What type of feed do you provide?

[Lin Klein]

I feed dry crumbles and am starting to add in fermented crumbles. they also have a big "salad" every day with treats of meal worms, crickets, and scratch grains. The salad is a mixture of greens including dandelion greens, collard, kale, leaf lettuce, fruit, and veggies. They all come running to the gate when they see me coming with the salad bowl.

 

[black_dove2]

I should cook the carrots?
Is it because they're hard to eat raw or because there's something harmful?

I'm so sorry I didn't explain correctly.

I give them cooked or canned only because they don't like raw carrots. My dogs love them. They will eat raw broccoli but cauliflower only cooked. They love all kinds of corn. But I splinkle their feed in it as well.

 

[igorsMistress]

@peckpeckpeck you might try a suet cage to hold the greens. It seems to make it easier for my birds to nip off bite sized pieces because it holds the greens for them.

 

[peckpeckpeck]

@peckpeckpeck you might try a suet cage to hold the greens. It seems to make it easier for my birds to nip off bite sized pieces because it holds the greens for them.

Thanks! I'll give it a try!
@black_dove2
Ooh I hadn't even thought of broccoli or cauliflower. Also the picture is super helpful!

 

[black_dove2]

Thanks! I'll give it a try!
@black_dove2
Ooh I hadn't even thought of broccoli or cauliflower. Also the picture is super helpful!

I also feed from my 50/50 spring mix and add bean sprouts. Any thing from my salad and left overs feed and whatever bugs and lizards they catch

 

[rtowner]

My hens always have access to a dry pellet/crumble that I mix and keep in their coop. I let them out into a pastured area daily in the evenings, and will oftentimes throw a scoop of corn/seed out into the pasture. Changing them over to the pasture area, even for a few hours, has been a great improvement. We've noticed the yolks are darker and more flavorful.

 

[FlyWheel]

I didn't mean to get snippy either. My daughter is cutting her canine teeth, so I've been a little on edge because she's been crying so much and I can only do so much for her pain. So, sorry I was gruff. Anyway, back to the feed discussion. I felt that by the smell of the pellets I fermented, the bacteria was out of balance and that it wasn't what I was going for, plus the label showed that they added probiotic bacteria. I didn't want it to be too acidic for the girls and give them runny poop, as yogurt sometimes can. I decided instead, to just give it a good soaking, so I'm not inadvertently making yogurt in their pellets. If I am going to ferment feed, I should probably start with just whole grains, as you suggested, because they don't add probiotics to those. I'm positive it's just because of the brand of pellets I use, because not many people report getting that kind of smell when fermenting theirs.

Hmm. The feed I ferment has probiotics in it and they don't have any problem with diarrhea. After 48 hours it has developed a nice vinegary taste (I don't have a sense of smell, so I can't help there) and before their molt they would attack it like it was candied mealworms. They've settled down now and eat it more normally but the consistency of their stool is still no different than if they were eating it dry.

Nothing harmful, mine like them cooked not raw. Picky buggars.

Before I make a fool of myself, do you shred or grind the carrots or are they in chunks/pieces? Cooked carrots are softer.

Just a thought,

 

[dunnmom]

For those of you who have chickens that seem to turn their beaks up at raw vegetable kitchen scraps, I think I may have a solution. Mine did the same thing, until one day, someone suggested it was the size of the pieces they didn't like. I cut them smaller and smaller until it started getting dangerous for my fingers. Lol! Finally, I just gave them a whirl in my Ninja. They ate it up, no problems, no leftovers. So, you might consider putting scraps in your food processor, chopper, or blender, or whatever contraption you have. FlyWheel's post made me think to give that tip.

 

[igorsMistress]

Hmm. The feed I ferment has probiotics in it and they don't have any problem with diarrhea. After 48 hours it has developed a nice vinegary taste (I don't have a sense of smell, so I can't help there) and before their molt they would attack it like it was candied mealworms. They've settled down now and eat it more normally but the consistency of their stool is still no different than if they were eating it dry.

Before I make a fool of myself, do you shred or grind the carrots or are they in chunks/pieces? Cooked carrots are softer.

Just a thought,

I've done it all with carrots. The shredded really does work best because the pieces are small, or boil the fat ends so they're big enough to peck without flipping all over.

 

[ffibyar]

I have close to 70 girls and everyday at around 8/9am I turn the girls into alternating runs where there are plenty of bug, greens and berries to snack on. Around 11am I give them 3 to 4 big scoops of a 16% grain blend from Spencer Elevator. Around 12/1pm I turn them loose to feed in the pasture to finish off their day.