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- #861
I've been having a similar problem, though mine can free range and supplement their diet. That is a lot of food for that many birds, so I can see how you'd want to cut it down. I've noticed the hens have less time to bully the youngsters when there is less food being dispensed...seems to work better if they are hungrier, so cutting back on the food is going to create a better atmosphere at the trough, though that sounds like it would act just the opposite. When there is less food available, my older birds are too busy trying to get some food to bother running off the younger set, filling their beaks at a quick rate to even get some at all. That and a long, trough style feeder helps the younger birds get enough to get by on.
If your birds are very much smaller than the adults, you can arrange a creep feeder, which is just a place where the young birds can eat but the bigger birds can't get to...this is often done by placing a divider that is so many inches off the ground where young birds can squeeze under but the older birds cannot.
If they are older but still not able to fend for themselves at the feeder, they will eventually fight for their food rights, nip in and get bites when they can and will finally get hungry enough to stand their ground at the feeder. Sometimes this is best accomplished by using a long, trough style feeder where the birds can line up on both sides and the younger can eat at one end while the elders eat at the other...as soon as the older hens move down to chase off the youngsters, they circle around behind the hens and hit the other end of the trough.
Here's some pic progression of some Delaware chicks and a few White Rock chicks as they grew and shared a trough with the older birds...and are still fighting for their rights to eat. Sometimes I worry they aren't getting enough but when I look at body conditions, they are just as good as the older birds if a little less fat.
If your birds are very much smaller than the adults, you can arrange a creep feeder, which is just a place where the young birds can eat but the bigger birds can't get to...this is often done by placing a divider that is so many inches off the ground where young birds can squeeze under but the older birds cannot.
If they are older but still not able to fend for themselves at the feeder, they will eventually fight for their food rights, nip in and get bites when they can and will finally get hungry enough to stand their ground at the feeder. Sometimes this is best accomplished by using a long, trough style feeder where the birds can line up on both sides and the younger can eat at one end while the elders eat at the other...as soon as the older hens move down to chase off the youngsters, they circle around behind the hens and hit the other end of the trough.
Here's some pic progression of some Delaware chicks and a few White Rock chicks as they grew and shared a trough with the older birds...and are still fighting for their rights to eat. Sometimes I worry they aren't getting enough but when I look at body conditions, they are just as good as the older birds if a little less fat.
I had some birds getting pushy around the feed bucket lately too but a few days of pecking them in the side cooled their jets. Middle Sister is still right there trying to get a mouthful out of the scoop as it lifts out of the bucket, but I just wave my hand and she backs off. She's laying again, so I know she is feeling a need for more nutrients right now. My youngsters should be coming up to laying this next month, so increasing the feed and some fats with the BOSS should get them in condition before then.
