Feeding Questions ( about freshness and saftey)

[Beamerz]

I'm about a year plus into my project and learning as I go. I have 2 roos and 13 chickens. I live on an island and try to stay well ahead with my grain so I buy more when I actually go off to lessen freight charges of shipping.
( 1). I had bought a lot of layer pellets.. at TSC and now I find that they have webs in them and have clumped together ( on one of the bags I have open) and I know I can't feed mouldy food to them but it doesn't smell moldy.. It just looks weird and I don't want to make them sick. They never want to eat layer pellets anyway and so try as I have over the 15 or so months I've been learning how to do this.. I've remained bewildered at times.. I think I've been feeding too much scratch grains as they seem to like them better ( especially when I top off with the "dried worms".) They all seem healthy and I get on average 8-11 eggs from the 13 hens everyday.. averaging on the higher side.
(2. ) Do they need layer pellets if getting enough protein elsewhere ? Are the layer pellets for the greens in winter?
They do free range almost everyday when foliage is down ( I live in the N. E.) on certain wind directions and velocities of wind I notice more Hawks and will be cautious about letting them out or at least for all day. We have a large population of crows which I feel helps a lot..( unless you have chicks which I've not gotten into (yet). The chickens have a run but it no longer grows much. I do try to save table scraps but were a family of two so not so much gets left for them . I'm wanting to learn to grow fodder with my grow lights this winter for them and so this brings me around to asking the stupid questions now..
( 3a) can I do anything with the webby, clumpy layer pellets..? .(3b)...and can I sew like scratch grains and try to germinate it...? I'm studiying how to do this following the posts on this forum but was wondering this in particular. I also have struck out with all my feeders... I tried trays, they would spill them... I had metal feeders hanging with layer pellets.. they wouldn't touch em.. ( different brands nothing old) I made food grade plastic buckets with the red elbows... and put them at the right height.. very few customers... I bought an automatic feeder that they used for a bit but now it won't open unless two or three of them stand on the "plate" and so they have abandoned that...
I wish people with successful set ups would post some pictures... of how they have their coops laid out and their systems... I'm 73 and I love having the birds.. it's a stretch for me but I keep stretching.. I'm extending runs for them into woodland for fall and winter I go the extra mile for them to be happy, comfortable but I can't get the place where I feel like I'm succeeding yet... They seem hungry in the morning and crow to come out. I have my coop split with one roo with 4 girls and the head roo with 9 girls... I have two automatic doors.. I let the little flock out to free range earliest.. cause they are easy to round up with a tray of temptations and then I let the larger group have the afternoon into twilight. I appreciate your reading and input... I read the endless threads about prepared food vs. ready mixed... I'm wide open to what the most seasoned of you ( keeping birds for say longer than 5 years maybe) might think is best all around for the birds... I'd like to buy grain and mix it because then I"d have it to grow some fodder with too... I didn't expect to become so involved with my flock/s... but in these times.. it has been a good thing for me. Because of where I live i'm very interested in feeding chickens without having to buy things.. I watched a great Justin Rhodes video about a farmer raising hundreds of birds simply off of compost.. so I've beefed up my compost pile with that in mind for winter and it is under some big trees , which might be a good thing.. if they don't become a perch!

Thank you,
Beamer

 

[nuthatched]

Hi, I would throw out that layer feed, I don't think it's good anymore. Layer feed has a extra calcium in it for the hens shells but you can also feed them dried egg shells or oyster shells for the calcium, most layer feeds don't have enough protein in them anyway. Rooster should not eat layer feed if you can help it. Chickens digest food over night so they are hungry first thing in the morning. I don't think you can plant layer feed unless it's whole grain layer feed, so it's worth a shot.

 

[Beamerz]

Hi, I would throw out that layer feed, I don't think it's good anymore. Layer feed has a extra calcium in it for the hens shells but you can also feed them dried egg shells or oyster shells for the calcium, most layer feeds don't have enough protein in them anyway. Rooster should not eat layer feed if you can help it. Chickens digest food over night so they are hungry first thing in the morning. I don't think you can plant layer feed unless it's whole grain layer feed, so it's worth a shot.

Thanks for that reply... it is truly appreciated.. has me tearing my feathers out some dayz.. !

 

[rosemarythyme]

They might be refusing to eat the pellets because it tastes/smells off to them, plus if you're feeding a lot of treats like scratch, they'd prefer to eat the treats rather than the feed.

Since you don't have ready access to feed due to location, I'd just aim to get the freshest feed possible (so that may mean trying different brands due to availability), free range when possible to help reduce the grocery bill, and reduce the amount of scratch or any other similar treats so they're not filling up on "candy."

 

[saysfaa]

...( 1). I had bought a lot of layer pellets.. at TSC and now I find that they have webs in them and have clumped together ( on one of the bags I have open) and I know I can't feed mouldy food to them but it doesn't smell moldy.. It just looks weird and I don't want to make them sick. They never want to eat layer pellets anyway...
(2. ) Do they need layer pellets if getting enough protein elsewhere ? Are the layer pellets for the greens in winter?clumpy layer pellets..? ....3b)...and can I sew like scratch grains and try to germinate it...?
.... I'm wide open to what the most seasoned of you ( keeping birds for say longer than 5 years maybe) might think is best all around for the birds... I

1. That sounds like Meal moths. Also known as pantry moths, grain moths, and probably other things. I've had them a few times in food packaged for people - corn meal, breakfast cereal, etc.. They will spread to all other grain products stored in paper (including cardboard) or thinnish plastic. They will crawl around the threads of bucket lids or canning jar lids if they are at all loose.

Most of the internet info that comes up easily is about using chemicals to get rid of them. I did it without chemicals but it is a bit of work... I emptied all the food storage areas of any grain products, threw out almost all procuctsctgat weren't still clearly sealed (didn't have chickens then), cleaned thoroughly, used the freezer as a cupboard for a few weeks.

I'm pretty sure they are as safe and nutritious as other kinds of meal worms but I wouldn't keep them for the purpose unless you have freezer space. If you miss a few of the very tiny eggs, you have to start over in getting rid of them.

If the webbing is just starting, you might not find the larva. They start out really tiny. But keeping some in a warm, dark place will let you know within a few days, maybe a week or so.

1. sometimes chickens hold out for preferred foods, like scratch. They will eat layer food if that is what is available.

2. answered by others

3. Maybe. Probably, if is intact whole grain but sometimes it is rolled or cracked or something. Then it won't sprout. You can tell by doing a germination test: pick ten or 25 or so kernels of each species in the scratch mix, put them between layers of damp paper towel, keep the paper towels damp for a few days or a few weeks (depends on species and temperature), then count how many show sprouts.... they will usually sprout over a few days (more for some species - not so much for grains). You shouldn't need to worry about breaking dormancy with grains.

Picture is of my feeding system, that is working very well.

It is a stainless steel dog dish big enough for all five to eat at once, although the lowest ranking pullet usually has to wait until the others are done. It is set on a cement block to help get the height of the lip a little less than level with their backs as they stand on the deep bedding. They stood in it a lit more when it was lower. They also get less bedding in it now. They tipped it over a few times so I set it into a plastic bucket on top of three 5-pound weights from a weight-lifting set (any weight should work, these were easy and in the way otherwise). I had to add a could of scraps of wood to get the bowl rim even with the top of the bucket. It isn't prefect, I would like size of the dish rim to match the size of the bucket better. And a crock would match their water bowl but they don't care about that.