Category: Feed and Water

Stopping the Wild Birds from Stealing Your Feed

Posted on by John Meeks

Bird Dangers

  • Avian or Bird Flu
  • Mites
  • Lice
  • Internal parasites
  • Many, many different diseases
  • Feed theft
  • Large poultry companies attempting to get laws passed outlawing backyard chickens by claiming they help spread disease
  • When outbreaks of bird flu hit commercial flocks the health officials will euthanize all flocks of poultry in a ten mile circle including backyard chickens

“Not a lot of people realize that the infamous Spanish Flu that killed millions of people at the turn of the century was a form of avian flu..”

 

 

 

For your Safety

Wild Birds Must be Kept Away

 

When wild birds start stealing chicken feed most flock owners worry about the cost of the stolen feed but what they ought to be worried about is the disease, parasites, and pests the wild birds bring with them.  The bird flu has been a real problem with commercial flocks and those birds are locked away in some pretty tight housing where backyard flocks are wide open to wild birds.

The bird flu or avian flue can be carried by wild birds and ducks without the carriers becoming ill but the chickens will have no immunity and the virus mutates rapidly.  It is just a matter of time before the lobbyists working for the commercial poultry industry attempts to clamp down on backyard flocks by blaming them for spreading the disease.   Being a responsible flock owner means doing all that you can to isolate your chickens and other poultry from wild birds for your own safety as well as the future of the backyard chicken movement.

 

The bird flu in China has already crossed over to humans with bird to human transmission but if it mutates into human to human spread disease we will have a problem on our hands to the point where even the most enthusiastic chicken owner won’t hesitate to get rid of their flock.  Not a lot of people realize that the infamous Spanish Flu that killed millions of people at the turn of the century was a form of avian flu.

 Preventing wild birds from stealing your feed is as simple as not allowing them to eat the feed by using a rat proof chicken feeder.   Avoid the treadle feeders with the wide steps that allow wild birds to reach the feed when enough bids land on the treadle.  If the door is counter weighted and spring loaded that is even better.   But if you research this topic online you will find a lot of the focus is on either trying to block the birds out, scare them away somehow, or only feeding by hand a few times a day.  For some reason people initially reject the idea that a treadle feeder fixes the problems so we will cover the other methods too.

Some people have set large plastic trash cans over their feeders, taking the covers off twice a day for a half hour at a time.     Not sure many of us have the luxury of being there every day much less the time and discipline to remember to unblock the feeder.

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  • Fencing birds out is difficult
  • Plastic Owls?  Don’t work
  • Bird netting helps but doesn’t completely stop
  • Bird poop like you have never seen before
  • Cut off the food and the birds will leave
  • Treadle feeders will fix the problem quickly

 

 

People that thought chicken wire would stop sparrows learned otherwise, only hardware cloth will stop a sparrow or netting.  Others rely on fluttering tape or even old CDs hung on strings, thinking that the fluttering and flashing will scare the birds away.  Some have sworn that buying a plastic owl would stop the wild birds only to find that their chickens were afraid of the plastic owl too and wouldn’t come out of the coop.  Unfortunately the wild bird eventually realize that the owls are fake, some people report the wild birds will roost on the fake owls.

People have tried making lightweight doors that wild birds can’t push open but chickens can, fine until they realize that chickens aren’t likely to want to go around pushing doors open, most will stare at it and make a fuss waiting to be let in or out.  Others have resorted to ending the free range and cooping the chickens up 24/7.    Pens that are made out of chicken wire, chain link, or fencing wire can be closed off somewhat using bird netting found at many of the larger garden stores.   A big roll is around $20.00 and will cover a lot of chicken pen.  When hawks are the biggest problem and you have an open run some people have had success with using mono filament fishing line strung closely together across the top of the pen.  The sharp eyed hawks and eagles can see the wire and won’t risk betting trapped but of course that won’t stop smaller birds like crows or starlings, both of which can and do kill baby chicks.

The truly epic wild bird problems can involve thousands of birds mobbing the pen, cleaning out the feed and water in minutes and leaving gallons of bird poo over every surface in sight.  There is one story out there on the internet about a free range flock ran by Fifth Crow Farms.  They got a grant for a few dozen rat proof chicken feeder and not only solved their feed loss problems, those same wild birds had been snacking on their loose leaf lettuce crops and just a few bird pecks were enough to ruin the salability of an entire lettuce bunch.  Plus the birds pooping over the lettuce fields on the way to or from the chicken feeders.

The problem with rats is two fold; available safe space for nesting and a ready food supply.  Birds don’t need the safe nesting places, they only need access to the chicken feed.   A wild bird living a natural life has little time to spend doing anything other than searching for wild food.  Once you purchase a proper treadle feeder with a narrow step and a spring loaded door the birds will have no choice but to look elsewhere for their food. 

 

Learn more about treadle feeders

Purchase a bird  proof chicken feeder

 

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Keeping Pets and Farm Animals Out of Your Chicken Feed

Posted on by John Meeks

  • A tiny hen sized door

    Inside view of a goat proof chicken door

“Some animals like goats and horses can come to great harm if they eat too much chicken feed through bloating or foundering.”

soccer-player

 

 

Don’t believe them…

No Such Things as a Goat Proof Chicken Feeder

A lot of people raise goats and chickens together and keeping the smaller goats out of the chicken feed is a task.  If you have never had a goat they are incredibly clever and persistent at finding into where they aren’t supposed to be and out of where they are supposed to be.  They can jump like deer and climb on top of anything under five feet tall.

They are contortionists too, will lay down and wiggle through or under almost anything.  As goats will bloat and even die from eating too much feed you have to make certain the feed is locked up with a goat proof latch that can’t be pushed open.  The goat proof chicken hatch to the left works because even a small kid goat can’t bend its body sharp enough to gain entry.

Treadle feeders are of no use to defeat goats, dogs, or other large animals.  The weight and reach of a large animal is much more than a chicken so don’t depend on the treadle feeder to protect the feed unless you have the feeder inside an enclosure.

Dogs love chicken feed too for some strange reason.  The chicken feed won’t really hurt the dog although it is low in fat .  Some cats will eat laying pellets as well although it is less common.

Small breeds of dogs and cats will be difficult to keep out of chicken feeders unless the feeders are high off the ground and a cat has nothing to climb to get up to the feed. 

Larger animals can easily rip through chicken wire, even a small dog will have no problems tearing through as chicken wire is simply twisted together.   Always use hardware cloth to prevent dogs, racoons, or other predators from ripping through the coop.  Occasionally horses are persistent enough to knock over a small coop to get to the chicken feed.  Most people won’t have hogs near chickens as the hogs will quickly eat every chicken it can catch and can easily over turn a coop to get at the birds or feed.

 

 

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Preventing Frozen Water in the Coop

Posted on by John Meeks

Frozen water can be a problem

  • Thirsty chickens
  • Less resistance to cold if they are dehydrated
  • .Possible to slow down the freezing even if there isn’t electricity in the coop
  • Cookie Tin heater works well
  • Concrete block heaters
  • Bird Bath heaters work really well at low power consumption
  • Plastic heated poultry water dispensers are available

“If you need a quick solution in sudden freezing weather set a few of the chemical hand warmers under the water dispenser.  These won’t last but for a day or so but it does work on the smaller mason jar water dispensers used for quail or chicks..”

 

 

A Winter Essential

Preventing Frozen water in the coop

If you live in an area that has cold winters you know it can be a chore to keep the chicken’s water from freezing up.  People that don’t have electricity in their coop have even a tougher time. 

There is really only four solutions, heat the water, heat the coop, replace the water three or four times a day, or move to Florida.

If you do have power in the coop one of the old standbys is the cookie tin heater where you take a metal cookie tin that is 12” to 15” in diameter, drill a hole to insert a light bulb socket, using the light bulb to heat the cookie tin which in turns heats the water container sitting on top.  You aren’t limited to cookie tins, concrete blocks or even flower pots can be used to house the light bulb.   Use whatever wattage bulb you think you need depending on the severity of the cold weather in your area.  A 40 watt bulb should take care of the water down to around 20 degrees.

There are also electrically heated plastic water containers available if you aren’t the handy type.  A two gallon heated plastic water dispenser is going to cost you about $25.00 to $30.00. Check the customer reviews though as some of the plastic dispensers are quite thin and difficult to fill.  The heaters that run between $30.00 and $60.00 are going to be more durable but as with all things online shop that brand around for pricing.

Heated dog bowls can work, I actually used this method for a few years but they get filthy fast and I wound up filling mine with water and sitting my galvanized water dispenser on top. They will run $25.00 to $40.00 at most pet departments or farm store

 

Heat tapes that are used to protect pipes and faucets will work as long as you wrap some insulation around the container to hold the heat in and protect the heat cables.  There are also gutter de-icing tapes available.  Most will turn on only when it gets close to freezing to avoid wasting power.

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Coops up north will insulate the coop and the combination of ground heat, heat from the chickens, and a cookie tin heater will suffice.  Others will use stock tank heaters in larger containers that use the nipple watering devices and reports say that it works as low as -22 degrees even if kept outside.  A 250 watt stock tank heater will keep thirty gallons of water thawed out in the worst of weather.

You can buy fish tank heaters sold in the pet section of any Walmart or department store although they are more suited to the less frigid areas of the U.S.  Most of these small aquarium type heaters are quite small, some as low as 5 watts but if one shatters there is a shock hazard.  Look for a shatter proof aquarium heater if you go that route and pay a little more for peace of mind. Or look for a bird bath heater as they are actually made for outdoor use.  Steer away from the cheaper models and expect to pay around $70.00 for a durable bird bath heater.

 

Bird Bath Heater

Frozen water can be a problem

  • Oil pan heaters
  • Aquarium air pumps can keep the water moving and slower to freeze
  • .Salt water bottles
  • Chemical hand warmers
  • Larger tubs of water freeze slower

“Years ago before farm electrification farmers had kerosene heaters, even kerosene brooders.  Even something as simple as an insulated hole with a hot rock dropped into the hole, sitting the metal water dispenser on top will prevent water from freezing for many hours.”

 

 

Another innovative method is the oil pan heater that is designed to stick to the bottom of an engine oil pan.  These plug into an extension cord and you sit the water dispenser on top.  Cost starts at around $18.00 plus shipping.Another method of slowing water from freezing is to keep the water moving.  Water that is cold is also dense so the water on top of a bucket of water will sink, bringing the less dense water to the top of the bucket. That thinner layer of less dense water will actually freeze faster than the larger amount of dense water at the bottom which is why we always see lakes and buckets of water freeze from the top down instead of the bottom up.  If the water is moving the water is mixed, requiring more heat to be transferred out of the water before it can freeze.  Something like an aquarium air pump can help lower the freezing point of the water by as much as 7 degrees.
There are also electrically heated plastic water containers available if you aren’t the handy type.  A two gallon heated plastic water dispenser is going to cost you about $25.00 to $30.00. Check the customer reviews though as some of the plastic dispensers are quite thin and difficult to fill.  The heaters that run between $30.00 and $60.00 are going to be more durable but as with all things online shop that brand around for pricing.

A lower tech method if you don’t have power in the coop is to use the heavy rubber tubs that can be flipped over and the frozen water popped out.  Insulating the water container helps, something as simple as a small bucket fitted inside a larger bucket with leaves or sawdust used as insulation.

 

Another way to prevent freezing if you don’t have power is to use large tubs of water.  The larger the tub, the slower to freeze, a 40 gallon tub of water will stay liquid much longer.  Be sure and partially cover the top to prevent birds from falling into the water.

 

If you need a quick solution in sudden freezing weather set a few of the chemical hand warmers under the water dispenser.  These won’t last but for a day or so but it does work on the smaller mason jar water dispensers used for quail or chicks.

Another method that some people swear by is adding jugs of salt water to a larger tub of water.  The salt water inside the plastic jugs has a much lower freezing point so as the larger tub of water cools down it the jugs of salt water also soak up some of this “cold”.   Water freezes by heat being removed from the water so there is actually no such thing as “cold” but it is a lack of heat.  Still the heat is harder to remove from the salt water so the trick will work.

 

Heated Poultry waterer

Air pump

A wooden floating top will help slow down the freezing and keep combs and wattles out of the freezing water

 

Concrete block heater

“Moving water freezes slower by preventing stratification, keeping the colder, more dense water from sinking.”

 

 

 

Years ago before farm electrification farmers had kerosene heaters, even kerosene brooders.  Even something as simple as an insulated hole with a hot rock dropped into the hole, sitting the metal water dispenser on top will prevent water from freezing for many hours.  A long burning candle in a properly made fire safe metal container will do the same thing.  Place it below ground, surrounded by masonry to absorb the heat and store the heat as well as making the pit fire safe. 

If your temperature just barely swings below freezing you can try using black rubber water dishes kept outside with a few ping pong balls floating on top.  Some flock owners from the South claim that the slightest breeze will move the ping pong balls around, stirring the water and slowing down the freezing of the water.  No doubt the black water dish absorbs more sunlight too.

If you have another solution or want to share your experiences on preventing water from freezing please make a comment below.

 

 

Feed Storage Basics

Posted on by John Meeks

“if you  wind up with weevils purchase some diatomaceous earth, DE, and mix it in well with the feed.  The DE won’t harm the chickens and it helps kill fly larvae as well.”

soccer-player

 

Keep it safe, keep it dry

Best Practices for Storing Chicken Feed

First you don’t really want to store crumbles or laying pellets long term as they have oils that can turn rancid.  Whole grains can be held long term.  For crumbles or pellets a two or three month supply is about you will want to hold.  Always clean out any old feed before dumping new feed into the container and use the older feed first. The paper feed bags don’t do much more than allow the feed to be moved around, zero protection against insects or pests.

Chicken feed is a magnet for critters ranging from weevils to raccoons to rats.  A bag of dog food in a house might be okay as it is inside but any feed stored outside or in an outbuilding is quickly going to attract pests.

Feed containers can range from metal trash cans to plastic buckets with lids but metal is better as it prevents rodents from chewing a hole to get to the feed.

 

If you do use plastic check if the plastic is food grade.  Usually grade #1 and #2 are food grade or call the manufacturer to find out.   There are lots of plastic 55 gallon drums on the recycling market and some 30 gallon drums but they will fetch a higher price due to limited numbers being used.if you  wind up with weevils purchase some diatomaceous earth, DE, and mix it in well with the feed.  The DE won’t harm the chickens and it helps kill fly larvae as well.

Metal trash cans make the best bulk feed containers.  Easy to get the lid off, impossible to chew through, the right height from bending over and scooping out the remains of the feed.

  A typical galvanized metal trash can is going to hold two fifty pound bags of feed.  Some of the more humid areas might have problems with metal containers sweating inside so try it out before you purchase too many.  Sweating is caused by moist air condensing out moisture on cool metal surfaces.  Wrapping the trash can in insulation can prevent the sweating.

The 55 gallon metal drums are much heavier but also much cheaper and some have a lid that clamps on with a ring that wraps around the top.  A 55 gallon drum will hold over 200# of feed.

 

Diatomaceous earth

 

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Feeding Table Scraps to Chickens

Posted on by John Meeks

Feed scraps to chickens is good

  • More sustainable to produce part of your feed
  • Less waste in a landfill
  • Good nutrition for the birds
  • Saves money on feed
  • Chickens really, really, love table scraps or anything different than laying pellets and crumbles, like going out for dinner!

“As far as the “Yuck!” factor of using road kill,  most pets that are euthanized at a vet or animal shelter wind up in the local rendering plant where they are cooked down and the oil sprayed on pet food for flavoring..”

 

 

What’s Good, What’s Not?

Feeding Table Scraps to Chickens

 

Chickens will eat about anything that a human will eat. Table scraps, canning waste, fruit or vegetables going bad won’t hurt the birds and it won’t disrupt their nutritional balance.  They aren’t going to eat citrus rinds, banana peels, or avocado skins, shouldn’t eat green colored potato peelings, and probably won’t eat onions unless they are finely ground and mixed into other foods.  Just watch what they leave behind and put that stuff into the compost bin.

Regular potato peels are fine.  Vegetable scraps and seeds, any kind of meat including fish of any sort, oatmeal or any cereal left over from breakfast. Bread, lettuce, pepper tops and seeds, bones that have meat left on, fats, over ripe bananas, lawn clippings, weeds, almost anything that grows, crawls, or flies.  Crushed egg shells and shells from shellfish are all edible, old yogurt, milk turning sour, pumpkins, squash, watermelon or watermelon rinds.

If you are generating more scraps than can be fed to the birds such as after a holiday meal (and yes, that turkey carcass should also wind up in the coop) you can freeze it in small batches for later use. The chickens will drink any broth or water left over from cooking potatoes or pasta, just use a separate bowl to keep their main water supply clean.

 

People also use road kill, both cooking it and hanging it over the coop for a ready maggot supply. Wild animals killed by cars are fairly safe but to be sure cook before giving it to the birds.  They will eat it raw though but you never know if that wild animal got ran over because it was sick and moving slow or if it was just dumb or unlucky.  Wild animals are also carriers of disease and parasites so cooking it is the only way to go.  As far as the “Yuck!” factor of using road kill, most pets that are euthanized at a vet or animal shelter wind up in the local rendering plant where they are cooked down and the oil sprayed on pet food for flavoring. Some of these products coming out of rendering plants are used in cosmetics too!   Rendering plants will take any kind of animal that is rejected at slaughter houses or found dead laying in a farmer’s pasture.  Fish guts or offal from butchering any animal or fish are okay to feed raw as long as it was freshly killed.

 If you have ever seen people buying or picking up free rooster on Craigs lists or the Facebook groups chances are they are going to be fed as live food for reptiles but some will grind them up for feeding chickens.  I wouldn’t feed too much chicken back to your chickens and I would cook the meat before feeding but moderate amounts aren’t going to cause problems or disease.

As long as you have high protein commercial feed available at all times the birds won’t overeat on scraps, if they are craving protein they will eat the pellets or crumbles.  Raising show birds especially meat birds can be a different matter so be a bit more selective in feeding them.

What are your thoughts and experiences?  Leave a comment or more info on feeding table scraps to chickens below in the comment section.

 

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Food and water at night

Posted on by Cindy Johnson

  • Birds fill up before dark
  • .Crops store food for digestion at night
  • Birds generally don’t see well in the dark and will stay on the roost
  • Chicks do grow faster if feed and water is available at night
  • Use a rat proof chicken feeder if feed is left out at night

“It is critical that the birds have plenty of feed available before going to roost in the winter as the digestion keeps their body temperature high and the nights are much longer than the summer nights.”

 

 

Do Chickens Need Feed and Water at Night?

Chickens have a crop that they fill with food before going to roost at night and digest what is in their crop during the dark hours.  Adult chickens do need constant feed and water, they will graze all day if they have food available, unlike predators that eat once every few days.  As long as the birds can access feed once daylight comes they will be fine without nighttime food.   Most won’t come down off the roost anyway during the night unless there is a source of light such as a heat lamp or other light that allows them to see well enough to fly up and down from the roost. 

 

During summer time having water available is a good idea as the birds can drop down to drink before it gets totally dark.  Even with good ventilation the heat buildup in the roof takes a few hours to dissipate so a water source at night in summer is good husbandry.

It is critical that the birds have plenty of feed available before going to roost in the winter as the digestion keeps their body temperature high and the nights are much longer than the summer nights.

A good reason not to provide feed at night is rodents are more active at night and there will be non-stop feed theft unless you have a treadle feeder that is actually rat proof like this one.

Chicks on the other hand will grow faster if they have food and water available at all times.  As there is almost always a heat lamp they can see and will be active at night.  Rats and mice are almost never a threat as most people are going to have the chicks inside the house or in a secure rat proof brooder.

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