Treats and water question

[Patoot]

I have four 4mos old RIR girls. They are currently eating "Start and Grow" and when they finish this bag, I will switch to layer pellets.

For treats, I have been giving them yogurt, spinach, and tomatoes. They LOVE tomatoes!!!! I mean LOVE LOVE them. How much can they have? I bought a giant bag of black oil sunflower seeds (40lbs was the smallest they had) and the girls don't touch them. I thought they would love them based on what people have said on here. Do they not know what to do with them? I put some in their food dish and it seems to be gone, but it could just be buried in the shavings. Do I just keep trying? I have 39.5 lbs left!

For oatmeal, do I cook it or leave it dry? In general, how many treats can they have a day?

Lastly, the watering...I have tried to different methods and they still get shavings in the water very quickly. I want to switch to a hanging waterer and would like to spend less if possible. I am really interested in the nipple waterers. I have seen some people say it isn't effective and others love it. I only have 4 girls so would 1 be enough? I guess I could get 2 and have one outside and one inside. No biggie. I just want to make sure they get enough water from it. When I put the sprinklers on in the backyard, they run to the spigots and drink from there after they are shut off and just dripping so I think they would get the hang of it. Which is the best place to order from and which type of nipple?

Thanks for the help.

Bree

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hi Patoot, One thing that might help immediately with shavings in the water is to put your waterer up on a brick or cement block. That makes it harder to get shavings into the water. I think that most people love their nipple waterers. I'm hoping to love them but my birds use the waterers over the nipples every time. However, as soon as the weather cools, I'm going to switch over completely to nipples. There's a guy here, I think his name is Neil Grassbaugh? He sells them at competitive prices. Farmtek also sells them but shipping is high. Which ones you get (push in vs. threaded) will depend on what you're going to mount them in. I'm not sure if they could eat too many tomatoes. They'll eventually learn to like the BOSS, keep them available. Oatmeal: cooked or dry, your choice. You probably couldn't give them too many treats a day as long as they are different things. Make sure to keep the protein percentages up.

 

[Patoot]

Thanks. I'll look around for nipples. I did try their waterer up on cement bricks. That was my latest trick. There's less shavings in there, but still enough that it seems like there is not enough flowing water if that makes sense. Thanks. I'll keep up with the seeds and hope they "get" it soon.

Bree

 

[buildingmyark]

If you decide to go with the nipple waterers (which I STRONGLY suggest), know in advance that you may have to purchase a special-sized drill bit for drilling the holes. Not sure if that's the case for the push-ins, but pretty sure it's a must for the threaded ones. For four girls, I think 1 or 2 would be plenty. Good luck!