Winter Beards

[Guest]

This is my first year raising Ameraucana bantams.  They are approximately 9 months old.  I have noticed over the course of the last week or two that their beards have disappeared.  I\'m slightly concerned as sub zero temperatures will arrive this week.  Is this considered part of the molting process or is it something else?  Any ideas why this is happening in the middle of winter?  Is it ultimately because they originated from South America?

[John]

molting process or is it something else?

If they are not molting there are some other possible reasons.  These are just some guesses on my part.
Females love to pick the muff feathers from the males and maybe other females if a male isn\'t available.  
They may be bored and pick out the feathers just for something to do.
Maybe there is a lack of protein or other vitamin/mineral that causes some to pick out the feathers of others to supplement thier diet.
Mites/lice could be a problem and they may rub thier muffs/beards to scratch the itch resulting in some loss.

[bantamhill]

And mice have been known to do some trimming from time to time.

I would suggest checking for mites first.

Michael

[Guest]

Thank you for the tips Michael & John.

I checked for mites at night and found nothing.  A further update shows that there was only one hen missing her beard and both roosters are missing theirs.  This makes me think that Johns insight regarding pecking is the culprate.  I am not around them alot during winter to have noticed them doing this.  Fortunately they all made it through the coldest spell of the year unharmed (I do not provide any heat, except to keep their water thawed).  I even got an egg from one of my brown egg layers last thursday to my suprise!  It was not even cracked by the time I retreived it.  I would assume this is a good sign.  Also of note, the hen that was missing her beard was also missing a few feathers atop her head.  This weekend I purched layer crumble (16%) protein.  I had been feedling them 100% scratch which is about 9% protein.  I find myself confused as to what I should be feeding them during non-laying times of the year.  As many magazines and books I\'ve seen so far, none of them go so far as to say.  I just figured the corn would help them put on extra weight for winter and keep them warmer.  Does anyone know where I can find a good article which talks about what I just discussed?  I prefer manufactured feed for its ease of use.  I feed them bread as a treat, they are crazy for it.  Apples, tomatoes and other things of that nature they get during the warmer months.

[faith valley]

Many folks feed a layer feed year around, others feed a conditioner feed during non - breedings season.The game bird conditioner feeds are a 20% protein and they are a fabulous product if you are wanting to condition for a show.  

Scratch grains are not meant to be a sole ration to maintain a healthy flock.  They are not a balanced nutritional feed- just a suppliment for bored birds.  We do offer scratch grains- about 1 tablespoon per pen, tossed into the bedding daily.  This exercises the birds as they scratch around in the bedding for treats. But their sole ration feed is either a game bird conditioner in off laying season or a layer feed during breeding season.

~Patty

[Guest]

It\'s also recommended to use a game bird feed during breeding season so the parents have extra nutrition for producing healthy chicks.
I\'ve heard that layer feed can be pretty generously supplemented with scratch grain as long as the scratch grain makes up less than 50% of the diet. I feed 10-20% scratch along with layer feed any time I\'m not prepping for a show or breeding my chickens.
Good luck determining the best feed program for you & your chickens  

[John]

use a game bird feed during breeding season

I use ADM/PenPals Game Bird Breeder pellets as a sole ration starting at least a month before collecting eggs for hatching. It has 22% protein.
Other times of the year I\'ll give the birds some extra things like table scraps and grass, but am careful not to give them much corn of other feeds that don\'t have much nutrition.
It\'s best not to dilute the commercial feeds that are meant to be \"complete\" feeds.  I know a guy that fed his layers 50% layer and 50% shelled corn year round.  Not a good idea.