Scratch & Peck - anyone NOT ferment it?

[ChickenHawk12]

My almost-7-week-old chicks (5 of them) are still in the house in a brooder (my dad, who volunteered to build the coop for us, is still trying to finish it up). I went through 35 pounds of chick feed in less than 6 weeks, because all the stuff they didn't "want" was going to waste. So, I started fermenting the feed while they were still in the brooder. I put it in the mason jar feeder's dish (without the mason jar) and put the cover with the holes on. That's the only way it doesn't get all over them.

But I'm not really liking fermenting. It's kind of a p.i.t.a and a bit messy. And although supposedly FF makes their poop less smelly, I feel like it's MORE smelly and wetter and grosser. Is that just because they are still in the brooder and getting too big for it?

We are hoping to have the coop done in the next 1-2 days and move them out there (even though the run isn't done, I'm hoping they will be safe enough in the back yard with our 6-foot fence for a few weeks until we can get the run done), because they just can't stay in here anymore.

I don't know of any other way to reduce waste and make sure they get all the nutrients from the powder, aside from fermenting, so I guess I'm just wondering if
A)Using FF will be better once they are outside,
B)If there is a "best" feeder setup to reduce the yuck, or
C)Is there another, easier way to reduce waste and get them to eat all the powder when feeding S&P (I'm guessing there isn't)

Thanks for helping out the newb!

 

[barkinghills]

I have fed Scratch and Peck in the past, and I just moistened mine with water right before feeding it. I stirred in enough water to moisten it and have all the powder adhere to the rest, kind of a crumbly consistency. Not too wet and not too dry. I can't be bothered to ferment, so this worked just fine for me.

You'll be so happy once they are outside! I can't imagine having chickens that big in the house.

 

[pdirt]

Because they're getting bigger everyday AND they're still indoors in a brooder at 7-weeks old, they are going to stink. It's easy to keep up on the poop when they're 10 days old, but not so easy when they're as old as yours are.

My experience (which has been only about 3-4 hatches of chicks) has been that when they are still chicks (less than 18 weeks old), their digestive tracts and intestinal flora are still getting going and their poo tends to be messier and stinkier than adult chickens.

We feed Scratch n Peck, too. Most of their feed is fed plain and dry, though I do ferment some of it (about 20% of their diet). A good feeder design can make all the difference in terms of feed getting wasted. Our birds do have their choice bits they eat first, but I don't refill the feeder until it is empty, or nearly empty. They may eat their choice bits first, but they do eat the rest of it when there is nothing else to eat.

NOT getting feed on the ground, which will attracts rodents, is important. I cut out a thin wooden plate (1/4" thick plywood) with holes in it and placed it inside our treadle feeder...this has eliminated their ability to sift and bill through the feed, shoveling feed onto the ground. See the photo below. I've since updated the wooden plate to make the center holes bigger, but we used what you see in the image below for nearly a year with little trouble.

I haven't tried it, but I know a lot of folks have been happy with the "make your own no-waste feeder for $3" feeder, it's usually one of the topics near the top of the list under the "Feeding & Watering your Flock" forum (the forum you're currently in).

For feeding fermented feed (sorry no pic yet), I cut a 3-foot length of vinyl rain gutter (don't use galvanized metal, it will corrode with FF) and put wooden stands on it. I scoop the FF into the trough and they gobble it all up. I don't feed them much more than they can eat in about 15 minutes. The wooden stands I *just* added, but I just laid for gutter on the ground for months and that worked just fine as well. The trough is also a good feeder for feeding kitchen scraps from rather than just throwing them on the ground.

Homemade wooden treadle feeder with "feed plate" to eliminate billing: