very confused about feeding

leebou · « **on:** April 15, 2009, 20:17 »

hi all, well the run and coup is now finished getting a good airing before the girls arrive next month.i have been reading alot about feeding and am very confused hope you can shed some light on this.I have seen layers pellets being used in a feeder filled up so the birds can graze on them all day but on my layers pellets bag it says to feed ad lib which i interpret as now and then when needed.I didnt want to really feed to many pellets as i have heard the eggs will taste exactly like the ones in the supermarket and i should feed more scraps and corn treats to get a lovely traditional egg taste which we have lost over the years.Please help im very confused.
Lee

Jane-M · « **Reply #1 on:** April 15, 2009, 21:20 »

Ad lib means having the pellets out so the birds can have them whenever they want - the other method is to weigh the ration each day and only give them what you reckon they need. I think this is about 125 gm for a large fowl - others will correct me if not.

My girls have layers pellets available all day, they get green stuff too as their run is bald. Last thing in the evening they get corn, a little tiny handful each scattered in the run litter so they have to scratch for it. They only get treats about once a week at this time of year, they get more in the winter.

Any help?

leebou · « **Reply #2 on:** April 15, 2009, 21:26 »

aaah ok thanks jane it means let the chickens take the feed ad lib but thats not what it says on the bag it says feed adlib.Do you find the eggs taste like any other egg or do they taste better.I have been reading the re print of keeping poultry and rabbits on scraps.
Thanks for your help
Lee

nicchick · « **Reply #3 on:** April 15, 2009, 21:40 »

We let ours have layers pellets all day and as many greens as we can get hold of - loads on the allotment! Small treat of corn as suggested before. Sometimes maggots as we have a girl with a crop problem and some natural yoghurt. 99 percent is layers pellets and as my mate said recently the eggs are absolutely blooming lovely! I think it's the freshness that makes a difference, the ones in the supermarket are old. They are like us really, they need the good healthy stuff like pellets and greens in abundance and the treaty stuff in small amounts as treats. Hope this helps, your own eggs will always be the best eggs you have ever tasted, Nic.

smiler43 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 15, 2009, 22:12 »

Mine have pellets available all day as they contain everything they need. Plenty of grit/oyster shell available too. I don't treat mine that much as it makes mine not lay. If you want to treat them do it in the afternoon after they've had enough pellets to get what they need. Hope this makes sense

Poolfield2 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 15, 2009, 22:46 »

My girls have more grain than pellets but what they have is unlimited access to grass and that is what makes all the difference to the egg taste and as mentioned in another thread on here the yolks go an amazing bright yellow. Also gives my cakes an amazing colour, over winter when laying stops I don't eat eggs apart from ones from the freezer as scrambled and bought eggs for baking cos bought ones are just not worth eating in comparison.

compostqueen · « **Reply #6 on:** April 15, 2009, 23:35 »

my brown hybrids laid through winter no problems. I feed layer pellets and they are on grass most of the day. I give them a little corn occasionally to scrat about for but too much stops them laying

The battery hens get fed on cheap pellets consisting of lots of fishmeal which is why the eggs taste funny

andreadon · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2009, 10:48 »

ours have mash (which is like pellets, but not neat and tidy!!)
and greens - in the winter when they can't get out to the grass, they have half a cabbage between them every day (we had 4 over the winter) and in the summer, they are let out in the evenings to eat grass till bedtime.
they are also outside eating grass all weekend.

we do feed them treats like sweetcorn as part of their weekly thing, and they love human food.
it's always a good idea not to give them too much human food, because they might prefer it to the pellets and end up not getting enough nutrients - but! feed them cooked spaghetti! it's a riot!! (they'll jump for it and fly down the path to it! )

Wyandottie · « **Reply #8 on:** April 16, 2009, 10:59 »

I have pellets available all day for my chooks. The grass in their run has disappeared and so I collect greens on my dog walk! This morning they had a feast of dandelion leaves and ramsons (Wild Garlic). I give them a bit of corn in the afternoon. As someone has already said - they do love spaghetti and also cooked rice. They even fought over a cherry scone which had gone past its best!! I was interested to read in one of the replies about only eating eggs from the freezer in the winter. Can you freeze eggs? If so, how do you do so - presumably removed from the shell? How long will they keep in the freezer? I could freeze some of my surplus now!

Debz · « **Reply #9 on:** April 16, 2009, 11:06 »

Mine (hybrids) have pellets available all day but they get a bowl of cooked veg peelings every morning too. They also have a cabbage hanging up in the run becuase they are on bark and get a handful of spinach leaves and a little hand of corn at teatime. Despite all this feeding, they seldom have a day off from egg laying and for the most part seem pretty healthy with really shiny feathers. They also have grit and shell available at all times.

andreadon · « **Reply #10 on:** April 16, 2009, 11:16 »

Quote from: Wyandottie on April 16, 2009, 10:59

I was interested to read in one of the replies about only eating eggs from the freezer in the winter. Can you freeze eggs? If so, how do you do so - presumably removed from the shell? How long will they keep in the freezer? I could freeze some of my surplus now!

i think you have to freeze the whites and yolks separately.

you could pickle them too! that's yummy!

Lady Lottie · « **Reply #11 on:** April 16, 2009, 11:27 »

I used to have two chooks in my garden - they were happy as anything and produced some lovely tasty eggs for us, their diet consisted of layers pellets with garlic powder mixed in it, corn, baby spinach leaves, sweetcorn, spaghetti, cucumber (but not too much or it used to give them runny poos - ick) and it was fun watching ours fling the spaghetti about and drag it round the garden - they loved it! You will love having chickens and you won't be disappointed with the eggs whatever you decide to feed them, but lots of greenery is the key to lovely bright yellow yolks.

leebou · « **Reply #12 on:** April 16, 2009, 19:05 »

wow some great replies there you guys and girls are tops thank you all.
Lee

matilda duck · « **Reply #13 on:** April 16, 2009, 21:29 »

Basically what we are all trying to say is, the eggs that your girls lay will be the bestest yellow colour you have ever seen and will taste better than any shop brought ones

.

Ours are on combination of slabs and dirt. They are given the layers pellets in a morning enough to last them about 1 hour (stop the rats) greens are also included and then a handfull of corn late afternoon chucked on the floor so they can scrat. When we are about they can free range, but just because they don't free range everyday doesn't mean they don't have that lovely yellow yolk!!!

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very confused about feeding

leebou

very confused about feeding

Jane-M

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leebou

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nicchick

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smiler43

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Poolfield2

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compostqueen

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andreadon

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Wyandottie

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Debz

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andreadon

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Lady Lottie

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leebou

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matilda duck

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