Feeding off season

[raftree3]

The YB's I raced this year are getting fat and lazy. Due to the weather and the abundace of BOP they're not getting out much. For you with experience, how do you feed yours?

[First To Hatch]

Mine are still good weight. I feed them then when they are done eating I remove the left overs, are you doing that?

[orock]

I give mine more corn in the winter only give them what they will eat in 15minutes.

[ERIC K]

You can try barley twice a week instead of your regular feed. Its good for them and they will only eat it when they are hungry so you will not over feed. You can also mix your regular feed with barley or some kind of pellet like a pig or chicken even a rabbit pellet , you can judge their needs by what you see in the feeder. If everything is gone with the barley and pellets mixed in, you can up the amount you feed just a bit. If there is left overs you need to cut back. I have tons of corn so my mix is 12qts of corn, 3qts wild bird food(milo+millet), 3 qts safflower, 3 qts black whole sunflower, 3 qts pig pellets, 3 qts hard red wheat. I do mix barley in too but I've been out of that right now.

[Granny Smith]

I feed mine all they want this time of year. It has been warmer than usual so far, but single digit temperatures are not out of the ordinary in the winter around here. I want them to have plenty of food to stay warm and be healthy come breeding season.

[Shadybug Lofts]

Originally Posted by ERIC K

You can try barley twice a week instead of your regular feed. Its good for them and they will only eat it when they are hungry so you will not over feed. You can also mix your regular feed with barley or some kind of pellet like a pig or chicken even a rabbit pellet , you can judge their needs by what you see in the feeder. If everything is gone with the barley and pellets mixed in, you can up the amount you feed just a bit. If there is left overs you need to cut back. I have tons of corn so my mix is 12qts of corn, 3qts wild bird food(milo+millet), 3 qts safflower, 3 qts black whole sunflower, 3 qts pig pellets, 3 qts hard red wheat. I do mix barley in too but I've been out of that right now.

How do you know what protein your feeding when your mixing all those different feeds together?

[rpalmer]

Originally Posted by raftree3

The YB's I raced this year are getting fat and lazy. Due to the weather and the abundace of BOP they're not getting out much. For you with experience, how do you feed yours?

I am feeding my racers Baden Tippler Mix. I may have to switch because there is a very low demand for it and the feed store is thinking of phasing it out of their line. I am getting very nice looking very healthy squabs with this also.

[ERIC K]

Originally Posted by Shadybug Lofts

How do you know what protein your feeding when your mixing all those different feeds together?

I don't have it right now but will post a link to a grain calculator that I use, its from sunset loft in Canada you can find it there on the their wed site . The pellets are extra you don't need them but they are your measureing stick on how the birds feel. The pellets and or barley is all a bird needs to live but I have the corn its grown on my land so I mix others grains with it to give then a better diet. Left over pellets and barley means they have enough feed .The rabbit pellets gives greens for extra vitamins. They don't really like the pellets so if it all gone you need to up the amount of feed a tiny bit. Its a very fine line with birds between over fed and starving. I have yet to master the feed but if you could see my birds you would know they are a bit heavy too. A starving weak bird is not what I want eather. I think I would rather lose a race with a bird thats a bit over weight than lose a bird on a hard race because it has no reserves.

[rpalmer]

Originally Posted by ERIC K

Left over pellets and barley means they have enough feed .

It means they need more corn in your mix.

[ERIC K]

Originally Posted by rpalmer

It means they need more corn in your mix.

I'm sure it doesn't mean they need more corn... Just because the eat the safflower first doesn't mean they need more safflower it just means they like that seed better. anyway each to hes or her own.

The link here is where I got the Grain calculator http://racingbirds.com/map.html
Hope it is helpful

[hillfamilyloft]

Originally Posted by Shadybug Lofts

How do you know what protein your feeding when your mixing all those different feeds together?

What I do is calculate how much of 100% each feed is. For example my base mix is:
33% Excello Breeder at 16%
33% Excello Premium at 14%
16.5% Corn at say 10%
16.5% Milo at say 8%

So (.33 x 16 =5.28) + (.33 x 14 = 4.62) + (.165 x 10 = 1.62) + (.165 x 8 = 1.32)
So you add up 5.28 + 4.62 + 1.62 + 1.32 = 12.84% Protein
This mix gives me a good variety of grains and lovers the protein and adds corn for the winter. There are some good lists of what the protein is of each grain if you mix your own. Just need to know what % you are adding and what the protein is.

[rpalmer]

Originally Posted by ERIC K

I'm sure it doesn't mean they need more corn... Just because the eat the safflower first doesn't mean they need more safflower it just means they like that seed better. anyway each to hes or her own.

The link here is where I got the Grain calculator http://racingbirds.com/map.html
Hope it is helpful

Why are you sure? Pigeons eat what they need that is palatable and digestible. For some reason people are comfortable with the idea that pigeons eat grit when they need it and the type of grit. They accept that pigeons will eat mineral when they need it, but then believe that the same is no longer true with their feed. Just trying to help you. Good luck in the future.

[rpalmer]

Originally Posted by hillfamilyloft

What I do is calculate how much of 100% each feed is. For example my base mix is:
33% Excello Breeder at 16%
33% Excello Premium at 14%
16.5% Corn at say 10%
16.5% Milo at say 8%

So (.33 x 16 =5.28) + (.33 x 14 = 4.62) + (.165 x 10 = 1.62) + (.165 x 8 = 1.32)
So you add up 5.28 + 4.62 + 1.62 + 1.32 = 12.84% Protein
This mix gives me a good variety of grains and lovers the protein and adds corn for the winter. There are some good lists of what the protein is of each grain if you mix your own. Just need to know what % you are adding and what the protein is.

Do the same for fat and fiber.

[ERIC K]

My birds are nice and round for this time of year but thanks for the help.
My mix without the pellets is Protein 11.52
Carbs 60.12
water 11.48
Fiber 8.85
Fat 9.722

Given the fact that I have not tested any of the individual grains so the numbers might be a bit off ,but close enough for me.

[ERIC K]

Here is a sample of what some popular pigeon grains test at: Safflower P 15.6 carb 16, Water 5.8, Fib 31, fat 31.6
sunflower: Pro 14, carb 42.6, water 7.5 fiber 28.1, fat 32.3
corn ro 10.5, carb 69.3, water 13, fat 4.55
wheat Pro 15.2, carb 70.9, water 10.4, fib 2.6, fat 1.8
Barley Pro 12.7, carb 66.6, water 10.6, fib 5.4 fat 1.9
Milo Pro 11.3 ,carb 71.3, water 10.6 , fib 2.2 , fat 2.9