chicken feed

[chickpetal]

I am pretty new to raising chickens, so... the organic feed i use is very fine, the chicks waste alot. can i mix it with water to make a paste? thank you.

 

[eponagirl]

Is this for brooder chicks or older ones in the coop?

If for brooder baby chicks:
I use an organic feed and would keep the dry food in a feeder and 2x a day would dampen some of the feed and feed it separately in a small flat container (like a small round tupperware lid...they think of it as a treat. Just be careful not to have the food be too wet or that it sits in there too long being wet...it can get moldy (you won't see this happening)...It may not cut down on all of the waste, but it helps. Another thing I did was keep papertowel under the regular feeder so they have more of a chance at eating the stuff that flies out...also raise the feeder to the level of their backs and that will help eliminate some of the waste.

For coop chickens:
Yes, I feed some dry in a small feeder (so they always have some) and then have two separate bowls and in the am/pm will wet the food a little (see above about having moldy food if it is not eaten right away) with water or sometimes even yogurt, or small amount of milk for variety. (I mix this together first then add to the bowls) They LOVE when I do that and eat all that up...my hope is that they are more full and don't waste the dry stuff so much...plus they end up eating some of the food off the floor as they scratch around in between "meals".

Hope that's no too confusing!! My head cold is making things not so clear!