that we expect. About ten to twelve percent of your feed ration, minimum, should be a high fat content grain.
Gregg.
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