FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Miss Lydia]

How do you feed the fermented grain in the winter? Today's high here is 27 degrees. I can't see them eating a frozen block of feed.

Heated dog bowls

 

[Molpet]

I feed my chickens fermented food, problem now is it freezes, any suggestions

I feed what they eat in 20 min .. it takes longer than that for it to freeze at 0f ... this weather I am feeding 2-3 x a day.. I am out there changing the water anyway.
I keep it in the basement near the furnace so it still ferments

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I tried to scroll back and see who was talking about collecting rain water so I could mention a few things.... if anybody knows who it was...

Up until this past year, somewhere in Colorado... it was actually illegal to collect rain water off of your own roof!

Also, I collect rainwater... but I fell uncomfortable using for animals with my composition shingle roof, not knowing what kind of chemicals may be there, plus it always has particulate like sand or gravel off of them. So I use that for the garden. And collect water from the metal roofs we have for animals drinking. Don't know if it matters cuz they drink out of what they want...

 

[balloonflower]

I use one of the concrete block heaters for my ff and have been having good luck with that.

And yes, they now changed our laws so in CO we can have up to 110 gal of rainwater collection.

 

[Beekissed]

I feed my chickens fermented food, problem now is it freezes, any suggestions

How do you feed the fermented grain in the winter? Today's high here is 27 degrees. I can't see them eating a frozen block of feed.

I'm still feeding FF when it dips to teens below zero here with no problems and no freezing....at 27 degrees freezing just ain't a problem, so it goes right in the trough and is cleaned up as per normal.

At below zero weather I put it on the DL beside the trough and they eat it even more quickly there, scratching away at it and searching for the particles all day long in the DL. If it ain't in a clump, it doesn't make a block of frozen feed.

Try mixing it a little drier than normal and placing it directly on the bedding in the coop....they will eat it there as well as in the feeder and have more fun doing so. It's the only time I ever advocate feeding their regular feed ration on the ground and I only do it when the temps dip below zero. Any other time it goes right in the trough and they have it gone before anything can freeze.

 

[Miss Lydia]

i have to put a piece of scrap board across my heated bowls[middle] to keep my chickens out of them. I have to do it with the heated buckets too to keep my ducks from using them as their personal hot tubs.

To @Leahs Mom Pics coming when computer co operates

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here ya go, nothing fancy but helps keep them from standing /scratching in the bowl

@Leahs Mom

 

[ShanandGem]

@Beekissed you're right about feeding on the ground. Even if it does freeze they have scratched it all apart into little bits and it's still edible. And they do entertain themselves all day long with it.
It was -24C overnight here but we are supposed to see warmer temps coming. It's been this way for weeks, and quite frankly, I'm tired of it!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

@Beekissed you're right about feeding on the ground. Even if it does freeze they have scratched it all apart into little bits and it's still edible. And they do entertain themselves all day long with it.
It was -24C overnight here but we are supposed to see warmer temps coming. It's been this way for weeks, and quite frankly, I'm tired of it!

That sounds cold!

We had an overnight low of 36 degrees F, and our roofs and grass were frozen solid. Even the water bowls. Best I can figure is maybe the salt in the air from being on the coast somehow makes it seem colder? And of courser the humidity is always high.

It's hard for me to grasp frost when it's that "warm".