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Post by gardendaddy on Oct 14, 2010 6:06:34 GMT -6
Question for Any/All:
When giving oyster shell to your pullets or hens, what seems to be the best "FEEDER" to put it in? I have just been putting some in a small pan but now that almost half of the flock is laying, I find I am refilling almost daily now. I am buying it in 50# bags and would like a bulk way to keep it ready and not have that chore included in "daily activities".
Sometimes the shell has larger pieces so I am taking that into consideration when looking at alternatives for "shell feeders".
Thanks in advance,
Mike...aka...Garden Daddy
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Post by spamela on Oct 14, 2010 8:31:19 GMT -6
I mix it and sunflower seeds in with the feed. But that might be wrong.
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Post by gardendaddy on Oct 14, 2010 9:27:45 GMT -6
Spamela, I have provided both grit and the shell in separate containers and kept the feed all on its own. But THAT might be wrong. Thoughts? ?? I give sunflower seeds about 3-days a week as treats along with apples, pears, grass clippings, herbs from the garden, etc., as well as stale bread or other fruit and vegetabel trimmings from the kitchen. I guess I should get a piglet now for other scraps...they would run me out of my neighborhood for sure here in center city of Jackson! Laughing all the way to the chicken coop...& gathering my fresh eggs! Mike
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Post by cks4me on Oct 14, 2010 10:51:19 GMT -6
buy a big plastic garbage can (black ones) 30-50 gal, cut hole in bottom about 3-4 inches wide and 2-3 inchs long. Put some type of a bowl, cake pan under hole that you cut, fill the garbage can and WaLa you are set. No worries about mice they don't want it and you can just refill from top..!!
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Post by gardendaddy on Oct 15, 2010 7:33:34 GMT -6
Good idea...cks4me! I think with only the 19-pullets I have, I could do the same with a 5-gal. bucket and use a hole saw and cut some large holes in it at the bottom and let them feed at will from there. Now you got my brain going...THANKS!
Mike
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Post by cks4me on Oct 19, 2010 15:37:06 GMT -6
good...if you figure out a way to feed in a way that mice won't eat also let me know. What I said about the garbage can would be great for food but mice could get into it. I can't figure a way to secure the feeding hole at night. Let me know if you figure that one out..
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Post by Timbo on Oct 20, 2010 7:04:08 GMT -6
best thing for keep the mice out would be to suspend it in the air. We have the same problem deer hunting. the feeders get raided by mice and other critters so we use a tripod that latches around the barrels and buckets to keep them high enough off the ground to get them away from the feeder holes. You can also use a 4x4 post in the ground wraped in a sheet of thin metal or aluminum with a platform on top to set the feeder. The metal around the post would be to slick for mice to climb. Just a couple of ideas. I have more but my fingers are tired of typing.
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Post by rinksgi on Oct 21, 2010 9:08:26 GMT -6
Some good ideas, but I go simple. I mix everything with the feed and scoop it out together. Chickens scratch, so they are going to naturally move things around and eat what they want or need, no matter how many different bowls/pans you put out.
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Post by cks4me on Oct 21, 2010 11:44:11 GMT -6
do you have a picture? I was told that the mice climg onto the cord and go into the food that is why I put mine up every night. Did I get bum scoop???
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Post by gardendaddy on Oct 21, 2010 12:03:31 GMT -6
I hang my feeder but have my grit and oyster shell in a regular long-type chicken feeder...you know the metal one with the holes in the sliding lid all the way down the length of it and most of the time they turn it over or eat more than it will hold. But I put the shell in a smaller round pan and I am planning on making a 5-gal bucket feeder where you attach a bucket lid to the bottom with bolts and use a 1-1/2" hole saw and cut holes in the bottom-sides and then they just eat from the openings and the loose falls into the attached lid. I will put some pics up when I ever get it made...plans go farther than actual processes these days it seems!
Thanks for all the advice.
Mike
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