How to grow a good feather

[gayle]

How to grow a good feather!!!!!!

In another thread we were talking about poor diet which may lead to poor feathering which may lead to poor quality of color.

A chicken needs protein and amino acids in their diet to grow good feathers.
Methionine is needed in this diet.
The website below has a list of foods containing Methionine
nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000084000000000000000-1.html?

I have always heard that chickens need animal protein for feathering.
Alot of breeders claim you should give your birds cat food, so throw a hand full of cat food for your chickens to scratch around with.

And I have always been told if your chickens eat feathers they are lacking a sufficient amout of protein in their diet. They can obtain this protein by eating their feathers.

[gayle]

msucares.com/poultry/feeds/poultry_feathering.html

The most common reason that feathers do not develop is a deficiency of a critical protein constituent (amino acid) from the diet of the birds. The feathers of birds contain high levels of a subunit of proteins called "methionine." Methionine is one of only a few amino acids that contain sulfur, and sulfur is a major constituent of feathers. If bird diets are deficient in any single amino acid, it will most likely be methionine. An adequate level of methionine is required in the diet and a deficiency results in reduced growth and feather development. A methionine deficient bird will tend to eat feathers in an attempt to satisfy a craving for this amino acid. A bird may even pull them from its own body.

Few ingredients used in making poultry diets contain adequate amounts of methionine, so manufactured methionine must be added to the dietary mixture to ensure that the birds receive an adequate amount. All quality poultry feeds are designed to contain adequate methionine and prevent reduced body growth and feather development. However, if additional grains (such as corn) are fed with the complete feed, then the amount of methionine consumed by the bird can be inadequate for providing growth and feather development. Feeding of additional grains with complete poultry feeds is not recommended.

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[aveca]

LOVE your posts Gayle!! This is exactly what i was looking for..

[aveca]

We have been feeding salmon bits for a long time, sometimes tuna, combined with good worming practice and control of external parasite..the birds glow. I had been giving scrambled eggs to babies right from the start but not every day..I have never had crooked toes. only very stout straight toes on all birds..

soft feathered blk cockeral





This was my problem child, the feathers had a crispy quality break easliy , but he has good weight underneath..but looking back on it, this bird had survived weasle attack, had stitches holding entire right side together
on different antibiotics for long time, was not at the time expected to survive in the beginning the damage was so severe..but he did survive..3ccs of infection were removed from back of leg from the attack..Im not sure what the long term affects of the meds will be, but the bird is just now showing some shine on new feathers at 4 & 1/2 mos. the light colored comb is a bit of a mystery to me..affects of long term meds?

English orps are new to me, I know they develop very slowly..but every one else had red in comb at this point, from blk orp to australorp..the saddle feathers coming in...it certianly look male to me. , these are the things I am out here learning by myself.I could use some advise on this..Love the english birds..this baby is HUGE.









heading out to the back pasture after wind fall apples peaches ect..