layer crumbles for chickens

[Timmy59]

Our chickens free roam 9 months of the year and eat very little feed, once the bugs are gone or a predator gets one they get put up.. We have 3 galvanized barrels, 1 for corn chops, 1 for dog food and 1 for pig feed.. The chickens get pig feed and corn chops while their put up..
Egg production goes down but I ain't adding another barrel.. Pigs, chickens and dogs all get appropriate scraps.. Pigs are fat, dog is happy only the near brainless birds cheat us on eggs..

 

[Annie]

Ergh, I should have been more clear. Chickens and ducks get pellets and leftover scratch from the quail. Quail get crumbles.

I set the quails' feeder inside a cardboard box that has been trimmed down ... The sides hold the crumbles they throw around from dropping through to the catch tray under the pen. When it gets too fine I toss the powder on top of the chickens' and ducks' feeders so I can increase their protein intake a bit. I throw in mealworms from time to time, too. Plus leftover greens and stuff for everybody. It's a HOOT watching the quail peck and squabble over salad greens. Lol

 

[Timmy59]

Ergh, I should have been more clear. Chickens and ducks get pellets and leftover scratch from the quail. Quail get crumbles.

I set the quails' feeder inside a cardboard box that has been trimmed down ... The sides hold the crumbles they throw around from dropping through to the catch tray under the pen. When it gets too fine I toss the powder on top of the chickens' and ducks' feeders so I can increase their protein intake a bit. I throw in mealworms from time to time, too. Plus leftover greens and stuff for everybody. It's a HOOT watching the quail peck and squabble over salad greens. Lol

Ima gonna need some quail at some point in time, had them many moons ago.. I need to hone my cleaning skills before shrinking to little birds.. I get greater enjoyment out of our animals than I do most people, you'd likely 2nd that too.. humans..

 

[Annie]

Ima gonna need some quail at some point in time, had them many moons ago.. I need to hone my cleaning skills before shrinking to little birds.. I get greater enjoyment out of our animals than I do most people, you'd likely 2nd that too.. humans..

I hear ya. Me, too. I finally shrunk down my coveys and put them in 30x36 rabbit pens -- 5 birds to a pen. Their waterers are set on top of old plastic take-out containers so they don't get too much feed, hay and poop in them; their feeders are in cardboard trays so they can still peck through the food they scatter and I can eventually dump it in the chickens' and ducks' feeders; and they have little grass rabbit huts they can get in and on top of.

The cardboard tray and grass hut give them places to get off the wire so I have no problems with bumblefoot at all. Plus, since I split them all up I've had no problems with aggression. They act like different birds.

There is a tray under the top pens, like with the rabbits. Clean-up takes me about a 45/60 minutes 3 times a week. The bottom row of pens don't have trays. I clean oit under them about once a week -- maybe every couple of it is cold. Blah -- and just dump it in the compost or spread it in the duck pen for them to pick through. It would take less if I didn't stop and play with and pet everyone. Lol Feeding and watering takes a half hour twice a day. I'll go out every couple of hours and check on everyone if it is freezing weather or really, really hot.

I need to put 4 more pens together for rabbit grow-outs and 2 more for quail grow-outs this spring. I'd also like to put permanent roofing over the pens. Like a pavillion kind of set-up. I thought about putting them in the shed 24/7/365 but they do fine in any weather as long as they have a windblock in the winter and shade in the summer. Oh and I will throw straw in their pens if it's gonna get really cold. They burrow like little gophers. Lol

 

[Timmy59]

I hear ya. Me, too. I finally shrunk down my coveys and put them in 30x36 rabbit pens -- 5 birds to a pen. Their waterers are set on top of old plastic take-out containers so they don't get too much feed, hay and poop in them; their feeders are in cardboard trays so they can still peck through the food they scatter and I can eventually dump it in the chickens' and ducks' feeders; and they have little grass rabbit huts they can get in and on top of.

The cardboard tray and grass hut give them places to get off the wire so I have no problems with bumblefoot at all. Plus, since I split them all up I've had no problems with aggression. They act like different birds.

There is a tray under the top pens, like with the rabbits. Clean-up takes me about a 45/60 minutes 3 times a week. The bottom row of pens don't have trays. I clean oit under them about once a week -- maybe every couple of it is cold. Blah -- and just dump it in the compost or spread it in the duck pen for them to pick through. It would take less if I didn't stop and play with and pet everyone. Lol Feeding and watering takes a half hour twice a day. I'll go out every couple of hours and check on everyone if it is freezing weather or really, really hot.

I need to put 4 more pens together for rabbit grow-outs and 2 more for quail grow-outs this spring. I'd also like to put permanent roofing over the pens. Like a pavillion kind of set-up.

Annie have you eaten any of the quail yet, how many would you and Grumpy eat at a sitting ? Have you pickled the eggs ? Do soak in vinegar for shell removal.. Ya have my interest perked here, now Ima gonna have to built some quail huts.. You have the large pharaoh quail ?

 

[Annie]

Annie have you eaten any of the quail yet, how many would you and Grumpy eat at a sitting ? Have you pickled the eggs ? Do soak in vinegar for shell removal.. Ya have my interest perked here, now Ima gonna have to built some quail huts.. You have the large pharaoh quail ?

I will eat one, maybe 2, if I'm hungry. Grumpy won't eat anything I have raised and butchered. Go figure. I harvested 20 when I first got this bunch raised up. All roos. I have 4 coveys now. 1 roo and 4 hens in each pen. And one pen with 3 hens.

I have pickled the eggs. I like them better than the bigger pickled eggs, like chicken or duck.

Nope. Don't use vinegar -- just boil for 4 minutes, drain and drop in a sink full of water and ice. All I have to do is pinch the big end off and slide a spoon between the egg and shell. It rolls right off.

I have jumbo coturnix ... Gonna pick up another batch of 40 from a different breeder this spring to feed out and mix into my single bloodline. I will probably do the same thing in year 3 and then I think I will have enough diversity for a few years. Maybe mix in new blood every 3-5 years after that, depending on how they do.

I keep hearing horror stories about how these pens are too tall and they are gonna fly up and break their necks but I've not lost a single bird to "flying". In fact, whenever one gets out they simply hop right to me. The little buggers have no idea how to fly -- and are too damned fat to, even if they knew how. Lol

 

[Timmy59]

Been researching them, I want the biggest as they'll be meat suppliers for the most part.. My lovely better half wouldn't likely take kindly to putting 20 eggs on my egg sandwich which I pack to work 5 days a week.. We (mom) had them some 30+ years ago and they didn't fly..(too fat) My hutches likely won't give them but around 12-16 inches of height.. We're getting serious about this homestead thing and have lots of dreams and plans.. I may end up contacting you at a later date for a JUMBO source, But housing comes 1st and winter slows my progress down... Thanks..

 

[slas]

I feed DuMOR 16% layer crumbles to my hens and get an egg a day from them almost every day.. of course there is always a hen after a few days that takes a day off.

I tried another brand from a feed store that was more calcium I think 18%. May have been 20%
It lasts me about a month for 50 lb bag and man the hens did not lay well on it at all.
I bet I 2 eggs a day instead of 6 and some days nothing.

I put them back on DuMOR and they began laying an egg a day.

It is on sale now for $13 a bag instead of the 14.49 they were getting..I know different tractor supply stores have different prices.

What do you feed your hens?
If I let mine eat scraps or roam in the yard to eat they will eat much less crumbles and egg production goes down.

Just bought some to try...cheaper than what my wife was buying.

 

[davek]

If you don't mind the greenish shell the Americaunas lay well in cold weather as long as there's enough light - 13 hours a day if I remember correctly.

 

[Gunbuffer]

I get no waste from my chicken feed any more.
I have 2 of the old Folgers steel coffee cans screwed down to a 3' X 3' piece of plywood that is on the coop floor.
I put their food in the cans but do not fill it to the top as you know they like to toss food.

Fill them 1/2 way or a tad more and all the food will stay in the cans when they eat.
And yes they can clean all the way to the bottom.
They can't scratch the food in the can.
At first I had one chicken sit in the can and try to eat. They are too big now and found that did not work well anyway.

I tried all kinds of things before the cans and nothing worked well.

If i go out of town I can fill the cans up and they are good for 4 days. Or add more cans for a longer trip.

What if it rains?
I use A hanging feeder with a rain guard I made, kinda looks like those covers on cattle licks