Thanks MyHaven for the info on that link ... I read it all. I have not had the courage to feed cat food to the chickens, although I am sure they would love it. On the bottom of that link, is a warning about cat food and it's contents. Interesting. So that makes up my mind. I am going to cook some oatmeal for them this week ( will be low temps and bad weather here ) .... and mix in a couple of teaspoons of bran. Most sites I have visited ( I google things a lot ) ... have said that it is very good for chickens - and all say high in protein. Most also say to be prudent in the amount given, which makes sense. I cut grass for them - and mix it in with some crumble etc. Actually take the scissors outside and get to where they haven't been !! Then I snip it into tiny bits that they can pick at - they love it, and know when I am out there with the scissors that they are getting their grass - they get all excited and silly. They wreck the joint, when I let them out to totally free range. Their own run is devoid of anything at present, which is understandable, given the season.
Good morning again ... your reply was full of good information and most interesting. Especially the composting - I have not dared put a whole heap of compost stuff for the chooks to scrounge in, putting most of the used straw / wood shavings on the garden itself during winter. The reason for my reluctance is that I read somewhere that wet straw / wood shavings and such like can go 'off' and become mouldy which is not good for chickens ? There are so many different theories aren't there. I did put their used straw etc. in the run in the summer months only because it had a good chance of remaining dry. I'd put it in a nice heap, and in five minutes flat it was all over the place. They are wonderful diggers ( better than Ruby, our Golden Retriever !! ).
I'm so sorry to hear about Milly. My mother talks about a wasting disease from the old days. Probably before vaccinations - or on the farm where vaccine was just not available. (Like now for us back yarders.) I'll have to ask about it again. The bird would just waste away with no known reason or obvious symptom. I wish you were closer I'd give you one of the girls I hatched. I'm sorry too you still miss Moppit so badly. I guess you always will. Wow, I didn't mean to pry that deeply. But thanks for the detailed response. You should post a picture of your coop. My girls love the work. They seem to be determined to level every pile of anything. Very little comes on my place that leaves. I try to utilise or recycle everything. I don't use wood shavings so don't know how it goes in compost. Honestly I wouldn't keep chooks in a backyard any other way. Firstly with the deep litter style you don't have to clean them out nearly as often. Which is great when you work. I can't say how often I do clean out the coop. I haven't paid attention. I just do it when it needs it. Then the run just keeps getting turned over until I lift some soil out for the garden. Both the run and coop are partly under a mango tree which ensures the girls have both sun and shade all day. I also think the tree helps dry the run out quickly when it rains. The straw or Lucerne doesn't get a chance to get wet in the coop since I tarped it. It is a bird aviary I converted. (I have more ideas for it yet like adding a "shelf" to make another level, a dividing wall to give a nicer place to lay and a roof with over hang for better insulation, shade and weather proofing.) Back to the straw and lucerne - Out in the run it gets turned over,mixed in and broken down so quickly it doesn't get a chance to get wet and mouldy. It is amazing how adding chickens to the compost process speeds it all up. It does tend to be moist though. Part of the process needed to break things down and for the earthworms. They are on a slope so the compost gets scratched down hill and the top side is where they are fed and they dust bath. I would not like mould to grow anywhere either. It is not good for any of us. I think we need different ideas for different set ups. A puppy pen would work great to fence off a garden. I use wire panels which were actually old compost heap frames I don't need now because of the changed process. You can get mealworms from any pet shop and produces. They are used to feed a variety of pets. They are easy to grow. I did it on a small scale years ago when I had finches. I've read the threads on BYC for larger scale operations. I just don't have space at the moment. Here's one link https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/74575/mealworms-raising-them-the-easy-way But there are many threads on the topic. Re: Yr rice/veg/bran/grain mix - sounds good. Golden Retrievers are lovely dogs - good choice. I have a pet called Ruby too. She's a cat and has HRH preceding her name she is such a princess. I use Ag lime around to keep the ground sweet and control flies. As long as the girls can give themselves a dust bath I don't have trouble with mites. I only use wormers or medications that don't have withholding periods. I just wonder how safe things are for chickens if you can't eat their eggs. I know some people use drench on their dogs for heart worm control too. It's much cheaper than dog treatments. Let me know how you get on with the Ivomectin if you give it a go. The weather here is still way too wet for winter. It hasn't really been cold yet. All the best.
