What type/brand Grain/scratch feed should I be feeding my adult peacock, can I make an organic mix s

[doudini2]

Hello fellow peabodies,

it has been so long, time does not allow me to hang to much, but will post photos of Henri soon again. I got into wildlife photography and Henri is my often model

So basically- he gets fed every day similar stuff- 2-3 slices of Alvarado bakery California Sprouted Bread(lot of grains in that), and some scrambled eggs. Occasionally he likes greek yogurt and some tasty leftovers. But overall he has boring diet.

I noticed he has projectile or semi solid dark brown "human" poop every morning at 10. If I am not there to pick it up, he makes a mess.
But whenever he comes to us after vacation boarding at vet, he has nice and solid poop for 2 days. However the vet refuses to sell me his food, I don't even know what it is. There is food for chickens everywhere but not for peafowl.

What brand/type/name is good for every day peafowl feeding, so we can get him solid again? Is there food that is not sold as 50lb bags? We had one before and it all went bad, we have only 1 bird.
Is there some way I can create a mix at home? Is he a game bird or a chicken?
Is it advisable to feed him chicken scratch? I don't want to feed him junk or chemicals///

What is your favorite food for yours?

Thank you,
Kat

 

[KsKingBee]

Get that poor bird off the bread! If you don't want to buy a 50# bag of game bird feed you could buy Ultra Kibbles, and a small bag of oats and barley. A couple three tablespoons of UK per day and all the oats or barley he wants and fresh vegetables would be a better choice for him.

 

[MeepBeep]

Where and how did you store a 50# bag that it went bad so fast? Invest in a steel garbage can and store it in a cool dry place (garage or closet in the house) and it should easily last months without going bad...

You should be using a game bird (or turkey) feed, chicken feed isn't high enough in protein... Scratch has very little protein, it can be offered as a treat not as a food...

If you can't find game bird feed or turkey feed in your area (I can relate) get the highest protein (not a layer feed) chicken feed you can purchase and mix in some dry cat food... A 50# bag of all flock or meat bird chicken feed and a 20# bag of decent cat food will mix into a sufficient protein level feed for peas...

 

[Birdrain92]

Hello fellow peabodies,

it has been so long, time does not allow me to hang to much, but will post photos of Henri soon again. I got into wildlife photography and Henri is my often model

So basically- he gets fed every day similar stuff- 2-3 slices of Alvarado bakery California Sprouted Bread(lot of grains in that), and some scrambled eggs. Occasionally he likes greek yogurt and some tasty leftovers. But overall he has boring diet.

I noticed he has projectile or semi solid dark brown "human" poop every morning at 10. If I am not there to pick it up, he makes a mess.
But whenever he comes to us after vacation boarding at vet, he has nice and solid poop for 2 days. However the vet refuses to sell me his food, I don't even know what it is. There is food for chickens everywhere but not for peafowl.

What brand/type/name is good for every day peafowl feeding, so we can get him solid again? Is there food that is not sold as 50lb bags? We had one before and it all went bad, we have only 1 bird.
Is there some way I can create a mix at home? Is he a game bird or a chicken?
Is it advisable to feed him chicken scratch? I don't want to feed him junk or chemicals///

What is your favorite food for yours?

Thank you,
Kat

Get him off the human diet. I'm thinking it's because of the Greek yogurt that might be causing this, not entirely sure, but my thinking is because I've seen some Greek yogurts that help the digestion system and something to deal with stomach acids, birds don't have stomachs nor stomach acid. They have a gizzard it can only crush its food. I love this feed. I recommend Nutrena for feed. When my male finishes molting I add some oyster shells to give him some calcium since he's putting a lot of calcium into his train. Also I add oyster shells for my hen during breeding season to lower the risk of getting egg bound.

Where and how did you store a 50# bag that it went bad so fast? Invest in a steel garbage can and store it in a cool dry place (garage or closet in the house) and it should easily last months without going bad...

You should be using a game bird (or turkey) feed, chicken feed isn't high enough in protein... Scratch has very little protein, it can be offered as a treat not as a food...

If you can't find game bird feed or turkey feed in your area (I can relate) get the highest protein (not a layer feed) chicken feed you can purchase and mix in some dry cat food... A 50# bag of all flock or meat bird chicken feed and a 20# bag of decent cat food will mix into a sufficient protein level feed for peas...

I agree with the storage method. I have garbage cans for my laying hen feed, medicated chicken chick feed, Meat bird feed (My peafowl's feed), and medicated Game Bird Starter and oyster shells. All of these are in a barn where my peafowl are.

 

[doudini2]

Hello Peabodies,
thank you for the tips. I have done extensive research online and found some food choices, but only tow panned out because they can be sent to NJ, rest was on west coast.
One is Mazuri-
http://www.mazuri.com/mazuriexoticgamebirdmaintenance.aspx
http://www.mazuri.com/product_pdfs/5643.pdf

And another one is H and H feed(Texas):
http://handhsoyfreenongmofeed.com/feeds-make/chicken-poultry-show-bird-rations/
http://handhsoyfreenongmofeed.com/w.../Cust1180-20-game-bird-tag-e1439333669756.jpg

I just purchased the H and H because from the ingredients it seemed it is much more "organic" mix...like if I could I would make that at home. It is more expensive(36$ per 20lb), but I have only on bird anyway.
The Mazuri seems a bit too commercial/not sure about the ingredients.

I hope it arrives asap so we can try feeding Henri with it...He's soooper picky.

I will also find some kelp and shells for him....

Kat

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Hello @doudini2 ,
Glad to hear you have found a possible food solution for dear Henri...

I just wanted to remind you to post pictures whenever you can, we'd love to see how Henri is doing these days!
The pretty and spoiled boy!

 

[doudini2]

Ok, so I have been feeding him the new diet of:
http://handhsoyfreenongmofeed.com/w.../Cust1180-20-game-bird-tag-e1439333669756.jpg

Honestly he would not touch it when it first came in mail. It is green in color and smells fairly strong. I did the inseparable and starved him from eggs, bread or other foods, with only this new food bowl left out for his enjoyment...he still did not touch it...so I gave him his bread at last, he was so grateful
So then, I tricked him by using his favorite sprouted bread smooshed together with the grain. I cut up the brad, wet it with water, and incorporate the grains...after few days of that he got used to it, because he could not avoid the grain while picking through the bread. Now, I even sometimes see him pick at the grain bowl alone.
His poopies are still brown, but appear a bit more solid, like pieces of Russel Stover,

So, I''ll see.

One thing is this food is 28% protein- is that a problem? Ho can I reduce the protein, what else I could mix into his grain to cut down the percentage? Chicken scratch?

Thank you!
Kat

 

[MeepBeep]

Excess protein won't hurt it will just make for more stinky poop, during train (tail) development come spring the higher protein is beneficial...

If you want to cut the protein content, it's best to do it with another balanced feed not a scratch or grains so you don't cut all the other balance nutrients as well, something like an 18% all flock feed (or unmediated chick starter) will work well...
'
If you mix your 28% feed 1:1 with a 17-18% all flock feed (or unmediated chick starter ) you will get a decent 22-23% feed for adult peas...

** You could even use a medicated chick starter if that is all you can get in a pinch, the low dosage of the Amprolium cut by 50% when mixed with your other feed won't cause any short term issues, and likely wouldn't even cause any long term issues at such a low dose...