Canadians check in here....

[harmesonfarm]

@harmesonfarm I have fed ff to my chickens for 5 years , just started with ducks and I can’t get them to touch it

10 cups of feed
Water til it’s easy to stir
4-5 Tb apple cider vinegar

Let sit 3-4 days till it’s bubbling

I feed a 4 foot rain gutter trough to 15 birds each day . They also have a feeder of dry 24/7.

How did you’re ff go bad?

I got my ducks at 5 months it seems they won’t touch wet food or ff. That’s fine as I stop as soon as it’s freezing anyways.

Great, thanks for the response!
I think the problem I had at first was that I let it ferment too long (like a week before use instead of a day or two). Never was adding the vinegar either which I'm sure helps stabilize a more hospitable environment for the right bacterial growth.
Also, when I first started it was just the grains I believe I had used, not pellets.

This time, (it's been a while now almost a month) everything went great. Started with grains on the bottom, on top was pellets as they won't float. Worked great! Covered with water and let sit 2 nights and 1 day before use. Chickens were in heaven, went crazy for it! I have now since shifted it to just fermented grains (NON GMO scratch) with additions, such as millet grain, or flax seeds or dried herbs even like lemon balm or oregano.

They eat it all up. I feed this too to my ducks who seem to gobble it up as well.
I feed the pellets still as dry feed, to supplement their diets with the protein and vitamins and minerals that it contains. I found after a week or so the chickens just picked the seeds out of the feed and some days it was left out and wasted instead of eaten. This seems to work great though, and the grains fermented give the chickens a great Prebiotic and Probiotic boost.

I feed the chicks some too. I ferment smaller seeds for them though as the grains are too big. They devour them! It is so cute to see them run about around all excited. I thought flax seeds would be a favourite for them but it's looking like the red lentils are. They go crazy for them. I, of course, supply them chick grit with these.

 

[snow5164]

Hi everyone,
I’m thinking about covering my run with plastic (vapour barrier). I want to prevent snow from getting in the run and it will also protect the birds from the freezing winds when it’s -30 Celsius Has anyone done this?
Obviously I would make openings for ventilation and peep holes. I have PLymouth rocks and buff Orpington.

Yes we do ,I have two 10x40 foot runs side by side . We close in a 10x10 section each winter with poly . Hubby frames with 2x4’s for strength . We don’t do vent holes as it’s not air tight.

This allows the chickens /ducks outside most days , there was a week or two last year that we didn’t open the coop doors .... you know how it is ️

 

[Bound to Sea]

Hi everyone,
I’m thinking about covering my run with plastic (vapour barrier). I want to prevent snow from getting in the run and it will also protect the birds from the freezing winds when it’s -30 Celsius Has anyone done this?
Obviously I would make openings for ventilation and peep holes. I have PLymouth rocks and buff Orpington.

Heard that is a good idea to prevent snow and wind.

 

[HewittHens]

Chemainus, BC!

 

[Joecarbs]

Hi Everyone,
What type of heated waterer do you use? I need one that will keep water from freezing in extreme cold (-20 to -30). I will put it in the run.
There’s a lot of threads on this but I wanna to see if any Canadians have a preference on what to get. I have electricity in the coop and I’m handy. Should I build one with a bucket and aquarium heater or just buy those heated waterers but I don’t think they will keep the water from freezing when it’s 30 bellow.
What works for you guys?

 

[snow5164]

Hello ,
@Joecarbs I used a cookie tin heater a few years . Lightbulb in a tin setup with the same waterer I use all year on top.

That way there is no drastic change for the hens , a heated base is a good idea but we had to make 3 .You can buy them for some cash , our was under $15 to make .

Now we run a milk heater on a thermostat at 0’F ... works great to take off the chill and our eggs don’t freeze anymore .

Heat is an issue many disagree on , I like getting eggs all winter

 

[Bound to Sea]

Hi Everyone,
What type of heated waterer do you use? I need one that will keep water from freezing in extreme cold (-20 to -30). I will put it in the run.
There’s a lot of threads on this but I wanna to see if any Canadians have a preference on what to get. I have electricity in the coop and I’m handy. Should I build one with a bucket and aquarium heater or just buy those heated waterers but I don’t think they will keep the water from freezing when it’s 30 bellow.
What works for you guys?

I use a bird bath heater in a bucket outside the coop. Works amazing! For inside the coop, I place my metal water container next to my flat panel heater. Worked well most times. Did freeze sometimes but I check it every morning. I have not tried the electric heated water because I have not found one with a ground three plug. (Felt they are not safe enough.)

 

[Joecarbs]

I use a bird bath heater in a bucket outside the coop. Works amazing! For inside the coop, I place my metal water container next to my flat panel heater. Worked well most times. Did freeze sometimes but I check it every morning. I have not tried the electric heated water because I have not found one with a ground three plug. (Felt they are not safe enough.)[/

I use a bird bath heater in a bucket outside the coop. Works amazing! For inside the coop, I place my metal water container next to my flat panel heater. Worked well most times. Did freeze sometimes but I check it every morning. I have not tried the electric heated water because I have not found one with a ground three plug. (Felt they are not safe enough.)

Do you put nipples on the bucket?

 

[snow5164]

I use a bird bath heater in a bucket outside the coop. Works amazing! For inside the coop, I place my metal water container next to my flat panel heater. Worked well most times. Did freeze sometimes but I check it every morning. I have not tried the electric heated water because I have not found one with a ground three plug. (Felt they are not safe enough.)

When you wire the light socket yourself you can use 3 prong plug as we did

@Joecarbs nipples freeze in winter , even in my heated coop ( can’t believe I said that )

 

[Bound to Sea]

Do you put nipples on the bucket?

No just a rubber bucket from UFA. I usually cover half the bucket with a board, leaving enough room for chicken heads! They drink from the top. I do have also in the coop a nipple pvc tube water against a flat panel heater. It never freezes. That works really well.