Solitary chicken - need advice

[jlo]

OK - this is the scenario. we keep the Eglu door shut at night and, despite some of the comments about keeping it open, can't bring myself to do it - too scared!

 

Initially, wandered down at the crack of dawn to blearily open the door and then wandered back to bed. Then, realised that the girls were not eating any of the pellets and converted to bokashi bran mash.

 

The problem now is that instead of a half asleep walk down the garden and back, I have to get up, mix the bran up and take it down. I know it doesn't sound a big difference but it is enough to stop me going back to sleep.

 

if I mix up the bran the night before so I can just pick it up on the way out, will they still eat it or is it best mixed fresh?

 

Probably a silly issue but I know that you are very tolerant of silly questions so go with me on this one

[Egluntyne]

Are you mixing bokashi bran with layers mash and dishing it up dry?

 

If so...it will be fine made in advance.

 

In fact you can buy such a product from Wiggly Wigglers.

[jlo]

Oops, I have just realised that I posted this thread in cubes and it should have been in chickens. Perhaps someone could move it. Sorry

 

I have been mixing the mash with water and they have been wolfing it down. I thought that that was how I was supposed to do it. Am I showing my complete ignorance again

[Steve.]

Bung it in the run the night before?

[jlo]

Don't really want to encourage rats and things. I didn't mind when the gub was on the bars as I thought it would be tricky to get into but I have been putting the porridgy mash into a normal bowl as I didn't think it would be practical in the grub????

[Steve.]

I have no idea - I've only had chickens for 24 hours

[jlo]

I still think that every other member of the forum is far more expert than me! Enjoy

[Egluntyne]

I give my girls pellets, but when I first had my ex-batts, I gave them mash....dry.

 

I think I'd not mix it with water the night before, it might either set hard, or go off a bit.

 

Have you tried them with dry mash?

 

They are supposed to have food available all day, so that they can help themselves ad lib. Dry mash is better suited to this. You could sprint up the garden in your PJ's with this, and then go back to bed.

 

I just give them warm wet porridgy food in the winter, or if one seems poorly.

[jomaxsmith]

You're not supposed to mix mash with water as it goes sour quite quickly.

 

If you mix it dry with bokashi bran and whatever else you add (I add garlic powder and limestone flour) then you could do it the night before. I have mixed it up a fortnight in advance when leaving my chooks with a sitter.

 

Jo

[Christian]

Moved for you Jlo

[Joojoo]

I'm quite worried now after reading this that I've been doing something wrong. My girls hate dry layers pellets. We tried for days to get them to eat them but they just weren't going down. Perhaps I mis-read something on here when I first started out, but I thought I had read that they could be mixed with water.

 

We now make up a big bowl mixed with water in the morning and they last til probably tea time before they've completely gone. Will these be sour? I've not seen any side effects with them. They are all healthy and happy.

 

Please can someone confirm that this is ok?

 

Thanks

[JamesH]

mix the mash dry with the bokashi bran (dry), go down wearing a mrs tweedie mask in the morning if they play you up. You can mix it with water into a porridge but you don't want to be doing that everyday.

[Chickvic]

I'm quite worried now after reading this that I've been doing something wrong. My girls hate dry layers pellets. We tried for days to get them to eat them but they just weren't going down. Perhaps I mis-read something on here when I first started out, but I thought I had read that they could be mixed with water.

 

We now make up a big bowl mixed with water in the morning and they last til probably tea time before they've completely gone. Will these be sour? I've not seen any side effects with them. They are all healthy and happy.

 

Please can someone confirm that this is ok?

 

Thanks

 

I wet layers pellets with warm water to make a treat of pellet porridge. I think they were saying don't mix mash with water.

[Joojoo]

I'm quite worried now after reading this that I've been doing something wrong. My girls hate dry layers pellets. We tried for days to get them to eat them but they just weren't going down. Perhaps I mis-read something on here when I first started out, but I thought I had read that they could be mixed with water.

 

We now make up a big bowl mixed with water in the morning and they last til probably tea time before they've completely gone. Will these be sour? I've not seen any side effects with them. They are all healthy and happy.

 

Please can someone confirm that this is ok?

 

Thanks

 

I wet layers pellets with warm water to make a treat of pellet porridge. I think they were saying don't mix mash with water.

 

Thanks for letting me know. I'd feel terrible if I was doing something that was bad for them Yeah it's pellet porridge that I give mine - they love it

[Sunshine]

When we first got our chickens and it was chilly we mixed mash with warm water and gave it to them in the evening to give them something warm to eat.It never stayed out for long because they all love it.Now its warmer we don't tend to do it as often.

 

I didn't think there was any difference between mash and pellets apart from one being ground up and one in pieces.Are they not made from very similar stuff?

 

Hopefully someone will come along and set the story straight.

[jlo]

Thanks for all the comments on this. It is reassuring to hear all the different viewpoints. And thank for moving the post Christian

 

When the pellets never seemed to be going down, I bought the wigglywigglers mash plus bokashi bran. I confess I assumed that it was to be served wet as the instructions said, "keep dry until ready to feed."

 

The girls would eat some of it in the morning but it was mainly gone by evening - if a little dry and gunky by then. I kept a supply of pellets in the grub at the same time so that there was always food available.

 

Having read all the posts, I am now worried that I have been doing it wrong so I put the dry mash out in the grub. Most of it is now on the floor and I can't tell whether or not they have been eating it I can't rake it all up and am now worried about the amount of food that will be on the floor of the run overnight!

 

If only they good talk

[Egluntyne]

I'm sure that if your girls prefer it served wet, then that is perfectly all right. The trouble is that if is hangs about for longer than a day at most, it will go off......as I'm sure pellet porridge would.

 

As long as it is changed every day, and is available to them throughout the day, there shouldn't be a problem.

[jlo]

Thanks for that. It certinaly hasn't been left for any longer than about 12 hours.

[chucknette]

Hi

 

The night before, I make up one cup of mash, with raisons and sunflower hearts. Sometimes a dash of honey.

 

In the morning I mix it with fresh warm water from the kettle which I have turned on briefly.

 

I put this out and they eat it all within about ten minutes. They then all sit together and preen for about an hour.

 

For the rest of the day they have their dry mash mixed with diatom and ocassionaly limestone flour or garlic. I serve this in a heavy dog bowl so that there is no spillage. At the end of the day there is about a third left so I know that they all are getting enough

[stoice]

My girls tend to leave the bokashi i mix in with the pellets and mash (all dry)

I had a sack of mash from when i got the ex-bats as that is what they were used to. I then started to add pellets to ween them off the mash. It works but as I've got lots of the stuff I always mix all three. The girls seem to like to change their preference anyway. Some days most pellets are gone, other days it's the mash. But like i say, they tend to avoid the bokashi.

So now in the evenings i mix some bokashi, limestone flour, mash and grit with water in a bowl, then add sweetcorn and sometimes some chopped grapes or sultanas. (Topped with meal worms if they've been really good)

They lurve it! It keeps them amused for ages to search for hidden sweetcorn and the mash soon disapears. I can then guarantee Babs is getting enough calcium as she's prone to softies. In winter i guess i can use warm water and maybe mix in mixed corn too.

[Willow]

If I was you I'd consider putting some pellets into the grub so there is food available and gradually making less mash. The ideal would be to get your chickens eating the pellets as normal and having wet mash as a treat.

 

This will then be much easier for someone else to look after them when you are on holiday.