Chickens won't eat layer feed

[meggers38]

Hi there everyone,

Just wondering if you could suggest reasons why my chickens are not wanting to eat their feed. I give them 20% laying pellets and also some cracked corn. A couple times a week I give them fresh veggie scraps, some oatmeal, bananas, or some meal worms. Mostly they just get pellets and corn. Their appetite has changed once the weather is warming up and they are laying more, but won't eat their pellets. I have even bought a new bag in case something was wrong with the other. Do I need to change it to a lower percentage layer pellet and/or increase the fresh food? They are acting like they are starving but yet don't want their pellets....Help!

 

[nuthatched]

As long as the new pellets smell and look fine, they're just spoiled by treats.give them nothing but pellets for a few weeks. Treats should be less than 10% of their feed.
You want a high protein layer versus normal layer.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree with @nuthatched , and I'd add that you need to check the mill date on each bag of feed before buying it. It's best to feed within two months of the mill date if at all possible. Old feed isn't good!
Your birds are picking out the yummy stuff and not eating a balanced diet. Most layer feeds are 16% protein, and formulated for small breed laying hens who eat nothing else. You have added a lot of lower protein goodies too.
Eliminate all the goodies and feed a good all-flock diet, with oyster shell in a separate dish, and grit in a third container for them.
Mary

 

[RojoMarz]

You can also try wetting some pellets and making mash. My girls think mash is a treat, even though they have the exact same feed pellets in the feeders.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

If you offer a child a choice for dinner, between say, a chef salad or candy - which will they choose?
To chickens, corn is like candy. They will always choose corn first! But it doesn't have everything they need. If our domestic chickens were able to forage in the forest and fields like their ancestors, they'd find all the bugs, nuts, berries, grubs, greens, seeds, grains, grass, leaves, worms, and whatever that make up a complete diet. Layer pellets don't look like any of those things, and IMHO, I think that's why they don't naturally crave it like they would corn, or mealworms and such.

My chickens prefer crumbles. They'll eat pellets, but they waste more. When I offer both, the feeders with crumbles go empty first. Now, if they could produce feed pellets that LOOK like corn or mealworms, I think our chickens would stuff themselves silly.

Just cut out the corn and other treats for awhile. Give them pellets ONLY. Turn them into mash. Or toss them around like 'treats'. They'll eat. When you do re-introduce treats and corn, do it later in the day - so that they have to get the bulk of their nutrition in the first half of the day.

And remember that their balanced feed should comprise 90% of their diet. Corn, scraps, veggies, and other treats should be no more than 10%. I throw this stuff far and wide in their run, so they'll spend hours scratching for it.

 

[David61]

You might want to put some probiotic's in the water, apple cider vinegar in the water. Clean the coop, feeders, waterers...

 

[Perris]

They are acting like they are starving but yet don't want their pellets....Help!

what does this tell you? that they really don't like them and instinctively think they're worse than starving.

If our domestic chickens were able to forage in the forest and fields like their ancestors, they'd find all the bugs, nuts, berries, grubs, greens, seeds, grains, grass, leaves, worms, and whatever that make up a complete diet.

this is true. Can you let your chickens forage somewhere with varied plant life, shade, leaf fall, bug life? i.e. not just grass, though that would be better than no greens at all.

 

[Rurumo]

There could be something wrong with that batch of pellets or with the way they were stored, if they got moldy for example. According to studies, chicken eat less feed when mycotoxins are present-depending on how much is present. Or, it could be old feed, they like fresh tasty food like we do. I'd give them something else or a fresh bag with a recent milling date. Good luck!!

 

[Cindy in PA]

It's the corn. They will eat them if they have nothing else.

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

Hi there everyone,

Just wondering if you could suggest reasons why my chickens are not wanting to eat their feed. I give them 20% laying pellets and also some cracked corn. A couple times a week I give them fresh veggie scraps, some oatmeal, bananas, or some meal worms. Mostly they just get pellets and corn. Their appetite has changed once the weather is warming up and they are laying more, but won't eat their pellets. I have even bought a new bag in case something was wrong with the other. Do I need to change it to a lower percentage layer pellet and/or increase the fresh food? They are acting like they are starving but yet don't want their pellets....Help!

Are you willing to share the brand? I'm having the same issue though mine don't get treats, so not spoiled with "candy" if you will.