As I visited with Doyle on the phone a couple days ago, he shared how pleased he is with his egg-less nestling food he used this year. He used it to condition his birds along with ABBA fertility vitamins prior to breeding and had very high fertility rates.
Another big advantage of egg-less nestling food is very good egg shell quality and good hatching rate. Shell quality is sometimes poor not because calcium, D3, Magnesium were not feed but rather because a high protein diet can interfere with calcium absorption.
He also uses it as the only nestling food for feeding the chicks. I just couldn't wait to make some and the birds do like it!
Doyle's Easy Egg-less Nestling Food
2 cups dry CeDe Nestling food
2 Heaping Tablespoons egg shells (microwave shells and crush fine in the food processor)
1 teaspoon Miracle Amino Acid Vitamins (available from ABBA Products - AA Miracle vitamins)
Mix Well
Add 1 cup prepared cous cous (Doyle pours hot tap water over dry cous cous making sure that is not only well covered by has a lay of water above and fluffs it periodically, If left without stirring occasionally it sticks together but it easy breaks up again if you mix with your hands.)
Add 1 cup chopped broccoli (use the food processor)
It is interesting to see what other breeders are using to feed their birds with great success.
ReplyDeleteI am using bascially the same recipe that I've always used, but am experimenting with the Nutrena Game Bird Crumbles, which is similar to the 22% protein formula you posted recently.
The game bird is higher in protein, but I am balancing the protein with extra carbs in the mixture.
My birds will not eat it mixed dry with their regular pellets or seed.
deb
That is a good looking mixs. I might use. I do not give all those goodies that you do but once in a while I will try new things..Thanks
ReplyDeleteEd
My birds need their dish of Nutrena Meatbird Crumbles filled every other day.
ReplyDeleteThe weaning chicks are eating it quickly right after hard boiled egg, bread crumbs and wheat germ. As soon as they start eating the Nutrena crumbles, I stop the hard boiled egg. They also get quinoa with broccoli and nestling food. Just started the first Stafford chicks on coloring agent in their nestling food.
Hi Linda. I mix up large batches of nestling food. As a base I use 12 cups of Protein 25, to which I add 2 cups of oats groats I break up in the food processor just enough to make it easy for the chicks to eat when they start on their own, and four cups of ground up quick cooking oatmeal (food processor). To this base I add 3 quarts of sprouted rape seed (Easy Sprout Sprouter after the sprout just breaks out of the shell), and two cups of Quicko Rusk that has one scoop of poultry vitamins added to it. I mix it all up in a very large bowl, put what I need in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. Just pull and let thaw in the fridge. The hens become very eager feeders with this mix, and the chicks grow fast. Rich
ReplyDelete