Grain/corn alergies

So with all the smart people here , I have nephew in California who's daughter can't have any grains / corn in her diet .They Have moved onto a country rental to raise there own poultry for meat and eggs , but there hens ( free range in a large enclosure )are mature and not producing any eggs ? He's getting frustrated and is trying to find something that might stimulate the hens to start laying .Giving grains to the chickens isn't a option , she can't have any grain feed products at all ........................any ideas ?

Sprouts would likely be the way to go. They could sprout BOSS (black oil sunflower seed), quinoa, or really any seed that they could get in quantity. That would make the volume of the food increased and reduce the cost over just feeding seed. Boss is fed seeds and all, I used to feed it just as the first leave was emerging and the chickens loved it. About to start again now that it's cold, I stop it in the summer when warm as sprouting attracts flies. Not a problem in the winter, and gives the chicks some extra greens that they love. My girls have the most beautiful eggs when fed boss. And I"m sure they will love me when I start giving it to them again.

And maybe they could consider a grain free and poultry free cat food or something to add protein if they can't get BOSS.

And with winter coming on, would likely need lights to lay through the winter.

I'm gluten intolerant but can still have chicken and chicken eggs that eat grain, I still feed conventional food plus extras to my chickens, I don't force my pets/livestock on my diet - HOWEVER - I do try to reduce what's not necessary when it comes to grain.

Islandgirl how do you sprout the BOSS? Lay it in a tray with water? Or in a bucket? I would like to do this for my chickens, I tried feeding them just the BOSS and they do not want to eat the seeds, so maybe sprouting it is a better idea?

Hidden, mine love the seed whole. Maybe just give them some time to figure them out.

Last year I sprouted it in jars on the kitchen counter. This year I will graduate to buckets...probably on the kitchen floor. Don't need sunlight as you are only sprouting not foddering.

Soak 8 to twelve hours, drain and rinse. Then rinse twice a day. Next day start another. Or start two at once. Mason jars. You end up with 4 jars at a time and different stages. and feed different days. And leave enough room for seed to atleast double in size or more. I fill my jars 1/3 with seed. And feed on day 4.

I like sprouting - increases the available protein and increases the volume by atleast double. And chickens love it.

Any other  thoughts ? This little girl gets deathly ill when she has anything grain related or eats anything that has taken in grains and I'm hoping that someone might have some more ideas , I'm giving him these suggestions .......................Thanks

Erich

I'm not a chicken nutritionist, but I used to be pretty good with equine rations, so I am not totally clueless on the subject of feeding livestock. What's he currently feeding them?

He could try adding/feeding ...

Bugs (mealworms, maggots, other worms. They could grow their own mealworms to feed to the chickens.)
Yogurt, whey, milk or other dairy to add calcium and protein
Meat? I would imagine that ground meat would be edible to chickens
Eggs, hard boiled and mashed
Is there a vitamin/mineral mix he can add, either top dressed on their feed, or water soluble?
A wide variety of fruits and vegetables - see if he can get scraps from the produce section of the grocery store, or a restaurant ... I can't imagine it's cheap to have to feed chickens by alternative methods

What about peas, lentils, soy? Is she able to tolerate those?

Poor kid!

They are considering a Meal Worm alternative , but again it's another attempt at finding out what they need to do ? They have tried numerous alternatives , but it's the not laying eggs that has them stumped ? Even a few bags of layer is to much for his daughter ? The chickens free range , bugs grass's etc , I also suggested trying to get a hold of veggies etc , but that is proving to be a hard thing as well ! He is at a loss as to what to do , can't buy eggs for her , has to raise the meat himself , plus hold down the fort so ?????????????????

How old is she?
When I was an infant (yes a long time ago)
I was allergic to everything, wheat, rye eggs feathers
ascorbic acid etc etc etc. My mom when through h---.
But as I grew up I slowly lost my allergies.
So hopefully this little one will grow out of this
but I liked authenticfarm idea.

She's four now ...................tough getting her this far ! They have a few older chicken that do drop a egg here and there , but they bought a bunch more with the hopes of having enough to provide there family with as many as they could ? ..............it's tough .We are all hoping that she outgrows it as well , but time will tell

I DOnt know alot about it but
what about giving them a couple square bales of Alfalfa as it is higher in Protein and other legumes like some that were mentioned ie: Peas or soy bean meal
Maybe Cotton seed meal, Cooked Rice and even animal parts
Plus alot of Veggies. And for them They could check with the Markets to see if they would safe the spent produce for them they might if they tell them why.

Good suggestion appway, I forgot about alfalfa. If he can't find bales, he could buy pellets or cubes and soak them. They might eat the cubes dry, but if not, soaking might change their minds.

can anyone comment on feeding chickens cat food/dog food? Maybe this would help with the reluctant layers? I know there is a list as long as your arm of ingredients in some of those processed feeds but perhaps the answer could be found there? or at least it could be included to a degree? A good vet might also have some suggestions. When I was trying to get a handle on the issues of respiratory disease I did a search on the net for poultry vets and found a page with a lot of numbers listed - I phoned all over BC and eventually found a couple willing to talk to me. In the end my own vet was very good for my specific questions (as well as all the info I gleaned from all the Birdies here :-). There must be some vets out there who have an alternative bend to their practice.

And, maybe your nephew could connect with the produce people in Safeway about all the vegetables that get thrown out for supplemental goodies - I always find folkies in Safeway very helpful, used to get big white buckets from the bakery section from them. I know some kids who work in a supermarket, one in the produce section and he says a lot of good stuff gets chucked in dumpsters. I plan to get in on this over the winter. The Xena Girls have taken to flying over the fence to get more goodies - must know the snow is coming and got to get it while they can! They are teaching the other kids bad tricks  

Anyway, just some thoughts. What a rotten situation, she is very sensitive. I drank goats milk for two (nearly three) years while I breastfed my dairy intolerant son - even got to like it but I took everything dairy out of my diet - you have to check EVERYTHING very carefully. I became an obsessive label checker. He did grow out of it happily. Hopefully the little girl will too.

Yep True Authenticfarm soaking will help it is funny how many things we can come up with if we think about it LOL
Hope some of them work PD as I know they are going nuts

Usually there are oodles of recipes for anything online, but this seems to be a bit new and there is little information.  I found these though, hope it helps:

Here's a blog that seems to be doing it with success:
http://hopecentric.com/our-grain-free-chickens/

and another...this has corn in the recipe which would have to be replaced...

http://curtissannmatlock.com/2012/08/09/gluten-free-chicken-feed-ii/

Chick starter recipes on this page...and buckwheat is not wheat and doesn't have gluten and is an option depending on the allergy.

http://curtissannmatlock.com/2012/03/10/the-chicks-and-me-gluten-free/

And this site always has lots of information I've referred to in the past..this page has a bunch of feed alternatives at the bottom for chickens

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Sprouting_and_processing_grain_for_chicken_feed/

It's kinda got me to thinking...sometimes I do get a tummy ache from eggs, even my own, and now I'm going to have to take a closer look at which eggs are causing that as one of my hen pens get's far more grass than the other one does....hmmmm.....I never thought the chickens eating grain could cause problems...

Thanks for asking the question and allowing me consider this...I have had to figure out my gluten free intolerance on my own.  I still don't know if I'm celiac but eat as though I am as I get very sick if I dont'.

just talking to my husband who is a nurse. told him about this. He said what about lentils and beans? big sacks are cheap. lot of protein there. Can chickens tolerate lentils? I haven't had a chance to look at islandgal99's links yet, maybe something there about legumes. Lentil sprouts? cash n carry sell big sacks of lentils and other legumes I think.

Get her on a GMO-free diet. Remove any and all GMO's. It's a crappy thing to have to do, and expensive, but it's saved the lives of more than one child. They can also try the GAPS diet, which has been very successful.

A couple people we know, the wife is extremely sensitive to her food. She follows the GAPS diet to the letter, strict as all mess. If she strays from it, she's bed-ridden and swollen. She's naturally very pale skinned, and when she makes a mistake or doesn't buy organic or uses an oil from a brand she doesn't know all that well, she turns as red as a Christmas light, her face breaks out and she becomes so inflamed internally that movement hurts.

Doctors had her on every medication they could have her on with no success, and that's when she turned to nutrition. She became a certified nutrtionist and tried everything she could and found GMO free diets helped but didn't fix everything. As a last ditch effort, someone turned her onto the GAPS diet and, when she tried it, she had amazing success with it. The food is good too, I always enjoy their cooking.

It's worth a try.

Magdelan wrote:just talking to my husband who is a nurse.  told him about this.  He said what about lentils and beans?  big sacks are cheap.  lot of protein there.  Can chickens tolerate lentils?  I haven't had a chance to look at islandgal99's links yet, maybe something there about legumes.   Lentil sprouts?  cash n carry sell big sacks of lentils and other legumes I think.  

My chickens LOVE lentils. Some apparently wont touch them.

Great stuff ...............I'm sending him your comments and suggestions / sites etc , really appreciate all the input

GAPS is a good idea, plus, they may want to get her some probiotics. Not the crap that is in yogurt, but the gel caps. There are a good assortment of strains available. As her gut flora are replaced with more beneficial bacteria, both volume and types, it may help eliminate her allergies.
As for feeding the birds, no suggestions. Sorry

Magdelan,
Can you send an email to wildgenebert@kos.net re RC RIR. I can't use PM on this forum.

Thank you ,

Frank

auntieevil wrote:GAPS is a good idea, plus, they may want to get her some probiotics. Not the crap that is in yogurt, but the gel caps. There are a good assortment of strains available. As her gut flora are replaced with more beneficial bacteria, both volume and types, it may help eliminate her allergies.
As for feeding the birds, no suggestions. Sorry

I agree with this! If you can get "Soil based" probiotics, they're supposedly the best.