Every body post your feed tricks PLEASE

[mapel walnut]

Please post any or all of your food and water tricks and hacks I blanked out and went from one bird with 1 foot in April to 46 chickens and 3 ducks ( I have never had ducks and got them with 3 days warning as new borns so I need some tips

 

[Debbie292d]

Kalmbach's Flock Maker crumbles is what we use for baby chicks, adults, roosters, AND ducks, as it's complete for all. It's 20% protein, which is good for my show silkies, and very low calcium, so good for the chicks and roosters, but the ducks and hens need more so they get a dish of oyster shell.

For the ducks, we have nutritional yeast, and I sprinkle about a tablespoon on a gallon bucket of feed before pouring that into their feeder.

For scratch/treats for all but the baby chicks, we buy Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve. That's actually a nutritionally complete layer feed, and they all love it, so they get a bit of that every few days. It is actually cheaper than buying scratch, and so much better for them.

For water, everyone gets a nipple, except the ducks. The chicks get vertical nipple bottles, and the older ones get the horizontal ones. For the ducks, in their pen they have a 3-gallon bucket we dump about every day or every other and refill. They have a turtle sandbox for a pool. In the winter, they'll have a 3-gallon heated bucket and no pool.

 

[Crazy Chicken Keeper]

Shapres Chick Crumble for the ducklings. Feed the chooks Barnyard pellets. Dunno if the are where u are but they are everywhere in NZ.

 

[mapel walnut]

My ducks have frog sandbox as a pond

 

[Yardmom]

I bought feeder ports from Amazon. One coop has a large garbage can with the ports. The other has a 5 gallon bucket with feeder ports. My ducks get food in an open pan, but they are able to use the feeder ports. I use nipple Waterers in summer (ducks also have access to a pond) and black rubber bowls in winter. I like to feed Kalmbach's flock maker, but use layer food frequently to save a couple dollars.

 

[mapel walnut]

What are the nipple waters and how do chickens drink from them

 

[Debbie292d]

What are the nipple waters and how do chickens drink from them

This is a vertical nipple bottle. Chicks use these Day 2 until about three weeks old, then transition to the horizontal ones. In a pinch with adult chickens, we've hung one of these and they either remember or learn very quick and use these too.



This is a DIY horizontal nipple waterer made from a Tupperware cereal container. This is for growout pens as they transition from the vertical bottles to horizontal. In the coops, these nipples are on 5-gallon buckets. We use a few drops of RV water freshener to keep the water free from scum and algae.