[Selkie]

just a quickie to say that i've tried making a warm mash out of the layers' pellets (with added bits and pieces) like aunt sally mentioned (i can't find the post, sorry) and the hens LOVE it.  lots of excited rosey

think i'll do it as a saturday treat for them from now on

[richyrich7]

Yes  they love it don't they, mine have just had their saturday treat  :evil:  they've just eaten my OH auricula's !  :shock:

[muntjac]

take 2 pints barley 2 pints wheat .1pint maize .dried peas or anything else you fancy that good for them .. mix it together in a bucket .now go and blitz it in your food blender till its a rough mash .no whole seed .watch it as it gets warm .. then put it in a damp prooof container n feed that every couple days mixed with warm water  to a stiff porridge you need to gauge how much the birds you have will eat depending on numbers ,clean up at the end tha day whats left and bin until you know how much to make  

[ssatt44]

Hey Munty, that sounds like the grain mix I give the mule! To keep from buying a 2nd bag of grain, I let the kids share the COB (corn oat barley). The actual mix is barley,corn then oats with no molasses in it. You can soak the grain overnight in buttermilk and active yogurt. It is a great calcium pick me up and great for the feathers and their insides. I got this from a national level silkie breeder. I think she gives it twice a month.

sharon in az

[Selkie]

take 2 pints barley 2 pints wheat .1pint maize .dried peas or anything else you fancy that good for them .. mix it together in a bucket .now go and blitz it in your food blender till its a rough mash .no whole seed .watch it as it gets warm .. then put it in a damp prooof container n feed that every couple days mixed with warm water  to a stiff porridge

but aunt sally's method is so much easier for those of us who only have a couple of pet hens!

[agapanthus]

Yes  they love it don't they, mine have just had their saturday treat  :evil:  they've just eaten my OH auricula's !  :shock:

Oh dear Rich!  :cry:  

[muntjac]

take 2 pints barley 2 pints wheat .1pint maize .dried peas or anything else you fancy that good for them .. mix it together in a bucket .now go and blitz it in your food blender till its a rough mash .no whole seed .watch it as it gets warm .. then put it in a damp prooof container n feed that every couple days mixed with warm water  to a stiff porridge

but aunt sally's method is so much easier for those of us who only have a couple of pet hens!

 but you only make enough to feed ya hens you just make enough of the base to make it werth while  

 mules will eat anything anyways .     .. fame at last with the national team ....   again  ssat

[ssatt44]

no No NO!!! They are as picky as my @#$% 260 lb goat! The old man I lost last year at 30yrs old  :cry:  would NOT touch sweet feed, hated lucern, only ate grass hay. Trying to keep weight on him was a nightmare. The goat is real picky, if the water is just a little dirty (geese/chickens) he won't drink. Any feed that falls is lost as he won't eat it. Yes I did say 260 lbs. I'm 5'4" and he can look me in the eye. Good thing he's so sweet. I was told he's trained to pack and drive but I've never tried it. Mr Toad's wild ride LOL

sharon in az

 mules will eat anything anyways .     ..

[muntjac]

lol but we had a couple many years ago dumped on us by gypsies and they would eat everything throw at them .theyw oul strip hawthorn trees of the browse .old hay n starw was a snack .ma's veg patch was decimated on more than one occasion .i remember we had a job growing turnips for  brocklesbury 's farm at .oh lord brocklesbury .and they jumped the fence and nigh on tromped n cleared a couple allotment sized lumps ,, they had stomachs bigger than they was wide lol ..... manure was an uneeded thing them few days after  :roll:

[ssatt44]

Yall sure them wernt burros?  My old burro years ago looooved dry tumble weeds thorns and all but only dry, not green

sharon in az

[muntjac]

horse n donkey crosses ?

[ssatt44]

mule or hinney....half-assed either way


sharon in az

[muntjac]

yups .. blody strong things tho  :shock:

[Aunt Sally]

but aunt sally's method is so much easier for those of us who only have a couple of pet hens!

It is simple,  I'm using some layers mash at the moment but I usually use layers pellets.  I mix them up with enough boiling water to make a porridge, and Munty's suggested quantities are perfect.  5 parts mash or pellets to 3 parts boiling water.  I add to this any bits and bobs I think they need:  poultry boost (vitamins), poultry spice, finely crushed oyster shell, meal worms (just a few).  At the moment I'm adding some, vitamins, minerals and cat food for extra protein as Hattie is like a porcupine having moulted heavily.

[ssatt44]

Do you get "fishy"  flavored eggs? A concern that's kept me from trying this.

sharon in az

 cat food for extra protein