'Slow Feeding' birds to keep them from scarfing down food + to encourage foraging

[katefollot]

They'll be going back into pens soon as I have grass to plant, but I'm curious if anyone has used any feeder that slows down how much/how easily they can eat in order to encourage foraging. I've been dumping feed, they inhale it, and then they go back to foraging eventually. Due to my own health things, it would be really nice if the food could just be there and me not have to worry about it every day. Or have to shoo them out of the way while I'm on my way down to their pen, the entire flock screeching the whole way down of course.

I'm used to horse management, so I'm still trying to figure out the easiest way to keep all the birds happy and not utterly drain my wallet and my own energy in the process.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

As long as they aren't dumping/wasting feed, apparently they are hungry. Chickens are voracious eaters. If you don't provide a complete chicken feed during waking hours, they'll eat something. I'd rather they eat a nutritionally complete ration rather than bedding, feces, etc..

 

[katefollot]

As long as they aren't dumping/wasting feed, apparently they are hungry. Chickens are voracious eaters. If you don't provide a complete chicken feed during waking hours, they'll eat something. I'd rather they eat a nutritionally complete ration rather than bedding, feces, etc..

Yeah, with our horses we use slow feed hay nets so they never get too worked up about food just because they can slowly eat some any time they want. It's not wild panic when it's feeding time. They free range over many acres 24/7 atm as we have Livestock Guardian Dogs, I'm not thinking about doing this kind of restriction with them in their pens where they would be forced to eat bedding or feces or anything.

Honestly I think it's mainly the ducks that are a wee much. The chickens seems to be able to pace themselves to some extent, ducks, not so much. Desperately wish we had a pond so they could dabble all day. And I need to fashion some chicken wire covered feed pans so I can leave feed out that the dogs won't eat. (the chickens love the horse and dog feed, the dogs love the bird and horse feed, given the chance the horses will chow down on the poultry feed, it's a bloody disaster. they love their own feed too, but it's a party every day I go out and feed everyone.)

 

[Percheron chick]

There is very little to forage for this time of year. I typically go through twice the feed in the winter. If cut back, they lay around 50% so not worth it for me. Do you give them hay? Try placing a small square in the run and dump a few #s of scratch on top. Rub it I to the bale. That should keep them busy.

 

[lazy gardener]

What is your feed conversion rate? How many birds, how long does a bag of feed last?

 

[katefollot]

There is very little to forage for this time of year. I typically go through twice the feed in the winter. If cut back, they lay around 50% so not worth it for me. Do you give them hay? Try placing a small square in the run and dump a few #s of scratch on top. Rub it I to the bale. That should keep them busy.

Our temps went back up about a month ago. We had a couple weeks of very cold weather (between 0 and 20), then temps started crawling back up. The flies are back, the grass is growing, and it was 75 a few days ago. I'm excited about the grass at least. I'm probably going through about the same amount of feed as I did in summer as they were penned due to the precarious grass situation (they of course think I sprout it for them). I definitely need to try the hay thing, that's a great idea.

 

[Folly's place]

My chicken feed is in their coop, and it's kept full, and is unavailable to anyone else. Unlike horses or dogs, chickens won't overeat their balanced ration, and will still be happy to forage when ranging.
I feed the horses their pellets before the chickens are out of their coop to free range, so they don't get the horse's pellets.
The dogs eat indoors and aren't out in anyone else's feed!
My birds come running if I call them for a treat, but otherwise, they have feed and aren't mobbing me.
Mary

 

[BantyChooks]

I toss their feed on the ground in summer, always have. It keeps them busy and scratching—and it helps the feed bill.

 

[katefollot]

What is your feed conversion rate? How many birds, how long does a bag of feed last?

About 50lbs a week with 10 ducks and 14 chickens. Which I think is about right. It's a 16% layer feed. I'm still pretty new to this and figuring out what feeder and form of feed works best for everyone with our set up.

 

[katefollot]

Our LGD's are outside 24/7 as it's there job to protect everyone. So keeping them out of everyone's feed when I only have polywire and not traditional stock fencing is an issue. Birds are out all the time so I tend to run down and dump their feed then run back up and grab the horses buckets from the house and then run back down and dump their feed. I tie one of the dogs and the other dog has a perimeter up by the house so we have peace for a short time while the vast majority of the food is eaten.

I think I'm going to be trying a combination of chicken wire/other type of wire over shallow feed pans with some hay or straw in them and for the ducks just wetting down the feed/hopefully fermenting sometime soon.