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how much is too much

post #1 of 7
1/30/12 at 8:30pm
Thread Starter 

I have 2 Bared rock chickens about a year old.  They were eating about the equilevent to 2- 600 ml pop bottles of feed per day.  About a week ago they started eatin ALOT more.  Like tripple that amount.  I have had to fill the feeder 2 per day sometimes 3 times.  It has not realy got any colder than before ( i did notice they eat more when it gets cold)  But if any thing it has been warmer than 3 weeks ago.  The only change or thing that happened that i can think of is i ran out of food for them on a sunday  and could not get food til monday afternoon so they went just under 24 hrs with no food.  This is not going to kill them but i am wondering did this cause them to start competeing for food.  If not any other ideas why the drastic increse and should i give them a set amount??

 

Any help would be great

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post #2 of 7
1/30/12 at 8:57pm

Most here feed free choice.  Maybe they will slow down in a few days if the feed is there.

 

When you run out of chicken feed, you can feed them almost anything you would eat.  Oatmeal doesn't even have to be cooked, for example   Leftovers, cooked eggs, canned beans -- whatever.  In that situation they might have skimpy meals but I'd find them something.  And yes, they could be doing this because of the period of no feed.  Many animals gorge if they have been without food.  I have  a 10 year old dog who stays overweight (I don't know what all he finds to eat outdoors) who was nearly starved to death when i found him at around a year old.  He has never lost that desperation for food.

 

Another thought is, chickens will eat more if they are full of worms, because the worms are eating the food.  After a dose of Valbazen, my feed consumption dropped almost by half.  It's a pretty safe bet that chickens will get at least some worms if they are on the ground.

Judy
Happiness is when you can look at your chickens and smile....
Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due.

Flockwatching my little bunch of mutts, a favorite pastime.

BYC Troubleshooting article -- click here

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Judy
Happiness is when you can look at your chickens and smile....
Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due.

Flockwatching my little bunch of mutts, a favorite pastime.

BYC Troubleshooting article -- click here

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post #3 of 7
1/30/12 at 9:20pm

Are you sure you can rule out mice or another pest?

 

/scott

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post #4 of 7
1/30/12 at 9:47pm

X2... check for mice and worms.

Cari J. 

♠ www.whitemountainsranch.org ♠ Working on an organic sustainable farm!

The Ranch: English Mastiff & Pyrenees LGD's, Californian Rabbits, Nubian Goats and Blackbelly Sheep.

Poultry: Wheaten, Blue Wheaten, & White Ameraucanas, Easter & Olive Eggers, & Red Jungle Fowl, Silver Appleyard Ducks and Sweetgrass Turkeys.

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Cari J. 

♠ www.whitemountainsranch.org ♠ Working on an organic sustainable farm!

The Ranch: English Mastiff & Pyrenees LGD's, Californian Rabbits, Nubian Goats and Blackbelly Sheep.

Poultry: Wheaten, Blue Wheaten, & White Ameraucanas, Easter & Olive Eggers, & Red Jungle Fowl, Silver Appleyard Ducks and Sweetgrass Turkeys.

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post #5 of 7
1/31/12 at 1:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiteMountainsRanch View Post

X2... check for mice and worms.



No mice for sure.  I am an exterminator.  Got that covered.  And forgot to mention when i ran out of food i did feed them 2 eggs and left overs there was just no supply of feed

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post #6 of 7
1/31/12 at 6:14pm

A lighter weight hen is said to eat about 4 ounces of feed per day (found this while googling it one day). Your hens would probably eat a little more than that, then.

 

Squirrels, sparrows, any other potential feed-eaters?

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post #7 of 7
1/31/12 at 7:16pm

Agreed, 

 

Birds have discovered my chicken feed over this wintertime and they make a dent in the free choice feed.  Also if I leave the run door open while mine free-range, the dogs sneak in when I am not around/ not looking and have a little snack of chicken feed. 

 

Hope you find the culprit(s) if you do have some non-chicken critters feeding from your feeders. 

"Was dich nicht umwirft, macht dich starker"   "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."-Friedrich Nietzsche 
My new tag line...added to the end of every sentence--->  "...... after all, they ARE chickens!!!"

 

Here's a link to my BYC page:  http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chickats-page

Here's a link to my BYC blog of sorts http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/jottings

 

 

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"Was dich nicht umwirft, macht dich starker"   "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."-Friedrich Nietzsche 
My new tag line...added to the end of every sentence--->  "...... after all, they ARE chickens!!!"

 

Here's a link to my BYC page:  http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chickats-page

Here's a link to my BYC blog of sorts http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/jottings

 

 

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