Eating less?

[di]

Just wondering how everyone elses chooks appetites are?I'd have thought with it being so cold that they'd want to eat more,however ours seem to be eating considerably less.Still getting on average of 10/12 eggs a day & they appear healthy,just a little baffled by the low appetite.

[MaureenHall]

Mine aren't eating any less, the feeders are usually empty by about 3pm, that's when I give them their porridge. They're also having sprout and cabbage leaves most days when I've been to have a look at the lottie, plus cooked veg peelings and other stuff. I think they're actually eating more than in the summer, though that's probably as Lynda said, they're filling up with worm and grubs in the longer days and there aren't any easily available just now

[lynda66]

although i havent anything to compare to ........ mine eat everything i put in ..... i'm feeding them 3-4 times a day now, plus a big pot of veggies ...... it's never ending lol

[Suechooks]

Mine are eating for Wales I think! Mash, pellets, bread, veg, pasta, porridge, meal worms, corn ..................! Laying well too considering the short days. I guess they'll eat what they need.

[kirsty b]

Mine are eating well as always

[di]

So it would appear just ours??~I'm now wondering if they normally just eat 1/2 of their mash early on,saving the rest for midmorning/lunch,but with the cold it's getting a tad cold/frozen?Maybe tomorrow they can have 1/2 portions for brekkie & I'll take up some more for lunch.

[xandra3004]

I have only had my chooks for just over a week and I have to say that they don't seem to be eating a great deal. I have four girls and the first day I put out 130g of pellets each plus a further 50g grain each (as this was the recommended daily portions from a beginners guide to chicken keeping) and this amount lasted them 3 days

I put this down to the fact that they had recently undergone a car journey and needed to settle in but as soon as I put some other stuff out for them (bread crusts, grapes, mashed potato, brocoli stalks, banana etc) they fell on it and cleared in no time.

I think mine must not be used to the pellets I have (although I would have thought most pellets would be similar?) and are taking a bit of getting used to it. I plan on trying them with some porridge later and see how they get on with that.

So Andi&Di you are not alone!!!

[Glutton4...]

Hi xandra3004, don't overdo the treats!

Mine ate virtually nothing the first few days and as they had very few feathers and I felt sorry for them I overdid the treats in compensation. That caused thin shelled eggs and egg eating. I stopped the treats, just giving warm mashed layers' pellets in the morning (as it's what they were used to), and corn mix in the evening (after 3pm) when they had eaten all their mash.

The eggs are much much better now, although they still eat a 'softie,' and they now know they don't get anything if they haven't eaten up most of their mash. It does take them a little while to settle.

Good luck.

[xandra3004]

Thanks for that advice Glutton - I think I may have been overdoing the treats on the basis that I wanted them to eat SOMETHING. I have had 3 eggs already (which I was beyond excited about) and the shells were ok but a little on the thin side when you crack em - the girls will be getting pellets/mash only in the morning now and only treats once they have eaten all that lot up!!!

until they look at me with those imploring eyes and cluck mournfully

MUST BE STRONG!!!

[di]

Well ours had cleared their brekkie bowls & lapped up lunch,so I'm putting it down to the fact it may have gotten slightly frozen the last few days.
Xandra,when you say you put down the pellets & they lasted 3 days....are they in a waterproof feeder?Just I think if they get wet/damp,then they go bitter fairly quickly,..Good Luck with staying strong,if it's a new brand they may take a couple of days to adjust,also the upheaval of a new home.Sure they'll do great.x

[Suechooks]

I have only had my chooks for just over a week and I have to say that they don't seem to be eating a great deal. I have four girls and the first day I put out 130g of pellets each plus a further 50g grain each (as this was the recommended daily portions from a beginners guide to chicken keeping) and this amount lasted them 3 days

I put this down to the fact that they had recently undergone a car journey and needed to settle in but as soon as I put some other stuff out for them (bread crusts, grapes, mashed potato, brocoli stalks, banana etc) they fell on it and cleared in no time.

I think mine must not be used to the pellets I have (although I would have thought most pellets would be similar?) and are taking a bit of getting used to it. I plan on trying them with some porridge later and see how they get on with that.

So Andi&Di you are not alone!!!

Are they ex-battery hens? If so, they are only used to eating dry meal so try powdering the pellets down so they resemble meal. Unfortunately the hens NEVER read the books we all buy so they don't know how much they're supposed to eat!!!

[Glutton4...]

...Unfortunately the hens NEVER read the books we all buy so they don't know how much they're supposed to eat!!!

I forgot to bring my Girls' dishes in last night, so took their mash out in a Pyrex bowl from the kitchen this morning - oops, far too much, about half as much again more than they usually get . They ate the lot, and still begged for their corn mix this afternoon. Greedy wotsits.

[frias]

I have to admit I don't measure what the girls eat. I fill the hopper up and it lasts about 3 or 4 days. Then I just fill it up again They eat as much or as little as they want. Once I let the girls out of the coop in the morning I keep them in the enclosed run until about 10am and this makes sure they fill up on pellets before free ranging. The ground is so hard at the moment I don't think there is much for them to find in the garden anyway. They can return to the hopper at any time they want to and do at various times during the day. I make a porridge up in the afternoon. Either porridge oats or pellets with hot water, poultry price, marmite, veg, (anything and everything) They do love their porridge mix more than anything. I also put a bowl of corn down an hour before bed as I think it helps to keep them warm at night. I also usually hang something in the run like corn cob, cabbage, apple to keep them occupied. Especially if I'm going out and can't let them free range.
I always bring the hopper in at night so it's not touched by vermin. Luckily the food hasn't frozen yet but I am having to put warm water out during the day.