Snowy chicken experiment

[Folly's place]

I don't understand the 'meals' rather than free choice food all day, especially in winter.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

I don't understand the 'meals' rather than free choice food all day, especially in winter.
Mary

It can approximate what my free-range birds do with free-choice access to feeding stations. The birds come of roost, go to feeding station, feed up to top off crops, loaf for much of the day, feed up again, then go to roost with topped off crops. They feed in discrete bouts, especially when conditions are extreme. With observation, you can provide a ration split over two feedings that very closely approximates what they birds want or need. I generally provide excess for the AM feeding bout. You do have to listen to what your chickens say and be prepared to adjust feed allotment to compensate for need changes as they vary with weather.

Free-choice access does make so you do not have to think or adjust feeding allotments, but comes at price of higher feed costs greater pest management challenges.

 

[BantyChooks]

It can approximate what my free-range birds do with free-choice access to feeding stations. The birds come of roost, go to feeding station, feed up to top off crops, loaf for much of the day, feed up again, then go to roost with topped off crops. They feed in discrete bouts, especially when conditions are extreme. With observation, you can provide a ration split over two feedings that very closely approximates what they birds want or need. I generally provide excess for the AM feeding bout. You do have to listen to what your chickens say and be prepared to adjust feed allotment to compensate for need changes as they vary with weather.

Free-choice access does make so you do not have to think or adjust feeding allotments, but comes at price of higher feed costs greater pest management challenges.

The issue then is shy or young birds do not get their share.

 

[lazy gardener]

what really formed my opinion is the way they would peck my boots to get the snow off them, it's what really made the mans idea make sense to me. again thanks ya'll!

I'm glad you didn't feel attacked by all of this discussion. My birds also enjoy eating snow, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that I could not depend upon snow to meet their winter liquid needs.

 

[centrarchid]

The issue then is shy or young birds do not get their share.

Then you explore dispersion of feeders. Creep feeders can be scaled for chickens. I use overturned milk crates placed in corner of pen where chicks can get it but adults cannot. My larger pens allow small birds to squeeze through mesh into another area bounded by a tighter mesh. In that area, juveniles can avoid adults and feed can be managed separately without hassle of entering pen.

Where subordinates adults are involved, simply have more feeders and space them out and if need by, then block line of sight between feeders so subordinates can get their fill. There are times when half a dozen feeding stations are appropriate.

There are times when birds being consistently shorted need to be culled or placed in their own management units. This is my preferred route with broody hens and their broods, especially when I want 12 chicks to survive verses 8 per clutch.

 

[BantyChooks]

There are times when birds being consistently shorted need to be culled or placed in their own management units. This is my preferred route with broody hens and their broods, especially when I want 12 chicks to survive verses 8 per clutch.

That I will agree with.

You say it reduces feed cost. How? I highly doubt rodents are accessing feed during the day unless one has a bad issue with them and feed is locked up at night.

 

[centrarchid]

When we feed free-choice which I do from time to time, especially with chicks, you are much more likely to have feed left out overnight unless you police up feeders and place them in a rodent / rabbit proof location. Free-choice results in spillage which chickens often overlook so long as feed is in feeder setting stage for rodents to do cleanup over night on feed that again, does not go to chickens.

Rodents do feed during day, even when their abundance is low. It is just the impact of low rodent abundance is difficult to parse out with respect to feed bill.

 

[tigger19687]

My hens peck at my boots "dots", I have black boots with colorful dots all over them...... that doesn't mean they are eating the dots.
With that said, mine peck at the snow, but I don't think they are "eating" it. I think they are pecking at tiny things IN the snow. They are not standing in one spot eating the same spot.
Do i think they eat some snow, sure, by mistake. But then again I have silly stupid hens.


If left with absolutely NOTHING to drink in the Winter (up north) they will eat snow for the moisture. I just think by the time they finally get around to doing it (while waiting for water water) they will be behind the 8 ball and be dehydrated and not be able to catch up unless liquid water is available. Too many calories wasted, too cold outside, too much time eating snow and not enough food.

IMHO

 

[Folly's place]

Having animals in winter includes providing what they need, and that includes drinking water! IMO.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

My hens peck at my boots "dots", I have black boots with colorful dots all over them...... that doesn't mean they are eating the dots.
With that said, mine peck at the snow, but I don't think they are "eating" it. I think they are pecking at tiny things IN the snow. They are not standing in one spot eating the same spot.
Do i think they eat some snow, sure, by mistake. But then again I have silly stupid hens.


If left with absolutely NOTHING to drink in the Winter (up north) they will eat snow for the moisture. I just think by the time they finally get around to doing it (while waiting for water water) they will be behind the 8 ball and be dehydrated and not be able to catch up unless liquid water is available. Too many calories wasted, too cold outside, too much time eating snow and not enough food.

IMHO

With free-choice access to snow and sometimes even clear ice, they will eat a couple bites of a dry food item then a couple bites of the frozen water mixing it up as they go. The bites are really small but they add up to crop fill fairly quickly. If they are consuming a lot of high moisture fair like in late winter, then interest in frozen water subsides. During those periods, interest liquid water also goes way down even though it is very easy to consume.

In contrast like now when ground is frozen solid and plants are getting dry from drought, interest in free (not as moisture in something else) water, regardless of being frozen or not is way up. Just snow I popped birds with some grower and they had to move back and forth between the feeder and waterer with little breaks between the stops. Another group getting seeds (corn, BOSS, milo and oats) were not inclined to visit waterer.

Tomorrow soaked oat applications s will be started and placed in individual water bowls. The soaked oats have higher moisture content, are relatively easy to chip off with beak, and make so actual liquid water is available at somewhat lower temperatures, especially if sun is shining.