Recently it has seemed that I'm buying chicken feed way too much. I noticed that the guineas have figured out that there is always food in the chicken coop, so they have learned to treat themselves several times a day. The guineas free range, so in the winter I do provide supplemental grain since there's not a lot for them to eat out in the woods. I normally give this to them at night, but they have outsmarted me and like to help themselves to the feed meant for the chickens.
Both the guineas and chickens tend to be messy eaters and it appeared that more feed was being wasted than eaten. I was getting frustrated by this, so I decided to switch them over from crumble feed to pellets. The pellets are larger so there will (hopefully) be less waste. For a couple weeks I gradually mixed in the pellets with the crumbles so they could get used to them, and now they are only given pellets.
They tend to go after the pellets voraciously! I usually grab a bucket of feed to refill their feeders every couple days, but sometimes they are too hungry to wait an extra few seconds for the feed to get from bucket to feeders.
The guineas were especially hungry this day and fought their way to the food however they could.
I couldn't help but laugh. I let them eat out of the bucket for a while before filling up the feeders. I'm going to venture a guess and say they are used to the pellets by now!
~Tammy
PS - Just so you guys know, I may not be around much this weekend. We had a bad ice storm yesterday that knocked our power out and toppled many limbs and trees. The power may not be restored until the first of the week, so I may be in the dark for a while. Now I really get to try my hand at being a pioneer woman!
*Update* Power restored! So thankful for electricity!
Shared with Farm Girl Blog Fest, Clever Chicks Blog Hop
sorry about the power outage! the guineas are cute, though. go, pellets, go!
ReplyDeleteStay warm and stay safe! Hope you have a good wood burning stove!!
ReplyDeleteWatch for Guineas!! Do the hens like the guineas?
The guineas are so cute - they look very excited to have all that food! Take care of yourself and your animals Tammy - ice storms can be very tough! Hang in there!!!
ReplyDeleteI feed pellets exclusively now, but tried crumbles a few months ago. Too much waste! I notice mine are eating more in the cold and snow, since they can't find anything outside.
ReplyDeleteOh, those sneaky little guineas ;) I feed our chickens layer pellets too, they love them. Only problem is ours instinctively scratch for the their food and when the feeders are on the ground sometimes they knock them over and spill out all the feed. Our chickens only eat feed when they are really hungry- they are so spoiled with scratch and other treats from us, and then they also get full from all the bugs and greens they eat when free ranging. Cute photos!
ReplyDeleteMy cousin saved gallon milk jugs for a while, and then made them into feeders. She cut a smallish (big enough for a chicken to get in and out, maybe 3 inch) circles in the jugs and then put the feed inside. It seems that it cut way down on waste for her. She said they are a little trickier to fill because of the small opening, but I think she made a scoop from an orange juice container or something that helped. She hung them all around the henhouse and run, and said they worked really well. Hope that is helpful.
ReplyDeleteSending warm thoughts your way.
ReplyDeleteLooks like no one's shy when it comes to eating! Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteFarmhouse hugs,
Cindy
Hope you get your power back SOON. We just went through that with Nemo, so I feel your pain & hope you guys are ok :)
ReplyDeleteI love your chickens by the way. They must have really been starving to attack the bucket of feed like that lol!
Prayers on your POWER girl . DONT those people KNOW we will be missing our favorite BLOG with you down... They better fix the problem QUICK .. ICE STORM cant slow us down .. We have lessons and things to see from our favorite PIONEER WOMAN . .My sweet friend Tammy .....................HUGS and blessings, Inbox me on fb your address .. GOING to mail you that belated birthday card sister !!!!!!!!!!! HUGS
ReplyDeleteWe didn't get snow, but we did get sleet, freezing rain, thunder & lightening, etc... i lost electric last night for about 10 minutes, but my parents lost it a couple times for several hours. It's creepy to sit in silence in your house & hear nothing but snapping, crackling branches & thuds when they hit the ground... not to mention transformers blowing, which happened in the ice storm of 09, not this time.
ReplyDeleteLOL the Guineas sound quite clever indeed. That picture of the one in the bucket WITH the feed absolutely cracks me up :)
ReplyDeleteMy laying hens (when I had them) liked the pellets, too.
ReplyDeleteGood luck being a pioneer woman! I hope your sawdust toilet is in place ;-)
Hoping your power comes back on soon! Hopefully not too much damage in your area. We are getting snow and I would much rather have a foot of that than ice any day!
ReplyDeleteYour sweet chicken photos always make me laugh! Sorry about your ice storm and power outage. Ice storms are so damaging - we had a terrible one last winter. Stay safe and away from falling limbs. xx
ReplyDeleteI laughed at that last picture...so cute! It reminds me of the time my boys had hamsters...let them into a bucket of seeds...they ended up tunneling down into it...the boys were worried...pulled them up and their cheeks were full of seeds!! I hope all is well...and your have power soon!
ReplyDeleteIce storms suck, so do pawer outages in the winter. Sending warm thoughts your way!
ReplyDeleteYeah...I'd say the guineas like the new food just fine.
ReplyDeleteHope you get your power back soon.
I love the shot of the chickens - they certainly look well cared for. Best of luck with the power - I hope you're able to stay warm. Take care!
ReplyDeleteI love all the chickens they are just adorable and make me smile. I want some so bad but hubby says no (and the man has never said no to me about anything). I love how yours are feeding from the bucket. Hope you have a generator!
ReplyDeleteOh no power and a sweet caring husband you will be fine I do believe you are already pioneer woman. Love your hungry birds. B
ReplyDeleteThose crazy birds! They know what they like!
ReplyDeleteStay safe this weekend! Guess you'll get to rough it, eh?
Oh no! Losing power is no fun! Especially in an ice storm! We give our chickens pellets as well, and for a while they were digging and digging and digging in the feeder, I think maybe they were hoping to find something green underneath. I would really like to let them out to free range - even though we mostly have snow right now, but living in the city, they are a little too adventurous and assume that they can have several acres of free range space instead of our little 1/4 acre yard :-)
ReplyDeleteSO sorry about the ice storm...I hope power is restored quickly... I love your chicken and guinea stories...I have always heard guineas are great entertainers....I soooo want a chicken coup at our new "old" home....I grew up around chickens, pigs, horses....and have always wanted to have chickens again....everyone tells me no but I am determined...so...to much work? What do you think? I would love to see your coup...and details about your chickens...Love all your stories! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteI always bought crumble too but they were out last time so I took pellets and it does seem to be lasting longer. I think when they drop it it gets ate up by them better than the crumble did. If they really make a mess I take up the feeder for the evening and make them eat off the floor to clean it up. I have rye grass in back too which is a wonderful crop for chickens I found out so they eat a lot each day when I let them out to roam. Of course I am only dealing with two chickens.
ReplyDeleteYikes, gal! Saw on Facebook that power is restored, yahoo!! Gotta admit, those guineas were pretty clever ;-).
ReplyDeleteHope the power comes back on soon! The guineas seem like their are pioneer types themselves...they're pretty smart about how to get their food! :)
ReplyDeleteWho new guineas were smart? I also saw on FB that your power is back on. woot woot. Happy Friday friend, stay safe and warm.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about the power going out. That's fun for about ten minutes and then it gets old really fast, especially if it's cold.
ReplyDeleteI think they're very used to the pellets, lol at the last picture!
Great post on your feathered friends. I like the shot of the chicken in the bucket, this one wants to take over the food. Glad they like the new pellets. Also happy your electric is back on, I know it is awful having your power off. Wonderful photos, have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteLove seeing all of your feathered friends...ya'll try to stay warm now!!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Cindy
Such cute feathered friends.
ReplyDeleteI think you are already a pioneer woman!
ReplyDeleteI love your birds and your bird posts...
hope everything goes okay for you and your
hubby through the storm...stay warm,
Corinne
The chickens and guineas going after the feed while still in the bucket is cute! Good luck with the power outage, hope it doesn't last too long and stay warm!!
ReplyDeleteThe guineas have a beautiful plumage.
ReplyDeleteGuineas are so bold!
ReplyDeleteWell I hope your power is restored soon Tammy we had that happen with the blizzard a few weeks back .
Knowing you, you'll make the best of it and keep us posted ~if you can. Lol
Stay safe and warm.
Glad your power was restored! Always a relief! I recently bought crumbles instead of the pellets, since I was in the wrong store and had no choice. I can't believe how much waste I see with the crumbles. I need to get the pellets back ASAP!
ReplyDeleteLove how they climb right in the bucket. Glad you got your power restored!
ReplyDeleteDearest Pioneer Woman...ehhh, I mean, Tammy....:))
ReplyDeleteI always really enjoy your chicken photos...they are all sooo cute.
I am scared to death of them...they want to peck my feet and I haven't been around many chickens, so I just run....:)
xoxo
Glad your power's back. It's tricky being without power with a homestead of animals. We just switched from pellets to the other...we found they lay more eggs that way. Wonder if that was just coincidence for us, given the days are getting longer?
ReplyDeleteYay for power being restored!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat group photos a delight
ReplyDeleteI have only one guinea left
( a white one)
I need some more
Tammy, do you have a farmer friend close by that raises corn? We feed our birds corn which is much cheaper than store feed. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteThey look like they're a lot of fun to watch!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to stand in a bin of chocolate chips! Cluck, cluck.
ReplyDeleteYour guineas are so cute! I laugh at my girls every day--they do silly stuff like this too, especially if I walk into the coop with mealworms! They will stick their heads inside the container to get them. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm visiting you from the Chicken Chick Blog Hop, and I'm a new follower of your fun blog. :)Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteWhat cute pictures! I think they definitely are used to the pellets! :) Every so often I let our older dog Willow eat a few bites of kibble right from the dog food container. I think it lets her feel like she's sneaking something she isn't supposed to have:)
ReplyDeleteGlad you have power again!
Glad your power got restored and that your hens and chicks are getting the right food and not draining you of money ~ Love to see the photos of them ~ Great shots and your posts fascinate me ^_^
ReplyDeleteI love your "FFF" series, Tammy! All the stories you share about your precious friends are always fun to read! I'm glad the power is back!
ReplyDeleteLoved your chicken/ guinea story and had a laugh seeing them in the big bucket. Bet they love to see you coming.
ReplyDeleteKnow your power is back on by now, so hope it wasn't too bad being a "pioneer woman". Bet you did great
Glad power came back before too long. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com
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