poultry porridge?

[shadegrow]

Some of you have mentioned making porridge for your hens in this cold weather. We took in 6 ex-bats yesterday & we are worried about them coming from a warm battery house to a traditional coop.
We made them some (oat) porridge with just water this morning but they didn't touch it. Do you make it with milk like we have it, milk & water or just water? Also how warm do you serve it up? They are tucking in to the layers mash & don't seem at all upset but we want to do the right thing by them. They have poultry spice in the dry food & tonic in their water.
All advice will be extremely welcome.

[shirlthegirl43]

Congrats on your new hens. mine are not too fussed by porridge but I make it all water - leave out the salt too. I serve it up freshly made and mixed to a disgusting stodge with layers pellets.

I suspect yours will take a wee while to acclimatise to food other than mash. Try boiled spud peellings mixed with mash to coax them to new food.

[lynda66]

try adding stuff in with the layers mash and adding hot water to that, it will take them a while to get used to new food, mine aren't too keen on pellets, so i mix their other stuff in small amounts in it to get them to eat the pellets, so just add a small amount of oats to their hot mash once they are used to it wet.

don't forget, your chickens have never eaten anything other than layers mash and will take a while to not be suspicious of new foods.

one of mines favourites is cat biscuits, just a handful in a bowl of hot pellets, they go soft and are easy to eat..... and they regularly try to kill each other for these delicacy's

[janeyo]

No dairy or sy=ugar in it just water. Mine love it but the frst day were SOOOO suspicious of it and it didn't get touched for hours.Now they run at me if they see 'that' bowl, lol

Mine have it quite hot, as long as it takes me to spoon it into dish, trundle into utility, get togged up with multiple layrrs, wellies on and then trudge 160 feet to them.

The don't seem bothered if there's still steam on it

[Hans Mum]

mine have it just made with hot water and sometimes a few currants thrown in or dried meal worms they just go mad for....and as janeyo says they dont mind it very hot

[Suechooks]

Some of you have mentioned making porridge for your hens in this cold weather. We took in 6 ex-bats yesterday & we are worried about them coming from a warm battery house to a traditional coop.
We made them some (oat) porridge with just water this morning but they didn't touch it. Do you make it with milk like we have it, milk & water or just water? Also how warm do you serve it up? They are tucking in to the layers mash & don't seem at all upset but we want to do the right thing by them. They have poultry spice in the dry food & tonic in their water.
All advice will be extremely welcome.

It's recommended to keep ex-batts on layers mash for a few days at least as this is all they have ever had. You risk upsetting their system by giving too much "strange" food too quickly. I'd just offer them mash plus a few pellets if it was me for the first week, maybe a tiny scatter of corn late on in the day. It's very tempting I know to spoil them after all they've been through before but like new puppies it's best to stick to what they know. I have ex-batts (been here a year now) and some of them pick out the corn or other bits from the porridge as they don't seem to like the stickiness on their beaks! Good luck with them they're fab little girls.

[frias]

Congratulations on getting your ex-batts. Ditto what Suechooks says.

[lizzylemon]

Welcome to your new girls I hope you'll all be very happy together Its taken me a while to get my birds to like porridge but its' worth it on the cold days. I started by making their normal stuff with hot water and then like most people gradually added pellets in so they got used to pellets first. And then gradually introduced allsorts. Corn is their most to die for treat and they run like demented roadrunners when they see it. LOL. I make Porridge with just hot water (about bearable for a bare finger stuck in the middle is my marker) but they kinda only like it once a day.

[MaureenHall]

don't rush them, like the others have said, they've already been through some big changes and you don't want to make them more stressed than they already are. Try making a porridge out of the mash by adding hot water, then maybe in a week or so make some oaty porridge, just with water, then you can gradually add other treats in as well. Don't give treats until late afternoon, that way they'll eat their pellets or mash first and that contains all the nutrients they need. The girls will be a bit "threadbare" at the moment, but they'll snuggle up together to keep warm, and they'll get their new feathers quite quickly.

Congratulations on getting ex-batts, they're soooooooooooooo rewarding

[dozey1]

Hi, I give my ex bats porridge/sultanas and a few layers pellets mixed in and they love it. Pleased you got exbats well done. They are so loving and it really makes you feel you have done something nice for them. After their horrible year in the cells..

[Moony Moon]

You made me feel guilty for not giving my girls any!!

So just bombed home in my lunch to rustle up some, water, oats, corn they were going crackers for it! I feel happier now i know they are happy.

[HayleyB]

Ditto everyone on not rushing new foods it takes a little while for the girls to get used to trying new things, mine have raw lamb trimmings tonight

[CoraxAurata]

I add a little garlic to the mash (which I make up with HOT water) in the a.m. and now when I give them something new I just add a hint of garlic and it draws them in...

In cold weather I've started soaking their grain (a mixed portion) in hot water for an hour before feeding. All my chooks and my ducks go mad for it - my poultry is so spoilt for choice the often leave their least favorite bits of grain but not when its warm (and frankly a little slimey)....

[MaureenHall]

Welcome to the mad house CoraxAurata That sounds a bloomin' good idea to me. I've run out of porridge today so the girls have just had some pasta. Think I'll put their handful of mixed corn in some hot water for them before they go to bed, make sure they're all warm with full tummies

[Hilary B]

Welcome to the mad house CoraxAurata That sounds a bloomin' good idea to me. I've run out of porridge today so the girls have just had some pasta. Think I'll put their handful of mixed corn in some hot water for them before they go to bed, make sure they're all warm with full tummies

It is VERY cold where she is (sort out a profile girl!!!)