Soaking feed overnight questions

[PhantomSlayer]

I've looked into it and it seems to be worth trying. I usually feed 7 cups of feed daily. But that doesn't count the scraps/treats they get plus some free ranging. I've thought about increasing the amount of cup feed as temps get cold but I saw soaking the food overnight helps. Our last food buy we mixed a bag of cracked corn into the crumble and the birds seemed to really love it and it lasted almost 6 weeks and with winter coming were going to add a black oil sunflower seeds into the regime ontop of growing fodder for the geese. The chickens clean up the leftover fodder it seems lol. Mainly leftover seed. I'm thinking of trying it a 2-3 times a week at first to see if they like it better.

I have some questions about soaking feed over night.

Does it have any benefits for winter? I read it helps them stay fuller longer and helps them digest easier but will it help them stay warmer if their fuller?

Have you ever had a bird that doesn't like it?

How much does it expand?

How much water to feed ratio do you use? I feed in two feedings daily. So I split 7 cups in a half.

 

[Penpal]

Test your feed. Put a cup in a bowl, add half as much water. Wait 30 minutes and see what it is like. Wait another 30 minutes and check it. You may need to add more water, so test with more water.

You only need to make it softer. They will be getting water as they eat if the feed is soaked, so you should find they drink less water from their dish.

I soak my feed, but I don't use a commercial feed. I use locally grown whole wheat, whole oats, sunflower seeds and some quinoa or flax. For Shelled sunflower seed, soak 12 hours. For sunflower seeds with the shell, soak 24 hours.

 

[NatJ]

I've thought about increasing the amount of cup feed as temps get cold but I saw soaking the food overnight helps.

Does it have any benefits for winter? I read it helps them stay fuller longer and helps them digest easier but will it help them stay warmer if their fuller?

Soaking the feed makes it swell up and get bigger. The same thing would happen (and does happen) if the chickens eat dry food and then drink water.

Adding water to the feed does not add any more energy (calories) to the feed, so it should not change how much feed the chickens need to eat. Possible exception: if they digest the feed more efficiently, they might get more food value out of the same feed (more in the chicken, less in the poop). So that might make a difference in how much they need to eat.

Wet feed may not get spilled as much as dry feed does, so that may cause a savings in how much feed you need to buy (not a change in how much they eat, but a change in how much they waste).

Have you ever had a bird that doesn't like it?

How much does it expand?

How much water to feed ratio do you use? I feed in two feedings daily. So I split 7 cups in a half.

I have never soaked food overnight. With the typical pellet or crumble feed, just add water and let it sit for 5 minutes or so, and it will already be done soaking and expanding.

My typical experience would be something like: fill dish 1/3 full of feed. Add water until dish looks 2/3 full. Feed swells to completely fill the dish. If it looks too dry, add more water, but the chickens aren't too picky about the exact ratios.

I do not think I have ever had a chicken that didn't like wet feed, at least after they tried it once or twice. But I have never fed wet feed as the only option. Instead, I would feed an amount of wet feed I expected them to eat up quickly, and then leave dry feed available free-choice. That let each bird adjust how much it needed to eat over the course of the day (dry feed). That is not the only way to do it, just the only way *I* have used wet feed.

Does it have any benefits for winter?

If you come out in the morning and find the chicken water frozen, you will find them hungry too because they don't eat dry feed when they are thirsty. Wet feed lets them eat & drink at the same time, and they seem to really appreciate it.

I always have provided plain water and dry feed too, not just wet feed, but the chickens seem to get full faster on wet feed as compared with drinking water and then eating dry feed (because chickens drink slowly, but gobble wet feed quickly.)

So that is the main benefit I see in cold weather: easier for the chickens to fill their crops fast.