Best Winter Chicken Foods

[farmergal]

I'm a newbie and by no means a chicken expert, but my 6 week olds and 10 week olds LOVE, LOVE, LOVE any kind of winter squash or pumpkin. (Sometimes, after Halloween, grocery stores give leftover jack-o-lanterns away for free... they're totally edible, just stringier and less sweet than pie pumpkins. GREAT chicken treats!) I bake them whole, cut them in half, let them cool for a few minutes and then serve warm. The chicks clean every last bit of flesh off the skin. Bigger chickens would probably eat them raw even.
I've also heard that chopped-up cucurbit seeds (i.e., any type of winter squash or pumpkin) act as a natural wormer, which is a nice side benefit to this seasonal treat.
My girls are going to snack on what I have growing in the field and/or stored at this time of year... so in the cold months they'll probably be eating lots of winter squash (especially the weird ones that I accidentally hybridized, and the ones that weren't fully ripe when frost hit), cooked potatoes and broccoli stalks and hardy greens.
And, of course, chick starter. (And in a few months, layer pellets! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FIRST EGG!!!)

 

[the simple life]

To keep their water thawed the best thing to do is to invest in a water heater for their waterers.
Or you can buy the waterer with the built in heating base.
These both have to be plugged in so if you don't have electricity run to the coop you will have to use an extension cord.
Just make sure its a safe one, designed for outdoor use.
I use the extension cords that I use for my christmas lights.
It will save you alot of time and aggravation.
Alot of companies carry these as well as most of the feed stores, although the stores do not carry a wide selection.
All of the galvanized metal waterers can be used on the heating base and they now have a couple of the plastic ones that can be used on them as well.
One of the all in one waterer and heater are plastic, you just plug it in.

Cutler's supply seems to have the best prices, this is the link below.
Their plastic heated waterer is $15.00 cheaper than the same one my grain store carries.

http://www.cutlersupply.com/cart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11&zenid=f3agdr5o7rpircujocrgsir6k1

Stromberg's also has a couple of designs.

http://www.strombergschickens.com/products/fount_heaters.php

http://www.strombergschickens.com/products/fount_1-5gal.php

 

[the simple life]

Quote:
I just smash my pumpkins open with a hammer and throw them in the yard for the chickens, they do a pretty good job picking them clean.
If we are carving jack o lanterns I scoop out the guts and seeds and throw them to the chickens as well.
The seeds from pumpkins are a natural dewormer for any animal.
Just make sure that you are not giving them too much table food because they do need the vitamins and minerals in the feed designed for growing chicks, they need protein, then of course the after 18 weeks you switch to the layer feed so they can get the extra calcium.
They say that you should make sure that most of their daily food allotment 80-90 percent comes from their feed.
Also, if they don't free range and you are giving any kind of scraps you need to give them a bowl of grit to help them grind up the food to digest.
Someone asked how often you can give the oatmeal or mash.
The mash is mostly made from their own food, you use the chick starter if they are under 18 weeks and the layer crumbles if they are over that.
So since its their own feed mixed with some oatmeal or scratch it doesn't really matter how much you give to them.
The majority of mash is made from their crumbles anyway, so its not going to take any nutrients away from their diet.
It would only make a difference if you were giving them bowls of scratch, cracked corn or table scraps in place of their meals.