Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[citychicken0981]

oh man I really enjoyed this series of posts. Im sure now you have eggs out your ears. Good read

 

[ozexpat]

oh man I really enjoyed this series of posts. Im sure now you have eggs out your ears. Good read

Bernie is eating lots of eggs and we are setting 30-40 a week

We will be giving out a lot of mutt chickens in a few months.

 

[scottcaddy]

Quote: I'm sorry to have even asked you that! I have been reading this thread for several hatches now and should know that you have all kind of company for any kind of only hatchling.
I was a bit tired and not thinking straight.

Scott

 

[piglett]

One animal I truly hate is the feral cat. This confirms my hatred.

people only feed their cats a few scraps in the province
could be hunger that is driving it over to your place
can you have a trap set?

look on the bright side that cat is helping you find your weak points
beef things up & you should be good to go



nite nite OZ




piggy

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Chicken question...lol


Do you guys leave food out for your birds overnight? The reason I'm asking is because, it seems like our 8 chickens (approx 2 months old now) are going through a LOT of feed. More than they usually do. I fill their feeder in the morning and I fill it again at night. They spend the day in a good-sized chicken run.

I was thinking of maybe nixing the overnight feed and just filling the container in the morning.

 

[maryhysong]

When I switched to fermented feed I went from leaving feed out all the time to feeding young birds twice a day and adults once a day. My feed consumption went way down and all the dove and sparrows took off. Harvery Ursury talks in his book about walking into a coop at night and the floor being alive with mice freeloading from his chicken feeders.

 

[scottcaddy]

Chicken question...lol


Do you guys leave food out for your birds overnight? The reason I'm asking is because, it seems like our 8 chickens (approx 2 months old now) are going through a LOT of feed. More than they usually do. I fill their feeder in the morning and I fill it again at night. They spend the day in a good-sized chicken run.

I was thinking of maybe nixing the overnight feed and just filling the container in the morning.

I feed only what I think that the Birds will eat in the day. If I see left over feed the next day I cut back that much! I do NOT want to feed rodents.

Scott

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Thanks guys.

I don't think I'm getting any vermin or free loaders just yet. Overnight, the birds are still being kept in their brood box. It's not ideal, but the coop isn't ready for them just yet. There's exposed insulation that needs to be covered and we just don't have the funds right now to buy the wood sheets. Especially after today...my husband was changing the spark plugs in our van and one sheared off at the nut...and now the van needs to be brought in for what will probably be a very expensive repair.

Anyways, the brood box is latched and nothing can get in. During the daytime, they were making a royal mess of their food...tipping over the tray feeder we were using. So I bought a regular feeder and filled it up. By the end of the day, it was empty and there was food scattered all around on the ground!

Even still, it seems like they're eating a LOT more than they were when I was filling their tray feeder.

I'll have to look into the fermented feed down the road a bit. We're still getting used to all of this...lol.

 

[hotrodflash]

Thanks guys.

I don't think I'm getting any vermin or free loaders just yet. Overnight, the birds are still being kept in their brood box. It's not ideal, but the coop isn't ready for them just yet. There's exposed insulation that needs to be covered and we just don't have the funds right now to buy the wood sheets. Especially after today...my husband was changing the spark plugs in our van and one sheared off at the nut...and now the van needs to be brought in for what will probably be a very expensive repair.

Anyways, the brood box is latched and nothing can get in. During the daytime, they were making a royal mess of their food...tipping over the tray feeder we were using. So I bought a regular feeder and filled it up. By the end of the day, it was empty and there was food scattered all around on the ground!

Even still, it seems like they're eating a LOT more than they were when I was filling their tray feeder.

I'll have to look into the fermented feed down the road a bit. We're still getting used to all of this...lol.

Instead of fermenting the feed, just add water to it before it is put in a pan. They can't fling the feed out and there is a lot less waste.

 

[scottcaddy]

Quote: Just one of the reasons I add water to our horses grain before feeding them. I had not thought that far enough ahead for the chickens feed.

Scott