Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[NotableNancy]

Ok, so I put a little feed in a jar and covered it in water. About an hour later, I added a bunch more water. Is fermenting this cheap feed adding much benefit? I'd totally do this until I'm ready to try out recipes. Gotta start sprouting BOSS again. I stopped when one batch grew mold. Time to get back into it.

that's what I'm wondering. does fermenting agway feed any better for them?

 

[NotableNancy]

Question for those who ferment, do you just put the feed in a pan/bowl/dish? I can't picture it being in a feeder, I imagine it would stick too much. On a related note what kind of feeders do you all prefer for dry feed? We are still using the mason jar style with metal bottom and oval openings. I think my ideal would be a wooden treadle but if we end up doing mostly fermented that seems silly. I did pick up two little burgundy plastic gravity feeders for rabbits at TSC today for their grit and oyster shells, they balance fine on the 4x4 but I know there is a way to secure them to the wire.

i have these...

http://www.amazon.com/Miller-Galvan...qid=1406767470&sr=8-8&keywords=feeder+chicken

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-...767512&sr=8-1&keywords=feeder+chicken+plastic

I use a vintage feeder like this one too but it's in better shape. It's divided inside so 1/2 is feed and 1/2 is oyster shell

https://www.etsy.com/listing/193228676/chicken-feeder-unique-vintage-zinc?ref=market

 

[christine9]

Oh my favorite feeders is the PVC one. I LOVE them. I may have over complicated it but mine has a screw off bottom for easy cleaning out the crumbs. I also angled the top for easier filling (not that much easier). You could just use an elbow and a straight piece.

 

[trsturself]

Wow Lynn such a nice place! I know my suggestion is pricey but could you picket fence where you don't want them? They will not fly up on a picket fence because of the pointy end. I have thought about doing that with my patio (I'm getting tired of stepping in poop)

It definitely is pricier but it looks adorable! I still love your place even with all the mulch everywhere!

Don't believe it. We had a picket fence around our garden and it didn't stop the chickens one bit.

Question for those who ferment, do you just put the feed in a pan/bowl/dish? I can't picture it being in a feeder, I imagine it would stick too much. On a related note what kind of feeders do you all prefer for dry feed? We are still using the mason jar style with metal bottom and oval openings. I think my ideal would be a wooden treadle but if we end up doing mostly fermented that seems silly. I did pick up two little burgundy plastic gravity feeders for rabbits at TSC today for their grit and oyster shells, they balance fine on the 4x4 but I know there is a way to secure them to the wire.

I put ours in a bowl as well as on a couple pieces of wood laying around the run. I am doing grains though and it doesn't get as mushy as the processed food does. When I did the pellets I put it in a bowl and they did a pretty good job of cleaning it up. Nothing I had to worry about. I have seen a few people use pie plates so it's shallow enough for them to clean it.

Oh my favorite feeders is the PVC one. I LOVE them. I may have over complicated it but mine has a screw off bottom for easy cleaning out the crumbs. I also angled the top for easier filling (not that much easier). You could just use an elbow and a straight piece.

We used a simpler version of this when we fed dry feed. I gave it to the lady that bought our other coop. It worked well for dry food.

 

[chickadee5002]

Don't believe it. We had a picket fence around our garden and it didn't stop the chickens one bit. 


I put ours in a bowl as well as on a couple pieces of wood laying around the run. I am doing grains though and it doesn't get as mushy as the processed food does. When I did the pellets I put it in a bowl and they did a pretty good job of cleaning it up. Nothing I had to worry about. I have seen a few people use pie plates so it's shallow enough for them to clean it.


We used a simpler version of this when we fed dry feed. I gave it to the lady that bought our other coop. It worked well for dry food. 

Oh great that ideas down the poop shoot now I was hoping a picket fence would work but I guess better to know sooner rather than later! Thanks trsturself for the info! Does anyone have good ideas to keep them away and still look nice??? It seems near impossible!

 

[NanaLynn]

Don't worry about it. You have a beautiful piece of property! I am sure you and your husband have worked years to get it looking so nice. No one could blame you for being upset about the messes that your flock is making! I would definitely try to use the fencing that you had been using to block off your gardens to create a more contained free range area where you don't mind the chickens making a mess. My chickens don't know any better, but, they seem very content with their space. Yours will be too!

To reiterate Nancy's questions, Did you say you were getting rid of some of your flock? Which breeds are going and why?

My passion before the chickens was gardening, so now I need to figure out how to make them work together. We do plan to re-purpose the fencing and make a few pop doors for them to go out through. My husband had to undergo another surgery, so with the chickens tearing up the yard and all the work that needs to be done to contain them, the simplest thing to do right now is lock them in the run and coop. I plan on getting some of the dollar bags of overripe produce for them when I go to the farmers market. Plus start sprouting for them again. With all this talk about fermenting too, I am thinking of fermenting some grains for them as a side treat. They'll be spoiled until we can come up with a good plan.

I figured if they stay locked up for awhile too anything that I do for them in the future will make them happy. They try so hard to zoom out the door when I go in to take care of them right now, but I've got them under control which is good.

I want to sell off quite a few of the chickens for various reasons, I love them all but some of them do not work with the setup we have and could use a bigger farm then are little bit of less then an acre.
Both Andulasions and the Golden Campine need to go since they are so flighty, so that's 3.
Sally our SF is super noisy and still lays a tiny egg- 1
Both are BR's are not great layers, these will be the hard ones since they are from my original flock- 2
Cuckoo the CM and Rocky the PR are the constantly broody ones so they're not great layers- 2
I'm on the fence with Ellie the EE since she is a slimmer EE and is pretty flighty too. So yeah we'll reduce the flock by 8 to 9, leaving us with 12 to 13 hens. I need to stop getting so attached to them, it'd make my life easier.

I have determined that so far my favorite breeds are all the Wyandottes, Dominiques, all the leghorns, Golden Buffs, BO's, BA's, Polish, RIR's and EE's.

I want to get some Welsummers and the Cream Legbars in the future too.

So for our situation we need good layers and multi purpose hens that are not too noisy or too flighty or too broody. The polish breeds being the exception to the rule since they are just the coolest looking chickens to me.

Great set up. I love how you repurposed doors and shutters to cover the run!

x2

Wow Lynn such a nice place! I know my suggestion is pricey but could you picket fence where you don't want them? They will not fly up on a picket fence because of the pointy end. I have thought about doing that with my patio (I'm getting tired of stepping in poop)

It definitely is pricier but it looks adorable! I still love your place even with all the mulch everywhere!

Thank you, yeah maybe in the future when the flock is downsized I could try that, but my high fliers would still hop on a picket fence.

i have these...

http://www.amazon.com/Miller-Galvan...qid=1406767470&sr=8-8&keywords=feeder+chicken

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-...767512&sr=8-1&keywords=feeder+chicken+plastic

I use a vintage feeder like this one too but it's in better shape. It's divided inside so 1/2 is feed and 1/2 is oyster shell

https://www.etsy.com/listing/193228676/chicken-feeder-unique-vintage-zinc?ref=market

I have the metal galvanized feeder too for our dry feed. It works great.

Oh great that ideas down the poop shoot now

I was hoping a picket fence would work but I guess better to know sooner rather than later! Thanks trsturself for the info! Does anyone have good ideas to keep them away and still look nice??? It seems near impossible!

I wish I did have some good ideas. Every time I have tried something it seems like I keep having to add more and more to contain them. Fencing with additional bird netting extending higher does seem to work but eventually it does not look very good in the yard. That's our struggle having chickens and figure out a good looking way to contain them.

 

[MamaShell]

Don't worry about it. You have a beautiful piece of property! I am sure you and your husband have worked years to get it looking so nice. No one could blame you for being upset about the messes that your flock is making! I would definitely try to use the fencing that you had been using to block off your gardens to create a more contained free range area where you don't mind the chickens making a mess. My chickens don't know any better, but, they seem very content with their space. Yours will be too!


To reiterate Nancy's questions, Did you say you were getting rid of some of your flock? Which breeds are going and why?

My passion before the chickens was gardening, so now I need to figure out how to make them work together. We do plan to re-purpose the fencing and make a few pop doors for them to go out through. My husband had to undergo another surgery, so with the chickens tearing up the yard and all the work that needs to be done to contain them, the simplest thing to do right now is lock them in the run and coop. I plan on getting some of the dollar bags of overripe produce for them when I go to the farmers market. Plus start sprouting for them again. With all this talk about fermenting too, I am thinking of fermenting some grains for them as a side treat. They'll be spoiled until we can come up with a good plan.

I figured if they stay locked up for awhile too anything that I do for them in the future will make them happy. They try so hard to zoom out the door when I go in to take care of them right now, but I've got them under control which is good.

I want to sell off quite a few of the chickens for various reasons, I love them all but some of them do not work with the setup we have and could use a bigger farm then are little bit of less then an acre. 
Both Andulasions and the Golden Campine need to go since they are so flighty, so that's 3.
Sally our SF is super noisy and still lays a tiny egg- 1
Both are BR's are not great layers, these will be the hard ones since they are from my original flock- 2
Cuckoo the CM and Rocky the PR are the constantly broody ones so they're not great layers- 2
I'm on the fence with Ellie the EE since she is a slimmer EE and is pretty flighty too. So yeah we'll reduce the flock by 8 to 9, leaving us with 12 to 13 hens. I need to stop getting so attached to them, it'd make my life easier.

I have determined that so far my favorite breeds are all the Wyandottes, Dominiques, all the leghorns, Golden Buffs, BO's, BA's, Polish, RIR's and EE's.

I want to get some Welsummers and the Cream Legbars in the future too.

So for our situation we need good layers and multi purpose hens that are not too noisy or too flighty or too broody. The polish breeds being the exception to the rule since they are just the coolest looking chickens to me.

Sorry about your husband needing surgery, again. I hope he recuperates quickly!

LOL about the Polish! You have to have some birds just for giggles!

It sounds like you have given this a lot of thought about who should stay and who should go and, of course, your awesome spreadsheets back you up! It is interesting that your BRs are not good layers, I always heard that they were. Although they are just getting started, my Dominique(s) lay such a tiny egg it is hard to think that they would be better than the BRs. But, mine are so sweet that I can't imagine not keeping the ones that I have. That being said, I probably would not get more as I am in it for the eggs. I, too, "need good layers and multi purpose hens that are not too noisy or too flighty or too broody." I am thankful that I have people like you to follow!

Next year, I plan to get some White Leghorns, Wellsumers, Speckled Sussex and either more EEs or some Ameraucanas or Cream Legbars. Anyone know which of those last 3 are the most consistent layers and which lays the biggest eggs?

 

[autumnhearth]

I put ours in a bowl as well as on a couple pieces of wood laying around the run. I am doing grains though and it doesn't get as mushy as the processed food does. When I did the pellets I put it in a bowl and they did a pretty good job of cleaning it up. Nothing I had to worry about. I have seen a few people use pie plates so it's shallow enough for them to clean it.


We used a simpler version of this when we fed dry feed. I gave it to the lady that bought our other coop. It worked well for dry food.

Thanks, I was thinking something like a pie pan. Yes I would want to do whole or cracked grains. We currently use Countryside Organics feed which has some good bits and pieces but quite a bit of "dust" too. I like that Scratch and Peck does whole grain for their layer feed, but its just too expensive with shipping. I guess I could ask CO if they could mix it with whole grains since they sell them in bulk but I would also like to cut down costs and find more local grains. We're still searching. But yeah I saw a picture of someone fermenting pellet feed and it looked pretty disgusting, grains still look like grains.

I was originally thinking of doing a PVC dispenser for grit and shell but after seeing this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/909871/warning-chickens-died-in-pvc-feeder
which I realize was a freak accident and can probably be safe guarded against with wire near the opening and may only apply to younger/smaller chickens, I didn't want to create more work for my husband so I was happy when I found these: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/super-pet-gravity-bin-feeder (its also available from PetSmart in various colors for a bit more money, the ones I picked up at TSC are a nice burgandy) for our grit and oyster shell. It would be too small for a flock feeder but fine for a broody cage or quarantine.

Thanks for the feeder suggestions everyone. We also need to get a bucket for our nipples for their new waterer and build the nest boxes this weekend.

I heard Cream Legbars are very talkative but I don't know about loud. Anyone who has them have thoughts on that yet? I know most of yours are still young. I definitely want another colorful egg layer and a Welsummer.

 

[MamaShell]

Question for those who ferment, do you just put the feed in a pan/bowl/dish? I can't picture it being in a feeder, I imagine it would stick too much. On a related note what kind of feeders do you all prefer for dry feed? We are still using the mason jar style with metal bottom and oval openings. I think my ideal would be a wooden treadle but if we end up doing mostly fermented that seems silly. I did pick up two little burgundy plastic gravity feeders for rabbits at TSC today for their grit and oyster shells, they balance fine on the 4x4 but I know there is a way to secure them to the wire.

i have these...

http://www.amazon.com/Miller-Galvanized-Hanging-Poultry-Feeder/dp/B000VLFE6I/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1406767470&sr=8-8&keywords=feeder+chicken

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-Plastic-Hanging-PHF11/dp/B000HHLGP4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406767512&sr=8-1&keywords=feeder+chicken+plastic

I have both of these feeders. The galvanized hanging inside the coop and the plastic one on a short shepherd hook outside the coop but under an overhang so that it stays dry. I put dome covers on both because a few of the girls used to like to perch on the top edge of the feeder and you know what came from that. Yuck!

Good news. Boo, my all white EE finally laid her first egg. She is at least 24 weeks old (they don't give you the hatch date for started pullets). It's another beautiful green, slightly darker than Belle's.

 

[trsturself]

I don't have to give our girls grit since they have a large dirt run with plenty of pebbles to find, but I keep the oyster shell in a food dish from our old guinea pig cage. It's a little plastic dish that hooks on to the wire of the run. I like re-purposing stuff.

I'm still waiting for our young ones to start laying. Our oldest of the yougins are 22 weeks but one is a cochin and one an EE, both notorious for being later. Our Welsummer is the 3rd this age but she doesn't look close to laying at all. I hope I can tell when she lays. The other 2 I'll know for sure since they are bantams and lay different colored eggs than our other bantam, but the Welsummer could be similar to our cochin or BA egg (both of which can be pretty dark).
Our second set of youngins, silkie and another bantam cochin, are 20 weeks old, again more breeds that start laying later.
Our BLRW is 17 weeks, the BO is 12 weeks, and the CCL is 8 weeks, so we have a ways to go with them.

Our D'Uccle went broody a couple days ago! I haven't tried to break her of it. It's so cute how fluffy she gets and the little whirring noises she makes when we collect the eggs. We'll see how long she lasts. I'm not overly concerned about getting eggs from her so I'll give her awhile to come out of it herself. Too bad our rooster hasn't been able to do his business with the ladies yet... I'd stick some eggs under her.