hens shoveling food out of feeder

[abejita]

Ok, in the last week or so, my hens have been going through food like crazy. I watched them for a bit and realized that they are shoveling food out of the feeder. I had the feeder on some cinder blocks so I hung it up. They are still shoveling. So I hung it higher, the big girls have to crane their necks to reach in...but they are still flipping food out AND the babies are having trouble reaching the feeder (I feed them separately, hidden from the others, so I am not too concerned with them not getting enough to eat) I read somewhere that people have attached deeper pans to their hanging feeder and this prevents them from flipping out food. How deep should this pan be?

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Let your feeder run empty, then wait for them to clean up the spilt food before you refill it.

 

[aggie9296]

I put a pan under the feeder to catch the scraps and then remove the feeder and let them clean it up.

They didn't do it (as much) when I switched to pellets.

 

[kittykat01]

Mine are doing the same thing.....they eat the grains and 'yummy' parts of the layer mix, but flip all of the pellets out and refuse to eat them. I have a tube feeder, have tried a deep pan, and an cat/dog feeder with a narrow opening. No matter what I do they throw out the pellets. If I don't feed them in the hope of them then eating the pellets off the floor they blackmail me by sqwaking so loud that I have to give in and feed them. (I live in a residential area with neighbours who will complain with the slightest provocation.)

The only thing I have found that helps (but is not a complete success) is mixing the layer mix with warm milk or water until the pellets become mushy, and feeding them that. Even then, they still pick out the grains.....

 

[aggie9296]

Quote:
If you mix in treats, they will pick out the treats. I would not mix anything in with the pellets and feed grains/treats separately.

 

[kittykat01]

Quote:
If you mix in treats, they will pick out the treats. I would not mix anything in with the pellets and feed grains/treats separately.

I'm not mixing in treats - that's the way the layer mash comes. It's called Barastock Darling Downs Layer, and it contains pellets, grains, sunflower seeds, corn etc......

 

[fargosmom]

Quote:
Sounds like that's the problem. If you give me a bowl of chex mix I pick out all the good stuff too! The sunflower seeds have got to be like the prize in the cracker jack box.

 

[aggie9296]

Quote:
If you mix in treats, they will pick out the treats. I would not mix anything in with the pellets and feed grains/treats separately.

I'm not mixing in treats - that's the way the layer mash comes. It's called Barastock Darling Downs Layer, and it contains pellets, grains, sunflower seeds, corn etc......

Ah. "Built in" treats. They are going to pick thru it. I wouldn't eat the pellets either if you gave me that.

Maybe catch the scraps with a tray under the feeder and remove the good stuff every now and then. They will eat the pellets eventually if there is nothing better.

i think that is a brilliant marketing tool to get you to use a TON of their expensive feed!

 

[kittykat01]

I think you're right aggie9296. It it the first time I have bought that particular mix, and will be the last time....the sack it comes in is not see through, so I didn't realise it contained so many treats.

I think I might have hijacked this thread,

as we haven't found a solution for abejita unless their laying mash has the same problem...

 

[rebel-rousing-at-night]

Quote:
What if you used your mix that has all the treats as a scratch feed and bought a bag of regular laying mash?

That's what I would do.