Feathers??

[karensc]

I checked out the food in their feeder and it is dry and smells OK, just like the day I put it out. They are on Dumor Layer Crumbles 20%, so they have the right food but they need to eat more. I am going to cut down on the afternoon brocolli and cucumbers. I am just going to give them greenleaf lettuce in the morning. Usually they have some left in the afternoon anyway. Tara seems to be a little better since I saw her doing that before, but the good thing is she is eating and drinking. Timmi was not eating or drinking and she just starved to death. I am so upset with all of this and I need to just take a day at a time.

 

[PeepsCA]

Aww Karen, don't stress

I think you just spoiled them a little too much, lol, and they got extra picky (I've been guilty many times of the same offense!). Just leave them be, with free choice food/water and less (or no) treats... they may go a little hungry for a while, but they will eat when and what they need to. And yes I add ACV with Mother to my focks' waters every day (just once a day tho, I don't change my waterers twice daily).

I would not worm them again with Wazine, especially if their weight is good. It only takes care of round worms anyway. Worming them too often can sometimes cause them more harm than letting them carry a manageable wormload (as with any animal). These days I'm shying away from over-using wormers and antibiotics in my flocks and putting more effort into keeping/raising healthy birds with strong immune systems and plenty of probiotics and enzymes to keep everything in check.

 

[bird sitter]

My mental chicken eats her feathers.... Lol

 

[PeepsCA]

LOL "mental chicken" describes a lot of my Guineas... Hmm, maybe you have a Guinea/chicken hybrid?

 

[JLeigh]

Regarding overfeeding of treats - I did that for a while because the guineas showed such enthusiasm for them. A chicken expert on another forum cleared that up for me. He said when you give them too much cracked corn (for example) it's the equivalent of ME eating a whole cake a day. Of course that's not healthy. When I thought about it like that, it was easy for me to back off the treats. And then I saw how they expected treats every time they saw me. It took one day and they were eating their feed, and I started backing off the treats to every other day with smaller amounts. Now I give a treat every few days - they still start making noise when they see me, and they eat their feed.

I check their keel bones (weight) at night (very dark) when they're roosting. I use a flashlight to see and that doesn't seem to be enough light to get them off the roost. I go slowly, quietly and they do just fine, although they're a little nervous lol. It's hard to "see" their weight because of the feathers. I don't try to catch my guineas unless there is an urgent need to do so right away, and checking weight isn't urgent since I can just go in at night to feel 'em up . Then I know which guinea to watch to make sure they're eating enough. That's one of the benefits of cooping at night, too. If they free-range 24/7 it's a different story of course.

Peeps, the treats I give are Black Oil Sun Flower Seeds and cat food. Are those "good" treats to provide? Also, I heard that cracked corn helps them stay warm in the winter. Is that true? If so, how does that work? But I do know that cracked corn isn't a healthy treat.

 

[bird sitter]

Probably! Lol!

I mean this thing is psychotic! If anything comes near it, it screams like a hawk and flips out and hides!!!

 

[PeepsCA]

Peeps, the treats I give are Black Oil Sun Flower Seeds and cat food. Are those "good" treats to provide? Also, I heard that cracked corn helps them stay warm in the winter. Is that true? If so, how does that work? But I do know that cracked corn isn't a healthy treat.

BOSS is good stuff, cat food is ok too, for a treat.. depending on the brand or brands you are feeding, they can have a lot of extra junk and imitation coloring in them that the birds don't need. I feed some on occasion too (4Health brand, and it has no soy in it). Most of my Guineas don't really care for it, so it's mostly for my Peafowl and Turkeys, who both need higher amounts of protein in their diet wen I am feeding just a layer feed during the laying sseason. If I don't want to buy cat food for them for the extra protein then I'll buy catfish diet, but I've only found it in 50lb bags which last me an entire season and then some, (and if I don't keep it locked up tight in a metal can with a bungee cord on it I can't keep my barn cats out of it, lol).

Corn is what is considered to be a "hot food", meaning it makes more heat in the gut to digest it, thus helping warm the bird (as well as help keep or put weight in a bird). Some argue this tho. I try not to feed much corn, and usually whatever corn I do feed is what's in my scratch grains or sweet feed and has been soaked and fermented for 24-48 hrs before I feed it. So that helps make it a little more nutritious (I have switched most of my birds over to fermented feed recently).

 

[JLeigh]

Thanks, Peeps. I like to feed them BOSS - they go nuts over them - but I'll also save the cracked corn for really cold temps which we get here from time to time in GA. The cat food I'll work on though. They get less of that, but I'd like for our cat to have a healthier diet, too.

How do you soak/ferment the corn? What's the recipe for that? Since my guineas are penned 24/7, I'd really like to give them healthy food/treats. I'm looking for a "green" I can give them too. I've been going out into the lawn and just grabbing grass/weeds from the yard, and I have some alfalfa that I give them that they're lukewarm about. What can I grow as a winter crop in the garden that I can grab and toss into the pen? I have them on a 22% protein feed now because of the wee ones (who aren't so "wee" anymore) and will switch them to 16% when this 50 lbs runs out.

Am I feeding them right? Any suggestions?

 

[karensc]

Hi Peepa,

Thanks for your response. Tara seems better today, not waving her neck from the impacted crop. I told her to eat more oyster shell and she must have. Anyway, I know I stress to much and I worry to much about these 2 birds. But what is BOSS? AND where can I get that vinegar to put in water? I only change it 1 time a day in the winter unless they get to running and throw wood shavings in the water, then I change it. I did cut back on their treats alot today and when we go away on Thursday, my neighbor will be checking on them and now since I will not be giving them treats at night, I will just have him give them a little lettuce or cukes in the morning and make sure the water is not frozen. I think it will be above freezing but that can change in a minute. I really thought hard about all these veggies and I think I will start eating them more instead of the birds. They may start to rot if they cannot digest them. I give them some corn mixed with their millet in the morning also. ( I don't need it to call them inside, they go in themselves). Should I cut that out also? Or maybe once in a while. Also, do I need to get rid of the food in the feeder and put in fresh stuff? I am so happy I can ask you all these questions for help. I really appreciate all your help.

Karen

 

[karensc]

Peeps,

Seems as though she is doing the wavy neck thing more today. I called a vet and he told me to give her pumpkin. Someone bit into it but I do not know who. She is eating everything else but not that. I also mixed some molasses in her water to maybe flush the toxins out? But do you think it may be an impacted crop or worms? The vet did not say he just told me what to give her. If I have to catch her, I may have to leave her until after Christmas because I am leaving on Thursday to visit my parents in PA. I am at my wits end with these birds already. I am so confused. Timmi acted the same way with the wavy neck but I did not know what to do for her. Now I am trying. I don't know if it was worms or impacted crop.

Thanks for any advice

Karen