The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[hennible]

I'm either going to switch to dry for the winter or try putting my feeders on a heated base...

 

[hoosiercheetah]

@hoosiercheetah


Yes.  It freezes.  And quite solid in the feeder.

Last several years I used a flat heat base made from the heating element from a heated dog bowl and used pyrex pie pans (which are shallow) set on top of those heat bases to feed from.  If you want to see them I can send you a pm...they're easy to make.


Otherwise, you could approach feeding by just putting out a little in the morning and a little in the evening and hopefully they will learn to eat what they need quickly before it freezes.

I am considering only feeding the wet feed in the late afternoon and not heating it this year.  Haven't totally made up my mind on that.[COLOR=FF0000]  If I do that I would have the dry feed with a bit of lard stirred in available for the daytime which wouldn't freeze then feed wet when I get home from work. [/COLOR]

My problem has been that I go to work before the sun is up in the winter and if I put out the wet feed in the morning before I go to work, it will be frozen before they get off the roost in the morning.  So if I don't put a heater under it, they can't eat it in the morning. 

Anyhow...just contemplating on whether I really want to run the heaters again this year.

I'm in the same boat with feeding times. Sounds like a lot to consider. I'll have to turn it over a few times.

 

[lalaland]

@hoosiercheetah

Yes. It freezes. And quite solid in the feeder.

Last several years I used a flat heat base made from the heating element from a heated dog bowl and used pyrex pie pans (which are shallow) set on top of those heat bases to feed from. If you want to see them I can send you a pm...they're easy to make.


Otherwise, you could approach feeding by just putting out a little in the morning and a little in the evening and hopefully they will learn to eat what they need quickly before it freezes.

I am considering only feeding the wet feed in the late afternoon and not heating it this year. Haven't totally made up my mind on that. If I do that I would have the dry feed with a bit of lard stirred in available for the daytime which wouldn't freeze then feed wet when I get home from work.

My problem has been that I go to work before the sun is up in the winter and if I put out the wet feed in the morning before I go to work, it will be frozen before they get off the roost in the morning. So if I don't put a heater under it, they can't eat it in the morning.

Anyhow...just contemplating on whether I really want to run the heaters again this year.

"My problem has been that I go to work before the sun is up in the winter and if I put out the wet feed in the morning before I go to work, it will be frozen before they get off the roost in the morning. So if I don't put a heater under it, they can't eat it in the morning."

yup thats my problem, freezing, and then last spring with what one thing and another I never got back to FF, in spring just fed wet or overnight soaked.

 

[armorfirelady]

@hoosiercheetah


Yes.  It freezes.  And quite solid in the feeder.

Last several years I used a flat heat base made from the heating element from a heated dog bowl and used pyrex pie pans (which are shallow) set on top of those heat bases to feed from.  If you want to see them I can send you a pm...they're easy to make.


Otherwise, you could approach feeding by just putting out a little in the morning and a little in the evening and hopefully they will learn to eat what they need quickly before it freezes.

I am considering only feeding the wet feed in the late afternoon and not heating it this year.  Haven't totally made up my mind on that.[COLOR=FF0000]  If I do that I would have the dry feed with a bit of lard stirred in available for the daytime which wouldn't freeze then feed wet when I get home from work. [/COLOR]

My problem has been that I go to work before the sun is up in the winter and if I put out the wet feed in the morning before I go to work, it will be frozen before they get off the roost in the morning.  So if I don't put a heater under it, they can't eat it in the morning. 

Anyhow...just contemplating on whether I really want to run the heaters again this year.

I'm in the same boat with feeding times. Sounds like a lot to consider. I'll have to turn it over a few times.

LM haven't you used the heated dog bowls before? I put a glass bowl with the ff in it in the heated dog bowl. It never froze last year. And I can bring the bowl in to clean it from time to time. The bowls shut off when temps are above freezing.

Next year I'd like for it to be on solar power of I can.

 

[lalaland]

oh yeah, so far everyone seems ok. Molting, and the two sulmtalers just started molting this morning. They are big fluffy white/gold birds, and this morning when they flew off the roost it looked like a snow storm. I think they are gonna molt hard hard hard. Just hope it is fast because cold weather is coming. its already below freezing at night.

 

[hennible]

LM haven't you used the heated dog bowls before? I put a glass bowl with the ff in it in the heated dog bowl. It never froze last year. And I can bring the bowl in to clean it from time to time. The bowls shut off when temps are above freezing.

Next year I'd like for it to be on solar power of I can.

I wonder if that would work with my feeder. What temps did it get you through? That or a heated base... Maybe heat tape, but I worry about the fact that the bucket is plastic....
Any use use those cookie tin heaters? Would they work for five gallons? Under one of these?

 

[Lacy Blues]

oh yeah, so far everyone seems ok. Molting, and the two sulmtalers just started molting this morning. They are big fluffy white/gold birds, and this morning when they flew off the roost it looked like a snow storm. I think they are gonna molt hard hard hard. Just hope it is fast because cold weather is coming. its already below freezing at night.

Be sure to increase their animal based protein for feather regrowth.

Dry cat food is one possibility. You could also toss a bit of leftover hamburger or whatever you have every couple days. Raw is fine.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have too many thoughts.

I think I'm going to go back to FF. Great choice in November in Indiana, right? Does FF keep itself above freezing?

I think about heated water bowls, but I think I shouldn't need them if I just rotate waterers in the morning and afternoon. I don't know which would be simpler.

I think FF sounds like more work than topping up the dry feeders once a week. I want the benefits, but it has to fit into my daily routine, and there isn't a lot of time in the mornings.

I think I have to find a FF routine that works for me, so I can stay with it.

I think my dog is still the laziest animal I've ever met.

I think I lost my nail clippers. I don't know how women with serious nails can type. Mine are only slightly longer than normal, and it's driving me nuts.

I think I can't wait for my new chicks to get here. December is too far away.

I think I have a lot of work to do do be ready for them. December is coming on too quickly.

I think deer season is half over and I haven't fired a weapon wince last year, or maybe longer. I think I'm going to miss it again.

I think I'd rather be raising Cornish Rocks than freezing my tukkas off in an oak tree on the off chance that 50 lbs of venison will wander by.

I think it's weird that I'd rather be a farmer than a hunter. I would never have thought that about myself. I always wondered who I'd be in the Little House books. I think I'd be the guy two farms over from Pa, raising a herd of dairy cattle and trying to convince everyone in Walnut Grove that goats grown on fermented feed taste better than open-ranged beef.

I think I didn't get enough sleep last night.

I think that's all.

I think that you think like I think. Lots of thoughts going in lots of different directions. Perhaps a little more caffeine to allow the body to catch up to the brain, or perhaps a little less caffeine to get the sleep that we all covet. Then again, why try to fix a wonderful thing? With so many thoughts, we'll never get bored! Oh, look, a squirrel!

Re: FF routine: I think mine is as simple as it can possibly get. I rotate 2 containers, with each one holding enough FF for a day. Every morning, I grab a bucket of FF and go out and dump it into their dish. (I'm using a 14" taco and salsa dish from the dollar store: it has a moat around the outside for the tacos, and a well in the middle for the salsa) This dish is big enough that they can all get around it to feed without too much bickering. Then, in the late afternoon, depending on how their crops look, I give them some dry pellets. You could just reverse the procedure: dry in the morning, and FF in the afternoon/evening.

 

[armorfirelady]

oh yeah, so far everyone seems ok.  Molting, and the two sulmtalers just started molting this morning.  They are big fluffy white/gold birds, and this morning when they flew off the roost it looked like a snow storm.  I think they are gonna molt hard hard hard.  Just hope it is fast because cold weather is coming. its already below freezing at night.

My 2 oldest hens are molting hard now also. They don't even like to come out to eat at night because of the cold winds. Today I had my mom distract the others so I could give the other 2 a plate of eggs with some chick food mixed in. They ate happily. They got some left over turkey & chicken wings to. You can see then new feathers coming in so any day now I hope they get a little more covered up. I do have to say they look kind of silly when the feathers around their eyes molt

We are having temps below freezing at night and are auppose to get an arctic blast this week. I really need to get the food dishes out and in place.

 

[lalaland]

lacyblue, I have them on 18% protein and I've been adding minced raw liver or brewers yeast or scrambled eggs etc every few days.

I'm not really prepared yet for snow - we have maybe a foot or so forecast beginning tomorrow night.

I still want to block off under the coop a bit more on the north side, and add a little more wind protection on the west side. Also want to add in a second heated water bowl . Always a little adjustment as the season and the flock sizes change - to figure out how much water, etc. I already miss the summer when all you had to do was have multiple water sources and multiple feed bowls and not worry.

Now, closer quarters+fewer choices = a little more squabbling = stress= less than optimal health.