Thank you all SOOOOOO much for so many helpful tips!!!!
Thankfully, the feed guy got back to me today, and I am coincidentally going to be within 30 minutes of him tomorrow, so I will be able to swing by and pick it up.
I am in NJ, and Scratch & Peck has free shipping now, which I have done before. It was very easy, but took almost 2 weeks, and this local guy has 40 lb bags for the price of 25 lb bags directly from S&P. I guess I just have to make sure I order well in advance from him next time!
I have 5 12-week old chicks, which will likely be just enough to supply my family of 4 with eggs. I grew up a bit "crunchy" (for suburban/urban NJ), but we are trying to step up our crunchiness a bit
I prefer to avoid crumbles and pellets if I can because of the extra things that are done before consumption. Even though it's not that much, I prefer as whole as possible, because we are eating the eggs. I haven't even felt comfortable giving them yogurt or bread or anything like that, although they don't seem to care much for "treats" like fruit or vegetable pieces (with the exception of the peach I gave them the other day). And I had a problem with waste in the brooder, but quickly remedied that when I got them outside and started using a hanging feeder. I fill it in the morning, and it's empty by night with no waste. When they go into the coop at night, I take the feeder inside and refill and hang it when I let them out in the morning. Yes, they leave the powder for last, but I've figured out almost exactly how much they will eat each day, and they eat it all.
I let them free in the yard the entire day today so I could stretch the feed until tomorrow. I'll have a bunch of poop to clean off my deck and walkways, but I should have enough to get me through until tomorrow when I get the feed.
Thanks again for all the help, everyone!!!!! That was awesome
