how can i avoid waste with the layers mash - am wasting so much

[angelat]

hi all,

any ideas with the waste issue i have?? i feed layers mash which is down all day, corn in afternoon with left over treats and stuff for them to peck on grass e.g. apples, corn on cobs etc.

thing is i have a what i call witches hat feeder with all the separate compartments going round it but its quite a big one and i only have 2 girls. i top it up but if it rains or they dont finish it i end up throwing loads away, such a waste, or half the population of garden birds eat it instead! these feeders are not good im thinking as if you leave out in day and it rains the whole lot gets wet and you end up having to empty it all out and add new, any ideas anyone?

thanks angela t x

[VirginVegGrower]

I have the Omlet feeders, but I still get rid of food. We have had issues lately with poorly chooks, so leftover food has always been thrown. Why are you making mash? Or do you mean the layers pellets minus water?

[Suechooks]

I'm guessing you mean the dry layers meal? They girls are probably scratching it out as they eat. You could try hanging the feeder in a sheltered place, high enough so they can't get their feet in it. Maybe get pellets next time and there's far less waste and perhaps a smaller feeder? I make rain covers from old plastic lids with slit drilled in - keeps all my feeders dry (unless the rain is horizontal)

[RichmondHens]

I would a) feed pellet instead of mash and b) get a smaller feeder. With only two hens an amount equal to a large cereal bowl of pellets will be sufficient, plus their corn treat in the afternoon.

[angelat]

i feed the marriages layers mash, and the marriages mixed corn for their treat in afternoon. but i may try the pellets next time, also the rain lids sound good so i may try them.

[Suechooks]

Marriages do pellets - that's what I feed! You can actually buy the rain lids but the plastic tops do exactly the same job. The ones that fat balls for wild birds come in are a good size.

[angelat]

thanks for that, do you think i could change them straight over to pellets when i buy it next time or should i mix half and half to start?

[VirginVegGrower]

i feed the marriages layers mash, and the marriages mixed corn for their treat in afternoon. but i may try the pellets next time, also the rain lids sound good so i may try them.

So do I. I did have the pellets once but they ate so little of them, I went straight back.

[Suechooks]

thanks for that, do you think i could change them straight over to pellets when i buy it next time or should i mix half and half to start?

If they're only used to meal then perhaps mixing for a week will help them acclimatise to the pellets. I've never fed dry meal except to ex-batts who know nothing else and they get the idea of pellets VERY quickly!

[kathyd]

My hens didn't like their pellets and wouldn't eat them - until it rained on them and made them go all smushy! Now they happily peck away at them during the day, provided I've remembered to drizzle water over them before I put them out. The only way they'll eat the dry pellets is if I break them up really small - they seem to be too big and too hard or something. I've therefore removed the rain hat (which worked very nicely), and even the cylinder thingy that's meant to control the amount of food in the dish at any one time, so they just have an open dish now. The hens are certainly way happier with this and eat more than they did before. At night I bring in the leftovers and check them over - if they still look OK I put them out for a second day, but then I chuck out what's left and start afresh. I agree about the waste though, the dish is never empty. (Ah! One way to get them to eat it all is to put it in smaller dishes, and appear to give it just to some of your chickens! Then the others get all jealous and come and clean out the dish before you can blink! lol ). Fussy little beggars aren't they?