The winter menu

[muddled]

My two remaining hens who are, admittedly, older than god are enjoying their new winter menu.
That is; vegetable peelings boiled lightly with some porridge oats, a smattering of assorted seeds, crushed eggshells, dried insects and a handful of layers pellets.
The seeds and insects and from the ones we buy for wild birds.
The layers pellets are really just so they don't refuse them in the spring.
They also have brassica leaves hanging in their run.

They get this mash served warm, once or twice a day depending on temperature....they eat twice as much when they're chilly. Although it sounds a bit 'faffy' it actually reduces their feed bill by three quarters.

Anyone else change their girls' diet seasonally?

[Alicante]

My Dad kept chickens when I was small but I dont remember if what they actually ate differed in the winter. We did warm it up for them though and I can still recall the smell of the hot mash cooling down in the kitchen. A horrid smell.

[Feral007]

I like the smell of hot mash in the winter cold. I wouldn't want to eat it mind!

I give the chooks warm mash in winter, to warm them up, and cold mash in summer. They won't eat dry pellets, the fussy things.

In winter I give them a midday meal. They lay a lot more if they get a midday meal.

[muddled]

These two old biddies haven't laid for a while.. the wyandotte bantam (Racey Lacey) is about eight or nine and Millie the pekin is one year younger.

They still do the wacky races pterodactyl thing if you lob a cherry tomato up the garden though

Need to get a couple more really but winter is not a good time for introductions.

[Snadger]

And here's me thinking I spoiled my chooks!

I know you'e not supposed to give chooks a lot of bread but mine get bread (leftovers from a friendly caterer) I sometimes soak the bread in waste fat which they love,layers pellets, mixed corn,grapes,greens, and sometimes leftovers(They love any of the pasta family especially spagetti!)
My uncle had a small holding and used to boil up whole tatties mixed with dried maize and anything else that was growing in the small holding at the time. I remember taking this stinking mixture out and dropping a dollop in among the trees. I was like the pied piper of Hamilyn, just i had chooks,ducks and gesse following me rather than rats!

[jessmorris]

I give mine hot water in their pellets sometimes, and growers pellets when they are moulting.