New food, new treadle feeder, New headache. HELP!

MelTX

In the Brooder
6 Years
Oct 21, 2013
21
1
26
Beaumont, Texas
Okay so, I am new to chickens and if I am over thinking and over worrying, please tell me.

I have four hens (BBS Orpingtons and an EE) all between 12 and 17 wks. I used a PVC feeder for them using H&H feed from the time I got them at 8wks and the PVC feeder wasted a ton and basically fed the wild birds more than my hens.

I'm trying to wean the chicks off the H&H because while it is fabulous, it also requires me to drive 2 hrs to buy it. I want them on Texas Natural layer crumble eventually. Bought the grower pellets by mistake, crushed them up and wetted them to make a mash, the birds still won't hardly touch it.

Anyway, I bought a grandpa's treadle feeder to save on feed costs going to the squirrels and wild birds as well. I have it all propped open so they can start training and of course they won't go near it right now.

People keep saying "if they are hungry enough, they'll eat the new food. They won't let themselves starve." While I subscribe to that statement, here's the thing. My girls have a huge backyard to freerange in all day everyday. My coop is small and used only for roost. The backyard is FULL of st. Augustine grass, weed grasses, bugs, and such.

So since my girls are not in a bare earth run, they are not forced to be hungry or eat the new food. They'll just go fill up on grass and such and ignore the feed.

What should I do? Keep setting out the feed in the treadle feeder while they freerange and hope they'll eventually eat from it enough to train to use the treadle step?

I know fermenting is awesome and if I hadn't just slapped down $200 for this treadle feeder I'd do that. (I also want to be able to go an a vacation at some point too)

Ideas? Thoughts? Am I over thinking this? My girls are not underweight or anything but I don't want to screw up laying or have soft eggs or whatnot because they aren't getting the nutrient from the feed ration they need.
 
I think it is more difficult to train them on a treadle feeder if they are free ranged, especially if the range is productive like yours. If you have some of the H&H feed left you could mix it with the new feed until they get used to it. I found that helped when switching to a new brand of feed and they turned up their beaks at the new stuff. Did they give you instructions with the feeder on how to train your chickens to use it?
 
I think it is more difficult to train them on a treadle feeder if they are free ranged, especially if the range is productive like yours. If you have some of the H&H feed left you could mix it with the new feed until they get used to it. I found that helped when switching to a new brand of feed and they turned up their beaks at the new stuff. Did they give you instructions with the feeder on how to train your chickens to use it?

Yes the feeder comes with instructions. Basically you leave it propped open to get them used to feeding out of it and stepping the the treadle. After a week you move the bolts so the lid moves a little when they step on the treadle, getting them used to it's movement. Then after another week you should (if all goes well) be able to remove the bolts and let it close entirely.

Since I have 3 bags of H&H layer to be used, I'll mix it with the grower I have left and see if that entices them in. After that H&H is gone, they really need to be on the TX Natural.
 
(I also want to be able to go an a vacation at some point too)

What are your plans for the girls confinement wise while on vacation? Whatever you plan to do then, do it now. They will get hungry enough eat at some point, plus if you plan on leaving them alone it's better to have test runs while you are actually home than to go away and later find there was a problem with your setup.
I have a 5gal pail with a tbar trigger for feed and a 5gal pail with nipples for water. I go about two weeks without doing anything to either bucket as a regular habit so I would have no problem going away for a week and not worry about them. Since this is my normal method for feed and water I've worked out the bugs with both and have confidence that I would not come home to a crises.
 
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Ok, that training sequence is essentially what I recommend too. At what stage of training are they now? Will they walk up on the treadle and feed when the lid is fully propped open? One way to get them to eat out of it is put in some of their favorite things. Mine really like mealworms, but anything that they really like will work. You can even put it in a smaller container and put that inside the hopper opening to keep it from messing up the feed.
 
Ok, that training sequence is essentially what I recommend too. At what stage of training are they now? Will they walk up on the treadle and feed when the lid is fully propped open? One way to get them to eat out of it is put in some of their favorite things. Mine really like mealworms, but anything that they really like will work. You can even put it in a smaller container and put that inside the hopper opening to keep it from messing up the feed.

They're still at the beginning since I just put the feeder out yesterday. I have some meal worms so I may try tempting them with that this afternoon after work. And I will put their favorite food, the H&H that I have in there as well. I'll just have to deal witht he fact that while training and the lid is open full time, other birds will get in there too.
 
Yeah, there will be some loss of feed during training, but just think about the long run. It's amazing how much feed wild birds can eat, after using a treadle feeder I found that the wild birds were eating more than my chickens were. Enjoy your Grandpa's Feeder, I love the looks of it and I'll bet you'll be able to hand it down to your kids it'll last so long.
 

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