Apple slices

[Bryce Thomas]

The chickens just don't want apple slices. How do I get them to try to eat them? I know chickens have a habit of not wanting to eat something then once they start they cannot stop but mine just don't seem interested in apple slices? Any ideas?

 

[CanadaEh]

1) depends on how ripe is the apple
2) most of all depends on how hungry they are - stop giving them any other fruits/veggies and they will develop interest to apples immediately.

I found it is the best not to slice food they suppose to take small bites from as there is then just not enough weight to break a small piece from.

 

[cherrynberry]

The chickens just don't want apple slices. How do I get them to try to eat them? I know chickens have a habit of not wanting to eat something then once they start they cannot stop but mine just don't seem interested in apple slices? Any ideas?

No need to give them apples. Stick with a balanced diet and stop making is overcomplicated. Its probably a good thing they don't want it.

 

[CanadaEh]

No need to give them apples. Stick with a balanced diet and stop making is overcomplicated. Its probably a good thing they don't want it.

veggies and free ranging - bad, commercial feed - good

 

[cherrynberry]

veggies and free ranging - bad, commercial feed - good

Free ranging is good because they excercise for it. Thats how I think of it, at least. But, I free feed commercial flock raiser (Purina 20%), so that they have a balanced diet 24/7.

 

[CanadaEh]

But, I free feed commercial flock raiser (Purina 20%), so that they have a balanced diet 24/7.

yes, it also much easier to feed from the bag, and for achieving good productivity, but not necessarily the healthiest choice for the hens or for the best quality eggs.

just saying that some people have taken it few steps further (just as feeding their dog/cat pets raw vs just feeding them balanced dry food from the bag).

 

[cherrynberry]

yes, it also much easier to feed from the bag, and for achieving good productivity, but not necessarily the healthiest choice for the hens or for the best quality eggs.

just saying that some people have taken it few steps further (just as feeding their dog/cat pets raw vs just feeding them balanced dry food from the bag).

Unfortunately, that is not correct at all. Chickens are not dogs. Treats (including apples and anything other than their commercial feed) are not specifically "healthier". Mealworms for example, are high in protein, but are EXTREMELY fatty. Shouldn't be fed in large amounts. Dry feed from the bag for chickens is not bad for them, it is formalized for them. Domesticated chickens are not used to living off of treats. One thing I will note, though, is that fermented feed is said to have a lot of benefits. I know its easy to assume that fresh veggies are healthier for chickens, but its just not balanced. There's a reason why chickens can't just live off of grass. Grass is high in sugar and some types of grass can be quite fibrous too.

However, this is not something I study. I do read labels and stuff, but I don't necessarily study the ingredients. U_Stormcrow knows more about feeding practices.

@U_Stormcrow Do you mind giving your thoughts on this?

 

[CanadaEh]

I know its easy to assume that fresh veggies are healthier for chickens, but its just not balanced.

nobody says about feeding them veggies alone, but if you give them free choice, they are well capable in balancing their own diet. It is a matter of stating that vitamins/minerals in the live veggies are better than those in dry feed (even when there is no big ag scientist to mix them in perfect proportions). Similarly the live protein of worms/insects is better that dehydrated and possibly somewhat rancid one from the bag.

There's a reason why chickens can't just live off of grass. Grass is high in sugar and some types of grass can be quite fibrous too.

the reasons the chickens can't just live off of grass is
1) they are not equipped with a ruminant digestive tracts to extract all the goodness from the grasses, so they only eat grasses for vitamins/minerals/digestion fiber as find needed.
2) they would have to eat like bucket a day to get that protein or carbs they need.
again nobody said about feed them greens alone

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I think you've covered it adequately. The most important thing a bird can get from us is a balanced feed, and the chances of a backyard owner having the knowledge, inclination, resources, time and testing to make a complete feed are near zero. Best they can usually do is copy the works of another in hopes of ending up with what is, on average, a decent, balanced feed - but for every person choosing to copy J Rhodes, there seems to be several copying "Garden Betty", whose website is slick with feel good words.

The NUTRTITON matters.

"Raw" is not necessarily a benefit. For the health of your chickens, all legumes need to be heat treated to break down some anti-nutritional elements.

"Gluten-free"? Great - chickens are gluten free already, gluten is broken down by chicken's digestion then reassembled as different proteins useful to them in their own bodies. Depriving them of gluten-containing grains makes it that much harder to provide them a complete feed. Wheat, particularly, is a high protein source with some key amino acids in decent quantity, though the overall ratios are sub-optimal

"Soy-free"? While there are alternative legumes (see "Raw", above), soy is one of the most readily available sources of a nearly complete amino acid profile for your birds. You can build a complete feed w/o it, but its harder to source and often more expensive. You are going to have a hard time finding Methionine.

"Vegan" - without meat proteins, its hard to reach desired levels of certain critical amino acids. It can be done of course - peas and lentils are decent "green" sources for Lysine and Threonine, but poor source for Methionine. See soy-free, above, to get you closer.

"Organic"? Fine. Do you know its so hard to find adequate Methionine in green growing things that "Organic" certified feeds are allowed to add a small amount of synthetic Methionine (dl-Methionine) into their mixes, and even then, they usually just hit the low end of recommended amounts - better reach for those meat proteins, assuming you can find organic Porcine blood meal, or organic Fish Meal.

"Pre- and Pro-Biotics". Which ones? Without knowing whether or not they will survive the trip to chicken's gut, and what diegestion they are supposed to aid, its anyone's guess whether or not they are actually beneficial.

I could go on, but punching holes in the offerings of people offering glittering sounding "health" words with no knowledge, or worse, engaging in magical thinking without even the benefit of a consistent magical system is too easy to be entertaining.

 

[3KillerBs]

On principle, I don't give my chickens people food. They don't get sliced apples, but they do get apple peels, apple cores, and the spotty apples that didn't get eaten in time.

I throw it into the run. They eat what they eat and the rest becomes one with the litter.

Limited quantities for a small flock, more generous for a larger flock.