For the MINIMALISTS - those who think less is more in chicken keeping - Please help

[3KillerBs]

Wow, this is interesting. Are you able to share the "cheap" brands? I'd like to stay away from them.

In various emergencies when I couldn't get to the farm store or had to buy something else because the store didn't have any of the all flock, I've gotten the cheap layer from Wal-Mart, from Tractor Supply, and from Southern States.

The common factor is that it was cheap, 16% layer. I don't think brand matters significantly because the same thing happened with any brand of this type of feed.

 

[AnnPann]

So I'm way late to this and don't have the brain power tonight to read through all 37 pages, but just wanted to let you know I built this same coop last summer (I recognized the photos!) And LOVE it. I actually have 2 of them, built side-by-side for double the space.

One thing I did not like is the nesting boxes that are in the plan. We built them, and my chickens just ended up sleeping in them and on them (and pooping on them), and they were hard to clean in and around. I have since removed them and just use these $5 cat litter boxes from Target. 2 of them fit side by side perfectly on the end of the coop under the egg door.

Also, the ceiling/roof setup in this plan is not the best use of vertical space or good for biosecurity. Instead of building the flat HWC "ceiling", we just closed it up on the sides with HWC. It saved us some money on lumber and we were able to use HWC scraps to fill in the sides. I love that birds can't hang out in between the ceiling and the roof, and it feels really open in the run.

I did add a poop board to mine, and it works fine. However, I'm on the short side, and since the coop is already elevated, I end up having to stand on a cinder block to be able to scoop it.

Let me know if you want photos or more info about the modifications we did.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

In my hunt for a feed and bedding supplier, one of them suggested using wood stove pellets. It's only $7 for a 40 lb bag and can be purchased at commercial stores. She says they last forever. Wondering if any of you have tried this?

 

[saysfaa]

...wood stove pellets. ...Wondering if any of you have tried this?

I tried them. They did not work well for how I tried to use them.

I put one bag over 80 sq ft so they felt like walking on lego bricks. Possible if they are deep enough it would be better. I never intended them to be the only bedding material. I had mostly pine shavings over them for the first several weeks. Whenever the bedding thinned, like when the chicks scratched down into the bedding, they were quite noticeable.

I thought they would absorb moisture. The coop was much drier than I expected. I thought they would break apart over time. They didn't.

I thought they would add a different texture to the mixture of materials I used. They didn't much; they settled through the other things and just lived under everything else. In the deeper bedding, they didn't bother anything but I don't think they had benefit either.

Someone else tried soaking them before using them and liked the results as bedding.

 

[saysfaa]

...I'm a simple person and this is way too complicated for me. So I feed everybody a low calcium feed and offer supplemental calcium on the side. I use oyster shell. The ones that need the extra calcium for the egg shells seem to know it while the ones that don't need that much calcium don't eat enough to harm themselves.
..,

This.

Another benefit to feeding this way is layer and all flock cost the same (here anyway). Eggshells are free and oyster shells are a lot cheaper per pound than feed. Calcium is heavy. 4% instead of 1% isn't much but it does add up over time.

 

[Sueby]

My preference for feed for my girls is an all flock & oyster shell on the side. I have no roosters but I don’t like to feed layer feed in the winter when most have stopped laying & switching between 2 types is a pain so I just feed all flock all the time. I do get chick feed if I have babies, but I’ve given up on medicated as my chicks always get coccidiosis anyway, I have a tough variant in my soil.

I also wanted to say I’m not a huge fan of collecting water & watering my birds with it. We had HPAI close by & collecting water is a good way to introduce that & other stuff. I had them on indoor lockdown for well over a month & collecting roof water would have negated that. Just something to consider, I know people do it & it works for them.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Yes, this is the idea I've always gotten. I'd prefer to give them one feed, some egg shells, some kitchen scraps and whatever they find in nature. Sounds like a plan.

Then sounds like you want layer feed once they grow up . Unless you decide to keep a rooster down the road.

 

[3KillerBs]

I thought they would absorb moisture. The coop was much drier than I expected. I thought they would break apart over time. They didn't.

That's probably the difference between the pellets that are made for wood stoves and the pellets that are made to be horse bedding. Not the same product.

Another benefit to feeding this way is layer and all flock cost the same (here anyway).

Not here, unless comparing the cheapest all-flock to the name-brand layer pellets.

Here the same brand layer pellet is $3-5 less than the same brand all-flock.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I tried them. They did not work well for how I tried to use them.

I put one bag over 80 sq ft so they felt like walking on lego bricks. Possible if they are deep enough it would be better. I never intended them to be the only bedding material. I had mostly pine shavings over them for the first several weeks. Whenever the bedding thinned, like when the chicks scratched down into the bedding, they were quite noticeable.

I thought they would absorb moisture. The coop was much drier than I expected. I thought they would break apart over time. They didn't.

I thought they would add a different texture to the mixture of materials I used. They didn't much; they settled through the other things and just lived under everything else. In the deeper bedding, they didn't bother anything but I don't think they had benefit either.

Someone else tried soaking them before using them and liked the results as bedding.

I just watched a video comparing this with hemp and they said the same things you're saying. Thanks so much for your sharing you experience. Back to hemp, it is.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

Then sounds like you want layer feed once they grow up . Unless you decide to keep a rooster down the road.

We want a rooster but we're right on top of our neighbors so that probably wouldn't be fair. I actually wondered if there is a breed of rooster that is a little quieter. Any thoughts?