2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[no1smiles2000]

hi everyone

 

i am struggling with my chicks, not sure if its me or others have these problems?

 

ok so i always seem to have a build up of food on the run floor which becomes compacted and hard to remove once cleaning comes, i also find this is what causes the run to get smelly

 

How can i over come this? would a differnt type of feed oposed to the grub helP?

 

thanks

 

Katie

Edited January 9, 2011 by Guest

[sari]

What kind of food are you feeding, mash or pellets, and what is on the floor of the run?? Mine are in WIR with AUbiose on the floor...so can't say I have this problem...

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Are you using the Omlet feeders? I have 2 grubs and there's never any spillage . Perhaps if you adjusted the height, it might help?

 

I think someone used to put a tray under the feeders so it was easier to clean. Just have to make sure it doesn't get tipped up by chickens standing on the rim .

[sari]

I use a Grub and a gravity feeder, as the big girls used to harry Gert away from the Grub..so bought a gravity feeder, which they all like now..I don't noice much mess from this.....I knwo some people prefer pellets to mas, cos some chooks flick the bits out

[no1smiles2000]

hi thanks for quick replies

 

i feed the girls mash as this is what they would have had in the battery farm (recused them 2yrs ago)

 

Maybe i should get another grub so they have one section each as they do shove & are greedy girls

 

Maybe that hubby is spilling it when he goes in as i find the small door awkward!

 

i have brought a hanging feeder but havent tried it yet, what is best to use to hang it?

 

I have excel horse bedding in the run floor, its lovely & has a nice fragrance

 

K

[sari]

I have mine hanging from some staging ( it's an ex greenhouse!) using some clipped together shower curtain rings...they were from the now destroyed shower curtains used to cover the outside of the WIR.....I don't know whether the hanging one is less messy...but I feel happier having 2 food sources as Gert was rather bullied at first, and it made me feel better! Same with the water...the glug seems to get filthy wihtin minutes of refilling it..so have a water gravity feeder too!

[daxigirl]

Yes my lot achieved a similar thing with their feed. I've got the type that hang now as mine used to empty the grub pot onto the floor where it went, dare I say it, a tad mouldy once it fell under the bark after being trampled under foot. They wasted loads this way before I found it Yuk. I found the new ones on ebay, they hold 1kg at a time and the girls actually empty them every couple of days which means they get washed when empty and I know the girls are eating the food.

[Mrs Potts]

I had the same problem with mash, so changed them to Garvo pellets over the space of a month.

 

I still use grubs. They trashed the hanging feeder, totally dismantled it one night. I don't know which one ate the nut on the bottom that held it all together, but when I find out

[no1smiles2000]

I had the same problem with mash, so changed them to Garvo pellets over the space of a month.

 

I still use grubs. They trashed the hanging feeder, totally dismantled it one night. I don't know which one ate the nut on the bottom that held it all together, but when I find out

 

hehe i wouldnt fanyc eating a nut!

 

Did they take to the pellets? i brought them once before by accident and they refused to eat them, are they less messy?

[Mrs Potts]

Hello,

Sorry for the delay on replying - had trouble with password (totally my fault )

They did take to pellets, but I did the swap over six weeks. I bought a sack of Garvo mash and a sack of Garvo pellets and gradually changed the ratio as the weeks went by. There's still a little spillage, but it is small in comparison and doesn't give off the same odour that the mash does. I think the trick is not to give them any treats while you are doing it, though. The advice from everyone here is really good and a local chicken owner said to me, face it, they won't starve themselves to death deliberately ... they are just incredily picky so if you are swapping them over, don't give them any excuse to persuade you to give in.

It took me ages to get the mash crust off the lawn. In the end I soaked it with water to soften it, got a fork and lifted it bit by bit. Had to recompost and seed the lawn underneath in the end.

Good luck!

[Mrs Potts]

P.S. My hens are ex batts, not chicks, so someone else will have better knowledge of how to swap chicks to pellets, if you can.

[chickweed]

Maybe you have been putting out too much food. I have managed through trial and error to find an amount that provides enough for one day at a time. This means that any spillages are eaten. I also only give treats just before they are shut in for the night. If some of this not eaten, I can then clear it away. They free range too.