Chesterfield, Missouri – If you raise poultry now, or are considering starting a backyard flock this spring, Manna Pro® and GRIT Magazine invite you to attend a free webinar entitled “Keys to a Healthy & Productive Flock: Chicks!” The hour-long webinar will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. CDT Tuesday, March 30, and poultry owners can sign up online at this website.
The webinar will be presented by Rob McCoy, Ph.D and vice president of nutrition for Manna Pro Products, LLC, and Hank Will, Ph.D, editor of GRIT Magazine and owner of a successful mixed flock of his own. During the webinar, participants will learn which essentials to have on-hand when their chicks arrive, what to feed chicks, how to keep them healthy and what danger signs to watch for. They will also learn how to set up a safe and economical brooder.
With the recent proliferation of backyard flocks in urban and suburban neighborhoods, the webinar will also address what poultry owners need to know about local ordinances and neighborhood chicken “etiquette.” Urban chickens are often raised in smaller flocks and can present unique feeding challenges to owners who are not accustomed to the nutritional requirements of livestock.
Manna Pro is the manufacturer of several leading products for all classes of poultry, including Manna Pro Chick Starter (now available in two formulas), Manna Pro Poultry Grit and Manna Pro Oyster Shell. Each of these fine products is available in convenient, re-sealable 5-pound bags.
Manna Pro offers its Chick Starter in both a medicated formula and in a new non-medicated formula. Both Chick Starters contain 18 percent protein for weight gain and muscle development and are fortified with vitamins and minerals for healthy growth. The original Medicated Chick Starter contains Amprolium to help prevent Coccidiosis in chicks, but should not be fed in areas where goslings or ducklings would have access to the feed. The new Non-Medicated Chick Starter is safe for mixed flocks.
According to Manna Pro’s Dr. Rob McCoy, Manna Pro developed the non-medicated Chick Starter to give its customers options.
“We understand that how you feed your chicks is a personal decision, and felt it was important to give customers a non-medicated option,” McCoy says. “For customers who want to know their chicks have a measure of protection against Coccidiosis, the Medicated Chick Starter gives them that assurance, but the Non-Medicated Chick Starter is ideal for mixed-flock situations and for flock owners who simply do not prefer the medicated formula.”
All webinar participants will receive a $5 coupon good on any Manna Pro products plus a free issue of GRIT Magazine. In addition, a number of attendance prizes from Manna Pro and GRIT will be awarded during the webinar. GRIT is a bi-monthly magazine that celebrates country lifestyles of all kinds. GRIT’s editors have been singing the praises of backyard poultry for 128 years, and the magazine continues to promote responsible chicken keeping, both in town and out in the country. The magazine offers timely tips and detailed information on everything from using poultry for backyard pest control, to how to successfully raise mail-order chicks, to how to incubate fertile eggs for hatching your own flock.
GRIT has seen more than a 500-percent increase in page views of chicken-related content on its website from 2008 to 2010, which it attributes to the popularity of backyard coops. The magazine, with sister publication MOTHER EARTH NEWS, also sponsors a website devoted exclusively to chickens where, in a resource-rich environment, visitors can register to win a first-class coup, delivered to their door.
In February 2010, GRIT published its first-ever Guide to Backyard Chickens, a 100-page reference guide covering every aspect of establishing and raising a flock.
“Backyard chickens are here to stay,” says GRIT Editor Hank Will. “Our mission is to encourage folks to get the most out of their flock while enjoying every second of the experience.”
Jennifer Hojnacki, Manna Pro’s director of marketing, says “We plan to have additional webinars in the near future that will focus on raising poultry beyond the chick stage. Whether you are tending to a backyard flock or breeding champion show birds, nutrition plays a vital role in your success. All Manna Pro products are made with the highest quality ingredients, and with great care throughout the manufacturing process, to ensure your flock meets its full potential.”
Manna Pro is dedicated to the care and nurturing of animals, and produces high-quality animal nutrition and care products for a broad range of species. Respected products – including the company’s signature brand, Calf-Manna®, the Super Horse® line of feeds, and Apple Wafers – have been used by discriminating horse owners for decades. For more information about Manna Pro, or any of the fine products it manufactures, please visit the website.
