3 Questions on Fermenting Feed

[Cattle dog Mom]

Maybe you should try the bucket mouse trap, where the mice fall in a bucket of water & drown. Grisly, but effective is what I've heard.

And it does work on rats too. AS LONG AS there is the right amount of water in the bucket! I have caught several pack rats with nothing but a 5 gallon bucket 2/3 full of water. (No bait needed) Luckily pack rats are the only kind of rats we have here. Live traps also work well. Especially if you have a dog that LOVES to dispatch rats!

 

[WindingRoad]

I feed a 20% all flock feed because I have pullets and a cockerel. That way if/when I give them treats, they still get plenty of protein. I aim for no more than 10% of their food being treats, even if the treats are considered to be healthy. (As opposed to "junk food" treats that are just for fun, like bread.)

I feed 18% pellets all year round. I was thinking of feeding FF to get rid of rats. They can't fling FF out of a feeder and they eat at set times and then take it up. The rats I had last summer would stand on their hind legs and feed out of a feeder right along with the birds. EEEEEEEE. So tell me, what should I use for feed to ferment?

 

[Aunt Angus]

When I solely fed fermented, I used Scratch & Peck grower. But any feed works, really.

I used large glass jars with the lids just kind of set on top. I'd screw them on when I shook them up and loosen them again afterwards.

I've also read that you need to let tap water set for a say or so before using it to allow dissipation of any chlorine that messes with the fermentation process.

My birds LOVE it, but it is time consuming. I only feed it 2-3x per week now. I feed it to them on pie plates. I only give them what they will eat right away because you don't want it to get moldy. They eat pellet free choice the remainder of the day.

(edited for typos)

 

[WindingRoad]

This is from a thread about this very thing:



This member makes rat proof feeders. I don't have one, as I am blessed with a lack of rat problems. But if I needed one, this is the one I would buy.

http://ratproofchickenfeeder.com/

He won't sell to me. He thinks I won't use it correctly. And as I said before the rats around my place stand on their hind legs and eat out of the one I have right along with the chickens. And I had read that they rats gang up on the Grandpa feeder ( 3-4 of them) on the treadle while another eats. The one I have also allows the chickens to flick food out. It fills up to high and the birds eat in a corner and push the food over the trough edge. When no birds are eating the rats come out and clean up. I clean up the food at night but they get their fill during the day.

 

[WindingRoad]

This is from a thread about this very thing:



This member makes rat proof feeders. I don't have one, as I am blessed with a lack of rat problems. But if I needed one, this is the one I would buy.

http://ratproofchickenfeeder.com/

He doesn't make them here in the USA. He sources them out to the Philippines. As is said often don't believe everything you read on the internet. Rats are like predators, you don't have them till you have them. I didn't have them the first 2 years I didn't have birds either.

 

[WindingRoad]

This is from a thread about this very thing:



This member makes rat proof feeders. I don't have one, as I am blessed with a lack of rat problems. But if I needed one, this is the one I would buy.

http://ratproofchickenfeeder.com/

Not all "rat proof" feeders are made of plastic. They ones that have the PVC elbows in them are great for rats to crawl into and feast. Plus the birds bring up food onto the lower lip and then flick it out. Actually, the maker of those feeder tell you when teaching your birds how to get them to put their heads in the hole. "Put a few pellets/mealworms on the lower lip so the birds can see the food".

 

[WindingRoad]

If rats are eating food out of the feeder, fermenting the feed is not going to change that. Reinforce every possible inch of your run with 1/2" hardware cloth to keep out the rats and set a lot of traps. The only other thing I can think of is taking food to the chickens and training them to eat at specific times so that food isn't left out for rats to eat.

Heck my fence isn't even 8 feet high . See below. I tell ya these rats are something else.
Your last sentence sums up my idea to a T. I had to laugh at one person here who posted about another's take on rat proofing your set up. First he said rats can jump 8 feet and then he said to put your coop up 2 feet...HUH....

Rats won't eat poison and won't even go into the bait trap. There is a big Maine coon cat that hangs around my coop and she sits and watches the rat scurry around right along with my "predator" chickens.

 

[kerbotx]

Maybe you should try the bucket mouse trap, where the mice fall in a bucket of water & drown. Grisly, but effective is what I've heard.

 

[Sally PB]

Maybe you should try the bucket mouse trap, where the mice fall in a bucket of water & drown. Grisly, but effective is what I've heard.

A coworker told me about using a bucket trap. He secured a dowel across the top. On the dowel was a can that could turn easily on the dowel. He smeared peanut butter on the can. The rats would jump onto the can for the peanut butter and the can would turn, dumping them into the bucket of water. Rats and mice can jump very well, but not if they're in water too deep to touch the bottom of the bucket.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I have an artisan well and a $4000 water filtration system. RO. With a brine tank. No CLORINE and no Arsenic. Hardness was way high. Iron content high too. Best water in 16 counties. Have to be careful with laundry detergent or I have suds every where. LOL.

I really kinda understood the lid thingy. Just kinda funny that I could find the advise on a "reputable" web site. LOL

Sorry. Just passing on what I've heard and what's worked for me. Seems like you have it figured out.