Melinda29
Hatching
- Mar 19, 2015
- 5
- 0
- 7
Hi everyone!
I am brand new to BYC, but not to chickens. I need some help with my latest batch of babies, though!
I just heard about fermenting feed and definitely wanted to go that route this time. We have a mix of roasters and layers that were hatched on Friday. On Saturday, I mixed their starter feed with water to ferment. On Sunday, it was a gloppy mess, the consistency of yogurt, even after it had been strained. But I figured the brand of starter I bought here must be ground more finely than most or something....
I gave it to them on Sunday morning in one of those small round plastic feeders with little holes all the way around, that you screw a jar on top. It was labeled as a chick feeder.
On Sunday night, I checked and one chick had fallen through a hole and was trapped under the jar for I don't know how long. She was almost dead, but we nursed her back to health. I took the jar off and left the base since it seemed like that was the problem, but Monday morning, another chick had gotten trapped and was dead. I don't understand. I tried giving them the fermented feed in a pie plate, but they waded through it, got covered it it, started picking at each other to eat it, ugh! It was a huge mess. I keep looking at other chick feeders to try, but think, "Nope, they could get trapped in that one, too."
I don't understand why this isn't working. I'm not sure if it is the feeder itself, or the fact that the food was wet and stuck to them so they got too heavy to climb out, or both....
What do you use? Do you just wait until they are bigger to start giving fermented food? HELP!!!
I am brand new to BYC, but not to chickens. I need some help with my latest batch of babies, though!
I just heard about fermenting feed and definitely wanted to go that route this time. We have a mix of roasters and layers that were hatched on Friday. On Saturday, I mixed their starter feed with water to ferment. On Sunday, it was a gloppy mess, the consistency of yogurt, even after it had been strained. But I figured the brand of starter I bought here must be ground more finely than most or something....
I gave it to them on Sunday morning in one of those small round plastic feeders with little holes all the way around, that you screw a jar on top. It was labeled as a chick feeder.
On Sunday night, I checked and one chick had fallen through a hole and was trapped under the jar for I don't know how long. She was almost dead, but we nursed her back to health. I took the jar off and left the base since it seemed like that was the problem, but Monday morning, another chick had gotten trapped and was dead. I don't understand. I tried giving them the fermented feed in a pie plate, but they waded through it, got covered it it, started picking at each other to eat it, ugh! It was a huge mess. I keep looking at other chick feeders to try, but think, "Nope, they could get trapped in that one, too."
I don't understand why this isn't working. I'm not sure if it is the feeder itself, or the fact that the food was wet and stuck to them so they got too heavy to climb out, or both....
What do you use? Do you just wait until they are bigger to start giving fermented food? HELP!!!
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