Consolidated Kansas

[ashncarson]

Ash, if it were me, I'd probably buy one bag of an all-flock, grower type of feed and after they have finished that, go back to layer. With only a handful of birds, it will take a month or more to go through the back of grower, and by then they will be old enough to go back to layer feed.

I will go ahead and do that this time, and then put out soem calicum for the other girls who are laying. The HR I got from you started squatting down about 4 days ago for me! That will put me at 3 layers!

Out by Yoder there is a place called JaKo's INC. They raise and sale all natural, pastured raised products. They sale their own mix chicken feed for .45 a lb. We are looking into going there tomorrow to check it out and see what it's like!

 

[ashncarson]

Hi everyone! I'm here in Leavenworth Kansas.

Welcome

 

[chicken danz]

Danz, I have seen some small farmers with loads of bread for their ducks. I *think* that you can still get it, you just have to know who to ask.

Taz some of this outdated bread is donated to food banks. There is no ID and no limit to most. My guess is these people are getting the bread from the food banks and then feeding it to their ducks. I do know in fact the law was passed against using it for livestock feed and that was back in the 70's. Since the hogs were sold for human consumption there was something about the food safety act that prevented him from doing it any more. I have tried to get scraps from our local grocery store and they say the law won't allow them to sell it or let consumers have it. In fact they apparently had dumpster divers and now have a locked fenced in area to keep people out of their trash. I'd certainly be out there dumpster diving if I could give my animals all they throw away.
Originally Posted by tweetybaby2005

Hi everyone! I'm here in Leavenworth Kansas.

Welcome! Join in our discussion! Tell us about yourself.

I will go ahead and do that this time, and then put out soem calicum for the other girls who are laying. The HR I got from you started squatting down about 4 days ago for me! That will put me at 3 layers!

Out by Yoder there is a place called JaKo's INC. They raise and sale all natural, pastured raised products. They sale their own mix chicken feed for .45 a lb. We are looking into going there tomorrow to check it out and see what it's like!

Wow! That's a great price. Let us know if it is grains or if it is a mix with other proteins. That's better than what I can get feed made for.
Really really cold this morning. No one is out running around. I left the garage pen open so the dogs could go in there if they got chilly. But the birds are still inside. The only birds I see out of their coops this morning are the buff orps. Not sure why they are braving the cold.

 

[HEChicken]

I have tried to get scraps from our local grocery store and they say the law won't allow them to sell it or let consumers have it. In fact they apparently had dumpster divers and now have a locked fenced in area to keep people out of their trash. I'd certainly be out there dumpster diving if I could give my animals all they throw away.

I got the same answer when I tried back in Wichita, Danz. The assistant manager told me by law they couldn't let me have it but then in a whisper told me they put it in the dumpster and there was nothing she could do to stop me from retrieving it from the dumpster. She really wanted to help me but her hands were tied. I never got around to going dumpster diving and a short time later they built a big fence around it so after that I wouldn't have been able to anyway.

Quote:

Wow! That's a great price. Let us know if it is grains or if it is a mix with other proteins. That's better than what I can get feed made for.

Really? I thought it was kind of expensive. At full price I pay $18 for a bag of Flock Raiser pellets, or $17 for a bag of Layena (and I rarely pay full price as I usually have a coupon that saves me up to $5 per bag). The bags are 50lb, which comes out to .36c/lb for the Flock Raiser and .34c/lb for the Layena. If I only had a few birds, I could perhaps justify spending .45/lb but with as many as I'm feeding, it would get expensive in a hurry.

I have considered switching to making up my own from whole grains. My fear though is that they will pick through it to get to their favorite grains, billing the rest out for rodents, so that is one thing I like better about the pelletized feeds. If only you and I lived closer Danz - we could split the cost - and use - of a pelletizer to make it more economical for both of us.

 

[ashncarson]

Wow! That's a great price. Let us know if it is grains or if it is a mix with other proteins. That's better than what I can get feed made for.
Really? I thought it was kind of expensive. At full price I pay $18 for a bag of Flock Raiser pellets, or $17 for a bag of Layena (and I rarely pay full price as I usually have a coupon that saves me up to $5 per bag). The bags are 50lb, which comes out to .36c/lb for the Flock Raiser and .34c/lb for the Layena. If I only had a few birds, I could perhaps justify spending .45/lb but with as many as I'm feeding, it would get expensive in a hurry.

I have considered switching to making up my own from whole grains. My fear though is that they will pick through it to get to their favorite grains, billing the rest out for rodents, so that is one thing I like better about the pelletized feeds. If only you and I lived closer Danz - we could split the cost - and use - of a pelletizer to make it more economical for both of us.

I could see how it could add up when you have more birds! With just my 8 birds, I can see it working out alot better! I want to go check it out and see how they like it!

 

[zigzag45]

-20 windchill and the birds are out walking around like it's 75 and early summer.

I have been amazed at the birds desire to drink muddy water from a puddle any chance they get. @HEChicken - I agree, good advice. Give them the good stuff but let them do what they naturally want to.

@chicken danz - your comments on them picking through food and skipping the moldy stuff was well timed. I just noticed a bit of mold in the bottom of my sprouts jar. Couldn't decide whether to throw them out or now. With my luck, they won't be at all interested but we'll see. They wouldn't touch raw pumpkin, wasted five of them trying. I think I'll let them green up in the window, ignore the mold and go for it.

A couple mentioned pellets. I've had my on girls on crumble rations. Are there any advantages to the pellets? That de-wormer I've seen talked about comes in pellet form, so that's one good reason to switch them. I had one guy tell me his birds lay better on crumbles.

Also, @tazcat70 - what is Renee's mix? I'm pretty happy with my $11 a bag for feed, but I'm curious.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

Crumbles are suppose to make them drink more and that is suppose to make them lay better. Pellets keep them from wasting feed so the feed lasts longer. That being said, I have large free range lots and also movable pens in my pastures, so that they have natural food. I have been feeding mostly crimped corn this winter. I am getting more eggs this winter than in past winters, But the ones that have better shelter, in the free range lots, are not laying as well as the ones in the movable pens. The crimped corn is now $5.55 for a 50 pound bag.

 

[Trish44]

I think there is a lot more waste with crumbles than pellets. When I feed dry mine get pellets & they love them. I tried some feed from the other COOP in Ark City & their pellets were smaller. My birds didn't like it as well & it's more expensive.

 

[HEChicken]

I've alternated between crumbles and pellets for years and never seen any difference in laying depending on which they are eating. Crumbles are only pellets ground a little finer so there is no difference in content, but I have a lot less waste with pellets. When crumbles get billed out, they blend in with the bedding but when a pellet lands on the ground, they can still see it and eat it. Once I gained access to the Flock Raiser pellets, I've found that even super young chicks are able to eat pellets. When I am brooding chicks myself, I do usually buy some chick crumbles, but when I have broody hens raising the chicks, I leave them on pellets. The mama hen will break up the pellets for the chicks and/or the chicks will just search through the feeder for pieces small enough they can eat.

I do sometimes feed whole corn as a treat - sprinkled over the bedding to encourage them to scratch in it. But, corn really doesn't offer a lot in the way of nutrition so I would never use it as a feed. I don't know what crimped corn is, but my thought is that anything they do to process a food further, usually results in a lower nutritional content. For example, I would never waste money on cracked corn, as oxidation starts as soon as it is cracked, resulting in even fewer calories than in whole corn. By the time it is cracked, bagged, sits on a store shelf for weeks, then is purchased and fed, there is so little nutritional content left that it isn't worth whatever they're charging for it. If crimping cracks the outer shell in any way, I would imagine it also loses nutritive value pretty quickly.

Well darn. I am checking on them frequently today to make sure they have water, and collect eggs before they freeze. I had a couple of eggs in my hand but with the glacier gloves and glove liners, my hands are pretty clumsy and I dropped an egg. Did it land in the bedding where it probably would have been unharmed? Oh no. It had to land 1" over, where there was a hard surface for it to crack and break on. Oh well - the hens immediately volunteered to clean up my mess for me. They're very helpful that way.

 

[chicken danz]

I got the same answer when I tried back in Wichita, Danz. The assistant manager told me by law they couldn't let me have it but then in a whisper told me they put it in the dumpster and there was nothing she could do to stop me from retrieving it from the dumpster. She really wanted to help me but her hands were tied. I never got around to going dumpster diving and a short time later they built a big fence around it so after that I wouldn't have been able to anyway.

Really? I thought it was kind of expensive. At full price I pay $18 for a bag of Flock Raiser pellets, or $17 for a bag of Layena (and I rarely pay full price as I usually have a coupon that saves me up to $5 per bag). The bags are 50lb, which comes out to .36c/lb for the Flock Raiser and .34c/lb for the Layena. If I only had a few birds, I could perhaps justify spending .45/lb but with as many as I'm feeding, it would get expensive in a hurry.

I have considered switching to making up my own from whole grains. My fear though is that they will pick through it to get to their favorite grains, billing the rest out for rodents, so that is one thing I like better about the pelletized feeds. If only you and I lived closer Danz - we could split the cost - and use - of a pelletizer to make it more economical for both of us.

Well Duh! I was figuring wrong. I was figuring at 10 pounds not one pound. Yes mine is substantially cheaper than that. Low octaine brain fuel this morning obviously!

-20 windchill and the birds are out walking around like it's 75 and early summer.

I have been amazed at the birds desire to drink muddy water from a puddle any chance they get. @HEChicken - I agree, good advice. Give them the good stuff but let them do what they naturally want to.

@chicken danz - your comments on them picking through food and skipping the moldy stuff was well timed. I just noticed a bit of mold in the bottom of my sprouts jar. Couldn't decide whether to throw them out or now. With my luck, they won't be at all interested but we'll see. They wouldn't touch raw pumpkin, wasted five of them trying. I think I'll let them green up in the window, ignore the mold and go for it.

A couple mentioned pellets. I've had my on girls on crumble rations. Are there any advantages to the pellets? That de-wormer I've seen talked about comes in pellet form, so that's one good reason to switch them. I had one guy tell me his birds lay better on crumbles.

Also, @tazcat70 - what is Renee's mix? I'm pretty happy with my $11 a bag for feed, but I'm curious.

Zig use caution doing that. Just try a little at a time. Mold is death to chickens and although mine get into the burn pile and eat around it I never purposely feed them moldy feed. You might try rinsing the spouts really well before you feed them.
This has been the worst winter ever for laying here. I think this extreme cold has really worked against me. I put some lights on timers a couple weeks ago but haven't seen any increase in those 3 coops at all. Of course I don't have the layers I always had in previous years. Most of the birds are exhibition or heritage types now and I know they won't lay as well. But I still have a group of white rocks that should be kicking out more eggs than they are.