Corn in Nesting Box?

[azygous]

That's the great thing about belonging to BYC. It more than makes up for our individual brains that may not be hitting on all the cylinders any longer.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

I agree, it sounds like rodents. It might not be a mouse, could be another rodent.

Could you post a photo of your feeder? There may be ways to stop a lot of the scattering if it is the chickens doing it. They often like to scratch in their food if they can and sometimes they bill the food out, sort of scoop it with their beaks.

 

[Armstrt8]

Well, there was indeed mouse poop in the bottom of the nesting boxes. It seems to be incredibly minimal (2-3 pieces a day), so I am going to just let it be for now. Maybe they will lay babies and my chickens will get some bonus food (cruel!?…) haha.

I have had numerous things happening that I am of course freaking out about as a new chicken owner though! I am in Minnesota and we are into the teens now at night. They are in a very well sealed coop (9 birds) and the only heat so far is the ambient water heater within the coop (35 or so F).

1)I noticed one of my Buff Orpingtons has a tiny bit of black on a few of his Comb tips. A bit surprised, but it seems to be a bit of frost bite??
2) A different Orpington has pinker feet than normal... which I am reading can be normal in the winter.
3) They aren't eating enough! (only like a half pound a day). I remixed the food today and removed the whole corn and will crush with my hops grinder and feed before bed now... also added a separate tray of grit since the ground is frozen now.... and I have a light inside the coop to get a few extra hours of light now. Hopefully something helps.

 

[Armstrt8]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

I agree, it sounds like rodents. It might not be a mouse, could be another rodent.

Could you post a photo of your feeder? There may be ways to stop a lot of the scattering if it is the chickens doing it. They often like to scratch in their food if they can and sometimes they bill the food out, sort of scoop it with their beaks.

This isn't my exact one, but its the exact same style with the open top and round lip.

 

[aart]

Well, there was indeed mouse poop in the bottom of the nesting boxes. It seems to be incredibly minimal (2-3 pieces a day), so I am going to just let it be for now.

I would block off that nest from the birds and set a snap trap in there.

They are in a very well sealed coop

Very concerning....they need fresh air via good ventilation.
Pics of coop, inside and out, and run would help us help you.

I noticed one of my Buff Orpingtons has a tiny bit of black on a few of his Comb tips. A bit surprised, but it seems to be a bit of frost bite??

Again, pics would help here.

Find here how to post pics:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3/?prefix_id=3

 

[azygous]

Your climate is humid and that along with the freezing temps is what causes frostbite. The secret is to supply heat in the coop to warm it just above freezing. However, this can cause water vapor to form on surfaces such as combs unless you provide a way to vent the moisture up and out of the coop.

My winters don't get nearly as cold as yours, but they are challenging nonetheless. What I do is I use an oil filled electric heater in one coop and a Cozy coop wall heater in the smaller coop. I leave the pop doors open and crack a vent near the ceiling and the air is pulled in through the pop doors and it exhausts the moisture out of the vents. The only time I had an incident of frost bit was when I failed to use the heater. I am not a huge believer in unheated chicken coops when the temp is in the teens or lower.

 

[DiYMama540]

I love the idea of the chickens thinking corn is tiny eggs...that would be something!

Sounds like a lot of great advice here. Best of luck this winter!

 

[Ridgerunner]

This isn't my exact one, but its the exact same style with the open top and round lip.

View attachment 1958548

They should not be scratching the feed out with that type of feeder. Sometimes you can put dividers so they don't have enough room to scoop their heads sideways, make them peck straight down. But I don't see an easy way to do that. You don't want anything they could get their head tuck in.

I agree with Aart. Trap that mouse, then give it to your chickens. They will probably have a great game of keepaway until it gets eaten. Mine love fresh snap-trapped mice.

 

[aart]

They should not be scratching the feed out with that type of feeder. Sometimes you can put dividers so they don't have enough room to scoop their heads sideways, make them peck straight down. But I don't see an easy way to do that. You don't want anything they could get their head tuck in.

Maybe. I do like the ridge inside the top of dish.
I would be tempted to bend those stand offs so bottom of reservoir was lower in relation to top of dish.

 

[Armstrt8]

Haha, I have Mice in my house... I cant imagine starting to attempt to trap mice outside. That just sounds futile! In the meantime it does seem the mouse has moved on either due to winter arriving.. or maybe the chickens found him haha!

I have battled with these feeders for a few weeks now and decided it was time to move on. The chickens constantly swing their heads back and forth throwing feed all over for no reason! The final straw was when the first snow storm hit and no girls would step outside... I have to move the food into the coop and then they just made a darn mess.

Spent a few hours yesterday researching and brainstorming and I made the attached. 2 are a 3 inch drain pipe that will go inside the coop and 2 are a large 3ft 4inch PVC for outside. They are mounted VIA a keyhole Hanger. I put 2 (double) keyholes on each and with each screw I used a rubber washer so it should all be waterproof (crosses fingers). I don't think they will be able to toss food all over with these ones. The little ones ended up approx $11 and the larger ones about $13 (already had the 10ft PV length).