How to keep feed cost down?

[Beekissed]

Sounds good and all but I don't wake up early enough to feed them, I wake up around 9 and my chickens are out at around 5am. I've been trying to think of a way to feed fermented 24/7

Your chickens wear watches?

They don't have to be fed as soon as they awaken...mine free range all day and don't get fed until around 5 pm...IF I feel like doing it then, sometimes it's even later than that, as long as they get it before they go to roost. FF is fed either once or twice a day, depending on your setup. All you need is a nice, long trough. I can feed my chickens enough in my trough to last for 5 days while I go on vacation.

If cutting cost is that important, you'll find a way. Free ranging and feeding FF is about as cheap as it gets on feed costs, so if you can do both you can get by on cheap.

 

[aaroncoolio]

Your chickens wear watches?     They don't have to be fed as soon as they awaken...mine free range all day and don't get fed until around 5 pm...IF I feel like doing it then, sometimes it's even later than that, as long as they get it before they go to roost.  FF is fed either once or twice a day, depending on your setup.  All you need is a nice, long trough.  I can feed my chickens enough in my trough to last for 5 days while I go on vacation. 

If cutting cost is that important, you'll find a way.  Free ranging and feeding FF is about as cheap as it gets on feed costs, so if you can do both you can get by on cheap. 

Can't free range during this season, too much precious fruits in my backyard! They have a pretty nice run (it's uncovered though, and they scratched it almost bare) that's why I feel they need food in the morning haha! When the feed is in the trough, does it continue to ferment? Or is it fine. Just worried about feed going to waste. THANKS!

 

[Beekissed]

It should continue to ferment somewhat but that's a good thing....it won't spoil or go to waste....there is virtually no food waste at all with feeding FF. No food billed out of the feeder, none taken by rodents, all of it eaten each day to the last morsel if you are feeding the right amounts.

I'd cover that run in a good deep litter system....another wonderful thing with multiple benefits. You can see a vid on it in my signature and read a thread on it in the coop section, it's one of the stickies at the top.

 

[aaroncoolio]

It should continue to ferment somewhat but that's a good thing....it won't spoil or go to waste....there is virtually no food waste at all with feeding FF.   No food billed out of the feeder, none taken by rodents, all of it eaten each day to the last morsel if you are feeding the right amounts. 

I'd cover that run in a good deep litter system....another wonderful thing with multiple benefits.  You can see a vid on it in my signature and read a thread on it in the coop section, it's one of the stickies at the top. 

No rodents get in because of the feeder? Or they don't like fermented. Can you post of pictures of this? Interested!

 

[Beekissed]

When you feed in this manner, there is no feed left in that feeder for mice to access...the chickens practically lick the trough clean each day. Not often mice will stand cheek by jowl with hungry chickens to get a piece of that action.

There's a huge thread on it in this section of the forum...can't miss it. It will have a gallery of pics that will show FF in all its many forms and types of feeders. I'll try to rustle up a few pics here...

This is my most recent trough...scrap lumber and a sapling, few screws, 15 min. and you've got a feeder that will hold many days worth of feed. Setting it high off the floor keeps them from messing in it and the bar across the top keeps them from walking in it, except the youngsters...they can walk in it still, as you will see.

This is another of my troughs....you can see how the younger birds get their place at the feeder...



You see those crumbs on the floor? Those will be gone by roost time...every speck. This stuff is like chicken chocolate, it's that good.



Chicks love it too.....







In the bucket....



Or in the trough.....



It all spells huge savings on feed and it's simple to do, simple to feed and also has huge benefits besides savings.
Increases protein usage by 12%(according to scientific studies)
Changes proteins and sugars to a form easily digested and utilized by a monogastric animal~amino acids.
Less feed waste due to more utilized at the point of digestion and also from feeding a wet feed.
Less feed consumed due to total nutrients increased in the feed~resulting in a decrease of total feed costs by nearly half.
Intestinal health and culture increases, intestinal villi lengthen thus increasing total absorption area and blood flow to the intestines.
Increased immune system function.
Increased parasite resistance.
Increased yolk size/weight.
Increased rate of lay.
Increased feather quality and growth, increased rate of molt recovery.
Increased scale, beak quality due to increased nutrient uptake(some have reported correction of cross beak after using FF).
Less undigested matter in the feces~resulting in less nitrogen in manure, less smell of the fecal matter, less attractant for flies, less ammonia production as there is less break down needed of waste material.
Less water consumption due to feeding wet feeds.
Less incidence of pasty butt in young chicks, faster weight gains, faster feathering of young chicks as well.
Thicker egg shells.
Less feed waste to rodent predation.
No changes in winter warmth issues as core temps do not depend on rates of digestion of feed~no more than it does for any other animal or human.
Increased mild flavor of eggs, removal of sulfur or “eggy” flavor.
Increased mild flavor of meat, removal of “gamey” flavor.
Increased overall health and appearance noted and reported with continuous use of FF.
Prebiotics and probiotics available in feed increase resistance to disease/illnesses such as coccidia, e.coli, salmonella, flagella, etc.
No raw chicken stink.
Less inclination for dogs to eat the poo since the sugars and grains have already been pre-digested.

 

[snow5164]

Sounds good and all but I don't wake up early enough to feed them, I wake up around 9 and my chickens are out at around 5am. I've been trying to think of a way to feed fermented 24/7

I only feed my flock at 7 am I bring out the fermented feed and they go crazy,
It will cut your food costs by 1/2.
What I do about the mornings because my day starts at 7 ....(I ffeed them in pj's

)

Is I pour a scoop or two of dry feed in the coop and in the yard , that way they always have food to "find" and they are turning over the straw in the coop for me

 

[pdirt]

Quote:
Then feed them at 9am. The chickens will be fine. In fact, some folks only feed their chickens once a day and usually do it in the evening, before they go to the coop for the night.

Our chickens wake up at 5am (or earlier) as well and we don't let them out to feed until perhaps 6:30, 7:00 or sometimes not until after 9:00...they're fine. We got 9 eggs yesterday from our 11 hens.

 

[cluckcluckhens]

I'm not a morning person so, my hens get fed between 10-11 am which is fine since they still have feed from the night before. Their feed is outside near their flap that goes into the run area. They also get food from the house, bread, chicken fat, fruit, veggies and so on. We hardly waste any food anymore. What we don't eat or throw away the hens get it. They also have oats from time to time. Our feeder the hens were pulling their feed out all over the place then hubby made a new feeder and it's working out. To try to stop the wild birds from eating the feed my hubby just made another feeder, it's a lever feeder. The hens step on a lever and it opens up and when they step off the lever part shuts and nothing can get into the feed. Their still learning to use this one since all of them doesn't know how to open the lever yet, only two that I've seen actually knows to step on it to get it open to eat their feed. It seemed that everything around us was eating the feed and that includes squirrels those darn diggers. No more feed for them or the wild birds. Still a few tiny birds hanging around but that's it. We have no possum or coons here, we do have Moles here.

 

[redsix]

How do you know how much to feed of the fermented food? Do you experiment and give them no more than they will eat at one time? Can you give them too much?

 

[pdirt]

How do you know how much to feed of the fermented food?  Do you experiment and give them no more than they will eat at one time?  Can you give them too much?

If you give them too much, it will just go uneaten. If it doesn't attract rodents, then they will probably eat the rest next day.

Measure out as much they will eat in 30-40 minutes... Yeah it will take some experimentation to find that amount. Try 1/3 to 1/2c per bird to start with. If you free range, and they have good forage available, you could try just feeding once a day, in the eve about an hour before they roost. Otherwise, feed twice a day.