Fred
3 posts
Mar 25, 2009
1:36 PM
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Hi again, I got such great answers on my first question. I thought I would try again.
I know everyone has his or her own mixture for feed. I would like to get some idea of volume. The man I bought my rollers from feeds one tablespoon per day to his fliers. Does this seem like enough? He didn't say how much he feeds his breeders. Could someone give me a ball park figure on how much feed for fliers and how much for breeders.? thank you very much. ( I'm haveing a ball ) Fred
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Windjammer Loft
762 posts
Mar 25, 2009
3:20 PM
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rule of thumb is: 1 cup per 10 birds for the flyers and the breeders should have feed 24/7, Just my take
Fly High and Roll On
Paul
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sundance
1082 posts
Mar 25, 2009
4:50 PM
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Right on Paul. Rule of thumb is vague but true. Fred, just remember, its a rule of thumb. dont take it as fact. Different strains and families need different amounts. You really just need to study your fliers and see what works for them. It might be a bit more, or it might be a bit less. Young fliers should get all they can eat for the first few months to develope body and muscle tissue properly, withen reason, so they dont fly too long or dont want to trap. If you havent figured out already, it is tricky !
The breeders though, is dead on. Feed should be in front of them 24/7 "while breeding".
In the off breeding season, while the cocks and hens are split up I go back to the rule of thumb theory and feed them enough to keep them healthy, without putting on excessive fat.
One cup per 10 breeders should be about right in the off season as they are not expending the same energy as fliers.
good luck Fred...
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Butch @
Sundance Roller Lofts
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Electric-man
2274 posts
Mar 25, 2009
8:25 PM
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With kitbirds, a cup per 10 birds is a good starting point. I like mine to fly around 30 min for maintenance flying. Depending on what their doing, I will add or subtract a little to keep them under control. Mine take less feed in the summer than when its cold. Be careful though, sometimes a couple tbls will make a huge difference.
My fosters do most of the raising and they get full feed all the time. My best breeders are in ind. cages and I control their feed a little more. I like the bowls to be empty at night, its my best battle against mice. Mice are bad ju-ju! Plus my breeders do better if their not fat and lazy cooped up in those smaller cages.
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Val
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BA Rollers
213 posts
Mar 25, 2009
9:05 PM
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Keep in mind gents, everyone's "cup" is usually different. The best method using the cup terminology is to take your cup or whatever it is that you choose to use and use a tablespoon to add the amount. My cup is actually 26 heaping tablespoons of wheat. I keep a small plastic water bottle that I filled with exactly 20 tablespoons of wheat and a line marking that amount, just in case I were to ever lose my cup that I regularly use.
My kit birds get one tablespoon of wheat per bird most of the time. If they are looking like they need more, I up it quite a bit. If they take advantages, they get half a cup of milo.
Everyone's ration will be different. You have to play with the amounts and grains to find what works best with your birds you are flying. I prefer good hard red winter wheat. This way every bird gets the same quality feed across the board. And generally speaking, they get the same amount. You'll have to feel the crops and watch them eat to figure out who the hogs are and who isn't getting their fair share. I don't like using mixes because some birds will go for peas, other milo, other wheat, resulting in unbalanced nutrition across the board. If a person really wants to get down to the nuts and bolts and if they want to use mix, it should be given separately to insure and equal portion of each grain to the entire kit. Do this and I guarantee you you will see a difference in your kit over the long haul.
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Bill C
294 posts
Mar 25, 2009
9:48 PM
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The feeding of kit birds is definately the hardest part for a beginner. I always fed too much the firs year or two. They will ack like they are starving but use the amount of time they fly to judge if they need more feed or not. You also need to build them up with flying and break them down for rolling more and go back and forth with it with older birds. You do not want them always in a very fit for rolling condition. You need to give them a break from time to time and rest periods of more feed or healthier feed and not just wheat all year long.
With younger birds just feed them to fly for 45 minutes and keep them at that amount of flying time with the feed (mixed grain).
Just remember they are good act acting like they are starving. But use the fly time as the rule of thumb and not the amount per bird if you can. It takes a few days for your rountine to kick in and start showing you progress. Bill C
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RodSD
206 posts
Mar 25, 2009
10:57 PM
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Just use standard cup definition which is 8 ounces.
That one tablespoon is a good guide. You start from there and modulate if you will the amount based on how your birds perform. It also depends on the weather. More food probably on winter than on summer. You may even add different kinds of grain based on the season--say corn during the winter.
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J T
170 posts
Mar 26, 2009
1:41 PM
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If you leave feed in the loft for the breeders to
eat all they want while feeding their young,
how do you keep the mice out?
I have tried several feeders and after a week or two
I start to see rat turds.
I went back to feeding twice a day
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PR_rollers
GOLD MEMBER
2786 posts
Mar 26, 2009
2:06 PM
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Good post Bill.
I do it like Val at night I take the feed away and I just make sure I'm up in the AM to put the feed back in..I do like you do too JT twice a day all they want..
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Ralph.
miss opportunity are the curse of potential well if opportunity is not knocking you build the door...
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Lipper
GOLD MEMBER
464 posts
Mar 26, 2009
2:37 PM
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Mike Trevis
The Bigger the Dream the Bigger the Leap
JT, You need to get rid of the mice period..They carry disease, chase hens off of eggs, kill squabs, and soil feed and water..poison them and tighten up your loft or you are going to be sorry...Next it will be rats!
JT Wrote:
If you leave feed in the loft for the breeders to
eat all they want while feeding their young,
how do you keep the mice out?
I have tried several feeders and after a week or two
I start to see rat turds.
I went back to feeding twice a day
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j .wanless
700 posts
Mar 26, 2009
2:46 PM
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hi all
fred the above measures for flying birds are all only guide lines + thats all .lots of things have got to be taken into account.flying rollers is all about trials + errors.i can only tell you what i feed my own birds on not what you should fly your birds on.adjust the corn to get what you want out of your birds.
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Electric-man
2276 posts
Mar 26, 2009
3:01 PM
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JT, I use the glue traps and add a little peanut butter just to make it irresistable(sp). They are the safest method I could come up with, cheap too! LOL
It takes a little more effort to take the feed out at night and then return it in the morning, but its working for me.
Good luck!
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Val
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PR_rollers
GOLD MEMBER
2787 posts
Mar 26, 2009
6:05 PM
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If you keep the area clean they won't be any animal looking for feed I don't even see ants around my pen because I don't never let food stay on the ground or around long enough to attract ..always spraying clorox at night around corners of outside and then the next day white vinegar the place smell fresh..see the problem is I am a clean freak...but better a clean freak than a dirty one ...love when a neighbor comes by and says it doesn't even smell like birds here.
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Ralph.
miss opportunity are the curse of potential well if opportunity is not knocking you build the door...
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gotspin7
2343 posts
Mar 26, 2009
6:32 PM
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The feeding of kit birds is definately the hardest part for a beginner. I always fed too much the firs year or two. They will ack like they are starving but use the amount of time they fly to judge if they need more feed or not. You also need to build them up with flying and break them down for rolling more and go back and forth with it with older birds. You do not want them always in a very fit for rolling condition. You need to give them a break from time to time and rest periods of more feed or healthier feed and not just wheat all year long.
With younger birds just feed them to fly for 45 minutes and keep them at that amount of flying time with the feed (mixed grain).
Just remember they are good act acting like they are starving. But use the fly time as the rule of thumb and not the amount per bird if you can. It takes a few days for your rountine to kick in and start showing you progress. Bill C
Bill, great post!! I agree and use the same methods when feeding...
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Sal Ortiz
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Bill C
299 posts
Mar 26, 2009
9:38 PM
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JT, If you have pigeons you will have rats or mice. Even if you remove the feed trays they smell the grain and will go looking for it and for water too.
I leave some plywood and roof tin out by my bird cages and put rat poison under them. Rats will walk on teleophone wires and come from far away and travel. I was just at the hardware store and told the lady at the counter, " I feel like I am feeding these rats istead of killing them". That is because I put out six boxes of decon and in a few days it is all gone. I have to do this year round because the just keep coming back in from neighbor hoods that do not poison them.
In the summer when water is hard to find they will drink out of your water containers too. So I leave pans of water for them out by the wood piles during summer days and plenty of rat poison year round.
Thanks Sal, Even feeding for competitions is nerve racking. I found out by accindent a great way for me to do better. I always had fed the birds down and was breaking them down to get more roll but after the fly I would rest them give them mix and two days later I would let them out and they would roll like crazy. So now I try to peak them a few days before the fly instead of the fly day and rest them and feed them up a bit and it just seems to work better for me. But it has not always worked out, the birds have to really be on the breaking point to feed them up or they will fly faster instead of roll more. Very tricky stuff to work out Huh. Bill
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Shadow
363 posts
Mar 27, 2009
6:58 AM
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This to me at least is the big question,don't think it can be the same for any two flyer's,dependent on many things,birds age,sex,time of year,kit working hard,kit not working hard,weather,its down to personal observation I would imagine, but just myself I would feed approx 24 hrs before flying,and if kit has worked hard,I never feed them until a few hrs later,letting their systems settle otherwise I find,the ones that have worked least eat most
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