Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: power_of_p3 on September 21, 2009, 11:41
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No, I don't want to cook them in it :tongue2: lol
Was just wondering whether, when I boild up the spud peelings, parsnips whatever, I could use the stock from it either in their water every once in a while or soak the layers pellets in it to add back any nutrition thats been lost or just to give them extra?
If I did, do you think they'd drink it? Or might it tast too strange for them?
BB ~~jo~~
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I would suggest that you do not soak the pellets in the water, as if the pellets go mouldy then this is a major major problem. Drinking it I cant see a problem. But why not when preparing the veg, boil up the trimmings, spud peal and all and left over veg and feed that to the chucks.
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Hi roughlee,
That's what I do, it's all the leftover veg and peelings form the meals we eat. And by soaking them I don't mean a whole load, i mean just enough for that meal tha tI am preparing right at that second. The food won't be round long, not even an hour with ours lol :) shall try them with a little in their water next time i boil it up.
BB ~~jo~~
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I pressure cook all peelings in water for our girls and add dry porrage oats to soak up the water thats left. You can add cake, bread not too much, years ago I added layers mash. It was all gone in a flash the girls loved the cooked meals. Good for winter warm tummys.
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power_of_p3 how often do you feed them? Do you leave feed down for them all the time?
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Hi roughlee,
they have a couple handfuls of food left in the feeder for a few hours, and peelings and bits twice a day. the odd spinach leaf, tomato when i'm down there. Am I not feeding them enough with them eating it so quickly?
BB ~~jo~~
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Chickens are not like Cats or Dogs, they are more like cows and horse, with the way they eat. Chickens graze and have to have feed all the time they will not get fat if you are feeding them layers pellets.
I have a
(http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/12kg_feeder.jpg)
It can handle 12 Kg's of feed. I fill it and leave it. (the hat is important stops feed getting wet)
I do have 13 chucks though.
(http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/3kg_raincover.jpg)
You can get these from
flytesofancy.co.uk
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Hiya,
Yeah I have one of those at the bottom, but without a hat as they are under cover anyway. They do always have feed in it, I was worried about over feeding them. So having this with plenty of feed in it throughout the day is ok then?
I only have four so like I said I only put about four handfuls in at anyone time and always fill it up if it looks like it's beginning to empty and I don't know when I will next go to them. Plus I throw a little bit of mixed seed on the ground for them to scrat for cause they havea barked area to do so in.
BB ~~jo~~
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ANy stock, veggie or otherwise, will have too much salt in it for them. Not good. :unsure:
And as Roughlee says, they should have enough pellets available so that there are some left over at the end of the day. A very rough guide is around 100-125g of pellets per hen per day if I remember rightly. :)
Rob 8)
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Ok Rob,
N ot to sound funny but it's just water with the veg boiled in it. Surely if I just gave them raw peelings (obviously not the potato) that would have the same salt content as the boiled water that I boiled the veggies in? Hmmm
BB ~~jo~~
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Boiling can concentrate any salts (natural or otherwise) due to evaporation.
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Good point from both sides :D
As a non-cook, I can't really coment further. I'll leave it to the experts to debate. :)
Rob 8)
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Thanks Rob stir the * and run. Great. >:( :lol:
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Hey,
just an interesting point I found out last night. I decided to weigh out 125g of pellets to see if I was feeding them about right, which I am :)
But anyways, I put the feed ina milk bottle and it usually lasts me 3-5 days, (depending on whether I fill it right up). But what I did last night was I weighed out 450g (i have four birds) which is about a days worth of feed and put it into the bottle to mark it as a days feed and guess what...didn't even need to mark it...if you fill a 4pint milk carton to the top it's enough feed for four birds for four days...the pint mark if one day.
Just thought I would tell peeps, so that those starting out have a good rough guide if they have four birds too.
Thanks for the advice anyways guys, not sure I'll try the veggie water them but worht asking.
Oh, didn't really want to start a new thread for this one but I was just wondering if I have cider vinegar for cooking whether I could perhaps make it into apple cider vinegar by adding apples, (cause they contain the tannin right) and then letting it ferment for a few weeks or something, then it would have the roughage in it that make the unrefined apple cider good right?
Just a thought...I'm full of them lol
BB ~~jo~~
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Very useful tip there about the milk bottle. :)
As for the ACV. Id go and buy some. Might be easier :D
Rob 8)
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Two things I would like to make you aware of
..........I put the feed ina milk bottle ...if you fill a 4pint milk carton to the top it's enough feed for four birds for four days...the pint mark if one day.........
Different chicken feed will be different size pellets and therefore will fill up your milk carton to different points. There are lots of different size and shape milk bottles/cartons. 125g is an average guide and some larger chickens and breeds will need more or less feed, in winter they will need more feed and also when they are moulting.
Give the chickens a weeks feed at a time and check it daily. Chickens will not get fat on layers mash or pellets, they only get fat on treats ie corn or meal worms.
.....Oh, didn't really want to start a new thread for this one but I was just wondering if I have cider vinegar for cooking whether I could perhaps make it into apple cider vinegar by adding apples, (cause they contain the tannin right) and then letting it ferment for a few weeks or something, then it would have the roughage in it that make the unrefined apple cider good right?....
Are you trying to get your chickens drunk? As poultrygeist says Id go and buy some. Might be