Anyone else have picky eaters?

[thecatumbrella]

I don't understand how an animal with a handful of tastebuds can be so selective when it comes to chicken food. There's no rhyme or reason to it either, especially with 95% of commercial feed ingredients starting with "corn, soy, wheat, etc."

My girls enjoy Nutrena Chick Crumble and All-Flock Pellets, but REFUSE the Layer Crumble. Dumor Organic Layer, which I imagine can only be organic food waste, is their absolute favorite. Kalmbach Organic, despite smelling fresh and delicious, must be figurative poison after their 24-hour hunger strike.

Please tell me I'm not the only one. What commercial foods do your girls like? Any insight into their chicken psyche?

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

I don't understand how an animal with a handful of tastebuds can be so selective when it comes to chicken food. There's no rhyme or reason to it either, especially with 95% of commercial feed ingredients starting with "corn, soy, wheat, etc."

My girls enjoy Nutrena Chick Crumble and All-Flock Pellets, but REFUSE the Layer Crumble. Dumor Organic Layer, which I imagine can only be organic food waste, is their absolute favorite. Kalmbach Organic, despite smelling fresh and delicious, must be figurative poison after their 24-hour hunger strike.

Please tell me I'm not the only one. What commercial foods do your girls like? Any insight into their chicken psyche?

Mine will just eat anything I get from tractor supply- except the layer feed. I get flock feed for them
They also loooove scratch, but only if it has corn.

So yeah, a bit picky!

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Mine eat all feeds but they dont eat scraps,bugs,grass,rodents the list goes on lol

 

[thecatumbrella]

Mine eat all feeds but they dont eat scraps,bugs,grass,rodents the list goes on lol

So nothing a chicken would naturally eat. Mmhm, yep, that’s some sound logic from your bunch!

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Mine will not touch any veggies. They will stick there nose up at it and tell me that he has to be cooked - they don't like it raw!!

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Mine eat all feeds but they dont eat scraps,bugs,grass,rodents the list goes on lol

I know but they will not eat veggies but will turn around and go eat that frog they found by the creek or the mouse trying to eat the chicken feed.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I feed my ladies Kalmbach flock maker pellets, and they have zero issues gobbling it up. I'd suggest picking a feed that is nutritionally sound and sticking with it. Maybe make a mash out of it the first couple of days (my ladies think they are getting served fillet mignon when I make mash ) they will eventually eat it. I will say when I first switched to pellets, my older gals gave me the stink eye, but came around.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Mine will not touch any veggies. They will stick there nose up at it and tell me that he has to be cooked - they don't like it raw!!

Chickens against nutrition! Do they need a little butter on it too?

If I dare to chop the veggies or present them in a dish, they're ruined. Veggies must be offered in their full form, trapped in a suspended cage, only to be slowly pecked to death by my little sickos. It must be cathartic or something.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Maybe make a mash out of it the first couple of days (my ladies think they are getting served fillet mignon when I make mash ) they will eventually eat it.

Good point! Mine go bonkers for hot mash. Our TSC finally restocked their beloved Dumor, but next time I need them to pivot I'm trying the mash trick!

 

[thecatumbrella]