coco mama
In the Brooder
Thanks @chicken danz - missed being connected. Didn't know about Gardner but hadn't looked. I put it on the schedule, hope to make it. That will probably be a pretty cold day. Kiddos are good. Keep us on our toes - that's for sure.
I do have to confess that I'm going hatchery for this year's babies. I had such horrible issues with illness and roo's last year that I took the lazy route. I much prefer working with breeders... maybe next year. I am excited that I managed to connect with Cackle at the right time and am on their Feb 1 hatch date.
My nipple on the bottom of a blue heated bucket worked really well until the temp hit 1. But, I think my entire heated bucket wasn't working. Once I reseated the plug it kicked on. I wish they had a red light on them to show they are working. Still want something with more capacity.
I don't want to have to mess with emptying mine out daily so I'm not interested in the heated buckets on the ground. Too much dirty work. So, once again, I've taken the lazy route and use the poultry cups and poultry nipples which means I just add water every day or two to the bucket - and do a dump/refill every month or so. I can do the water add in my work/dress clothes which is a huge plus.
I ferment my feed in a 5 gallon, food grade bucket (the red ones at TSC are supposedly food grade?). Like @Trish44 said, it's super easy. I haven't found that using vinegar as a starter helps much. Somebody said vinegar is a pre-biotic, not a pro-biotic -whatever, just didn't help mine. I have some goat type probiotic powder that I dump a scoop in when I remember or I think it needs it. Probably a pretty good placebo. I stir it twice a day (super important - at least for how mine works), and every few days add more feed. My problem is that crud builds up on the edges of the bucket so I have empty/clean it every month or so. Which means starting over. If your mush starts looking gray, either stir more often or add fresh feed to it.
There, you have it LizzyGSR (how do you copy someone's name?)Lucky chickens!!!
I don't like the green water bowls. Those are the ones that have quit working for me. I have had the best luck with the Allied brand blue pet bowls. The heat element is removable from the bottom. I've had some of these around 6 years and they still work great. I remove the heat element for summer and put it back on when the weather starts freezing. I have some I've used for over 6 years. I buy them when I find them on sale. I've paid as little as $12 each to a maximum of $19.99 when they weren't on sale.
I've also used fermented feed and was very happy with it, other than the amount of work it required. Since I use around 250 pounds of feed a day it just got to be be more than I could handle. And winter was always a problem with it. I could probably start doing it again if I did it in the building other than I would have to replace the galvanized food pans I use in there.
I had never heard about fermenting feed and I learned on more thing here! With the moisture, you guys are basically increasing the volume of the feed which in return you use less. What is the thought behind adding pro-biotic to the feed?
I have never seen Allied brand pet bowl but they sound nice with the removable element. The local store doesn't have it. The internet is one click away to order it. I will consider it when my next deicer quits!