[mab]

Hi all,

as a newbie to hen keeping I'm trying to ensure that my ex-batts are getting plenty to eat, but they tent to throw their food everywhere.

Should I reduce their food supply 'til they eat up everything they've thrown on the floor?

I'm a bit concerned that sooner or later the rats are going to catch on to this free food source. Though there are no signs of them as yet...

mab

[jacob and Georgina]

try putting the food in a feeder then at night time put in in the house with the hens? we have 2 feeders one for corn and one for pellets they eat as they wish and seem not to make a mess!

[Womble]

One of our hens developed the habit of flicking the pellets out onto the ground, and a couple of times emptied out the whole feeder! (I can just picture her saying "Not more pellets? Surely there must be something tastier in here as well??").

I sorted this out by putting a wooden lip around the feeder, which means that whilst they can still eat ok, they can't flick their food about and waste it.

HTH!

[mab]

Thanks for your replies,

The food is in a feeder, but they flick it out. Maybe I shouldn't mix layers pellets and corn in the same feeder? (they seem to flick it all out without showing any obvious preference for one or the other)

Womble: could you describe your wooden lip, please? I'm not sure what it should look like.

As an aside, the problem's been inadvertently solved, albeit temporarily - I opened up the hen enclosure to allow them out into the sheep paddock - and the sheep came in and hoovered up the scattered hen feed.

mab

[doganjo]

As an aside, the problem's been inadvertently solved, albeit temporarily - I opened up the hen enclosure to allow them out into the sheep paddock - and the sheep came in and hoovered up the scattered hen feed.

My dogs do that too

[Womble]

Womble: could you describe your wooden lip, please? I'm not sure what it should look like.

It's nothing fancy, just some pieces of 10mm square dowel glued around the inside rim of the feeder (which is rectangular in my case). It's just enough to stop them from flicking the food out, as it hits off the lip and ends up back in the trough.

[jacob and Georgina]

makes sense i have heard several times not to mix feeds as they will always have one they prefer and will pick out their favourite hence making a mess on the floor, if you only have one feeder perhaps fill it will one of them an just give them a scoop of the other every morning, and if they eat it all give them more untill you get to know how much they will eat so you dont have any left over at the end of the day

[mab]

Ah, now I understand.

OK, I'll try separating feed types first - 'cos it's easiest, and if that doesn't work I may copy wombles idea. 

Thanks folks.

mab

[TheCaptain]

We had a bit of a rat problem a few months ago, and we didn't want to go down the poisoning route as we didn't want the cats bringing in 'doped up kill'.  A combination of good coup husbandry (ensuring all of the grain is swept up each night) which then led to the rats going hungry meant we could put traps down that had healthy portions of peanut butter on helped with the swift demise of the population.  We knew where the main nest was and had seen 'mummy' rat kicking about (she was getting rather blase about seeing us), so I took a few evenings of lying in wait with my air rifle to get her - something my nickname aludes to is that I'm not too fussed about lying about getting cold and wet and waiting for long periods of time to shoot something.  Still felt pretty naff having shot her and a few of her offspring but at the end of the day they were becoming a real pain in the behind.

Maybe that's an idea for business diversification - rat shooter for hire!

[jameslindsay]

Well done, move in to the Fox Shooter and you will never be out of business!!!

[Birdie Wife]

I use rat-proof treadle feeders. There's no waste, and the hens just eat what they what at any point during the day. They are a little pricey, being made of aluminium, but should last for years and well worth it IMO.

[Helencus]

Captain want a job? I can't get rid of the bloody things. Tried traps and poison no success.

[TheCaptain]

Are you in the South-West??? 

[Helencus]

Nope the Midlands fancy a day out ?  methinks an air rifle is going on the shopping list

[TheCaptain]

Eeeek north or south?  I've travelled further with weaponry.  If you've got a rat problem start leaving feed in one particular area to get them tame to that spot.  Hone your rifle skills shooting tin cans, combine the two, usually at last light seemed to be the favourite time and robert is (usually) your fathers brother.  Get the big one and you'll find that the babies will come more out into the open.  Finding the nest is usually a good move too, but you have to be patient and pop 'em off one by one.

Do you have cats?