Feeding twice a day - when do you give treats?

[RubyLady]

Actually, the manufactured diets made for poultry have been researched and tested to death over many years. Farmers can not afford to be feeding food to their birds that isn't good for them and doesn't produce healthy stock. A farmer that doesn't produce good stock will fail in the business. Actually "juicy worms" can introduce some nasty parasites into your birds. Mine will not even eat earthworms. If you want to give them a treat, take their layer pellets and wet them down with warm water to make a mush. Stir in a couple of teaspoons of cayenne pepper if you want. My birds will tear into that and lick the bowl clean before they go back to the dry pellets. Seems like some sort of yummy candy to them even though it is the same food. They love it warm and squishy.

There's a big difference between what we can eat and what is nutritious food. I used to work for the USDA and every nutrition label, including animal foods, is baed on the raw, unprocessed food. Now, to be fair, some foods have nutrients that increase when cooked - such as greens, like kale. The calcium and vitamin C actually increases when cooked for some time. So it's not that I'm a huge raw foodie or something. But what I am saying is that labels do not reflect what we're buying and that's just a fact. Because nutrient loads change when cooked or processed and we, as laypeople, don't know if those changes are an increase or a decrease, I can't depend on the labels of those manufactured diets. But knowing that healthy free-range chickens, if dissected, have about 50% invertebrate matter and the rest is fruit, seeds, and greens, then I'm more likely to aim for that, plus add eggshell or oyster shell and of course, an accommodating diet in winter when they may not be able to have all that naturally than I am a manufactured diet. In fact, the very words make me skeptical that that is the very best I can do for a living thing. Just my feeling, but, hey, my friend swears by 1/2 layer pellet and 1/2 chicken scratch and it's been working for her for years. And then there are those who don't buy any grain feed or pellets and swear by the compost and forage method. In the end, they are chickens. They will eat. And if they have enough nutrients, that's what matters. I just don't really see processed food as nutrient rich as it has not actually been analyzed and labeled once it was processed and shelved.

 

[neo71665]

Stop limiting their feed. I also live in a humid area and in 4 years my homemade no waste feeders have never molded.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...lon-25-feed-bucket-feeder-for-about-3.834227/

I'm with 3KillerBs with the fermented feed but I actually tried it. Way too much extra work for me for zero gain to the chickens. They eat and like their dry all flock just fine.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

There's a big difference between what we can eat and what is nutritious food. I used to work for the USDA and every nutrition label, including animal foods, is baed on the raw, unprocessed food. Now, to be fair, some foods have nutrients that increase when cooked - such as greens, like kale. The calcium and vitamin C actually increases when cooked for some time. So it's not that I'm a huge raw foodie or something. But what I am saying is that labels do not reflect what we're buying and that's just a fact. Because nutrient loads change when cooked or processed and we, as laypeople, don't know if those changes are an increase or a decrease, I can't depend on the labels of those manufactured diets. But knowing that healthy free-range chickens, if dissected, have about 50% invertebrate matter and the rest is fruit, seeds, and greens, then I'm more likely to aim for that, plus add eggshell or oyster shell and of course, an accommodating diet in winter when they may not be able to have all that naturally than I am a manufactured diet. In fact, the very words make me skeptical that that is the very best I can do for a living thing. Just my feeling, but, hey, my friend swears by 1/2 layer pellet and 1/2 chicken scratch and it's been working for her for years. And then there are those who don't buy any grain feed or pellets and swear by the compost and forage method. In the end, they are chickens. They will eat. And if they have enough nutrients, that's what matters. I just don't really see processed food as nutrient rich as it has not actually been analyzed and labeled once it was processed and shelved.

I think what you're saying is very interesting. You don't have a very big flock, but it might be interesting to keep records over time and determine what your flock's average production is per bird per year on your regimen. If I understand you correctly, although your birds are getting pellets and scratch only twice a day, that is not their only intake, is that right? They get other food throughout the day - what you consider real, natural, nutritious food but others are deriding as "treats," is that right?

You seem to be getting a lot of opposition here, and it will take a lot of courage to persist both in your methods and in continuing to post here, but I'd be interested in your results. I am always interested in those who do things differently than the mainstream, preferred methods, because thst's how we learn. Good luck to you!

 

[RubyLady]

Stop limiting their feed. I also live in a humid area and in 4 years my homemade no waste feeders have never molded.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...lon-25-feed-bucket-feeder-for-about-3.834227/

I'm with 3KillerBs with the fermented feed but I actually tried it. Way too much extra work for me for zero gain to the chickens. They eat and like their dry all flock just fine.

I did try this last week to just leave them plenty of feed - more than they certainly needed in a day. One batch ended up getting water in it from the rain (tarp accident) and was wasted. Another one ended up all over the ground and they wasted it. I can't afford layer pellets just wasted 5-10 cups at a time. I don't have that kind of income. What I do have is time and a wild yard full of edible weeds, clover, grasses, bugs, berry and fruit trees. I think I can capitalize on the fact that that food is unlimited. I have them out of the pen most of the day now that I decided to stop wasting money. They eat the pellets I do give them morning and night. And they lay awesome, hard-shelled, golden-yolked eggs.

 

[3KillerBs]

I did try this last week to just leave them plenty of feed - more than they certainly needed in a day. One batch ended up getting water in it from the rain (tarp accident) and was wasted. Another one ended up all over the ground and they wasted it. I can't afford layer pellets just wasted 5-10 cups at a time.

What are you putting it in?

I have no waste whatsoever from my traditional, metal, hanging feeder and we built a shelter for it.

I've got one of these feeders, which gives very little wastage, in a dog crate with some scrap metal roofing on it.

A good quality feeder is worth the investment.

 

[Geena]

I feed my chickens pellets twice a day, morning when I let them out and again about an hour before lock up. Throughout the day they can forage in their pastures. I throw them whatever food scraps we have available and I'm not concerned about the quantity of such.
They are quite happy and healthy

 

[RubyLady]

What are you putting it in?

I have no waste whatsoever from my traditional, metal, hanging feeder and we built a shelter for it.

View attachment 2756781

I've got one of these feeders, which gives very little wastage, in a dog crate with some scrap metal roofing on it.

View attachment 2756782

A good quality feeder is worth the investment.

Thanks so much. Yes, I think you might have posted this in this thread? Or I've seen the photo before? I only have 4 chickens and their pen is pretty small as is. We are hoping to extend it and then maybe we can put up something like this, which I would like to do. Still, I don't mind having something available for them if we don't have them out, but I still am finding the pellets to be a bit "manufactured" and dead as far as actual food goes so this entire thread has really helped me plan an entirely new method which includes MUCH more free-foraging on rotation areas full of grasses, weeds, clover and I'm adding buckwheat under fruit trees and bushes so they should get the bulk of their natural needs that way. I'll keep good quality feed in something like that for when they are in the pen and especially in winter when I'll add sprouted fodder as well. I do like that set-up. It's lovely,

 

[RubyLady]

I feed my chickens pellets twice a day, morning when I let them out and again about an hour before lock up. Throughout the day they can forage in their pastures. I throw them whatever food scraps we have available and I'm not concerned about the quantity of such.
They are quite happy and healthy

That's kind of where we're at right now and it seems to be working!

 

[RubyLady]

I think what you're saying is very interesting. You don't have a very big flock, but it might be interesting to keep records over time and determine what your flock's average production is per bird per year on your regimen. If I understand you correctly, although your birds are getting pellets and scratch only twice a day, that is not their only intake, is that right? They get other food throughout the day - what you consider real, natural, nutritious food but others are deriding as "treats," is that right?

You seem to be getting a lot of opposition here, and it will take a lot of courage to persist both in your methods and in continuing to post here, but I'd be interested in your results. I am always interested in those who do things differently than the mainstream, preferred methods, because thst's how we learn. Good luck to you!

Yes, you are right in that the way I started - as per my friend's advice - was half pellet and half scratch. But I feed them veg scraps, some yogurt (homemade and organic), fruit, etc, plsu they eat tons of clover, weeds, and grasses when I get them out in the tractor and I move them every half hour because it's just four chickens and 24 square feet of tractor.

I understand opposition. people have beliefs in ways that work for them, and that's awesome because I learn something from everyone.

I am keeping records, so glad to hear that's a good idea.

We're working towards a semi-permaculture set-up for them with foraging in pasture rotations. We already have a wild yard with tons of chickweed, clover, violet, dead nettle, henbit, dandelion, dock, and grass, grass, grass which we let go to seed every year. We'll be adding some buckwheat as well. I'm just going to make movable "fence walls" and rotate their area every couple of days so the grazed area can recover. Then we have fruit trees and berries, and a huge composted pile that started as 4 years of decomposing leaves as we have TOO MANY TREES (all caps was for my husband) and the worms have taken it over and now it's a healthy bug fest we let them loose on, too.

We might go up to 6 chooks next year but that's all we have room and time for, really.

Thanks for your supportive words. I am always interested in everyone's ways. How else will I learn what choices there are?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You're welcome. We have about 20 hens and a roo. They live in an 8x10 hen house and have a HUGE fenced run they spend most of they day in, with lots of native grasses, forbs, plantain, etc. We turn them out every afternoon about 3 pm to forage on more of the same, and we toss them about a cup and a half of scratch at that time just to maintain their willingness to come when called. That's it for "treats" although about once a week I also scatter about a cup of dried mealworms. Their pellets are kept in a no-waste feeder inside the hen house along with two feeders containing their oyster shell and grit. The feeder consists of a rubber trash bin with lid, fitted with PVC elbows they have to stick their heads into to get to the feed. They cannot scatter feed to waste or draw mice, and best of all, my greedy dog cannot help herself to the feed!