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Sprouted chicken feed?


Petee

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Thats pretty good if they are still laying an egg a day. In the winter if you add more protein to their diet and even sprinkle cayenne pepper on their meals will help enhance their laying. Artificial light also as they like about 14 hours of light a day. You should not have to do anything to increase as it seems they already are still producing. I probably wouldn't try anythng as the birds do need a rest and winter is a good time for them to get it. I have read quite a bit on chickens LOL I read just about whatever I can on most subjects. Now I can add spouted wheat to my list

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...off topic a bit...we let the girls out yesterday for a while to clean the coop and let them roam a bit...we had one missing after they all went in... PENNY is a Rhode Island red and she is much smarter than the rest. Rod went out with the flashlight more than once last night looking for her... now we have 96 acres and I told him if she wanted to be found she would have... it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack...our Grandson considers himself the owner of these chickens and when he returned home from a visit with his mom we had to tell him...he said first thing in the morning he was going to go find her! Well I just look out the kitchen door and lo and behold... Penny is on the front porch!   So glad to have her back, I was worried too... 

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Chickens are a never ending source of fun and adventure!  Our old Rhode Island Red is named Penny too!  She occasionally skips a day because she is older.  My other three will be a year old in June.  I am adding a Marans, an Ameraucana and a Welsummer this year.  Then I can figure out which chicken lays which egg.  There's a hatchery in Maryland that we can order them from but we may get roosters so I would give them to the Amish which is where I got Penny.

 

I installed a rope light around the inside of their coop and bought a really good automatic timer to turn them on and off from 5-8 every morning.

 

Using sprouted grain can cut your protein feed bill by 75%.   Barley is best but you can't find it at this time of year in our area so I'm using wheat.  I tried the soaked grains and they didn't like them.  

 

Fighting to keep them in lots of unfrozen fresh water is the worst part of the deal.  The automatic waterer inside of the coop needs some work this summer, and while the heated waterer (which might be for sale later) is causing some moisture build up inside so that has to go.  It's only a problem on the days that are too cold to open the coop.  I found a huge heavy Christmas Tree stand at Walmart for 75 cents, added a wire cage to the top of it, and am now just giving them water in it twice a day. This summer it will turn into a fresh food dish.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Seeing as how I rarely associate with anyone above the Mason/Dixon line, I just did a quick search of the word "chickens" to see if anyone had any. I've had chickens for 7 yesrs, have been breeding black copper marans and Ameraucanas for 3. It's the most rewarding hobby I've ever had, and I'm pretty well breaking even by selling eggs and chicks. I have a little over 100 birds

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