Picky Eaters?

[Deebot]

Does anyone else have picky eaters? This is my first flock and I was under the impression that chickens would eat a lot of my little veggie scraps but mine don't really eat any (carrots, lettuce, broccoli, etc) except cauliflower they do like usually, haha. I even chop it up small and sprinkle it out for them and they'll peck at it once and then ignore it. Nothing is ever spoiled or off, or even seasoned. OH, and they won't eat mealworms! They do eat earthworms though, lol.

Similarly, I am feeding them layer pellets and recently got some scratch grain and they now love the scratch so much they don't even want to eat their pellets. I'd been spreading a small bowl of scratch in an area with a lot of leaves for them because they like to turn that area over, but today I sprinkled their pellets there instead and it's gone mostly untouched They are free range on my acre and from the droppings it seems like they're still getting a good amount of food, maybe they are eating a lot of bugs? Should I withhold scratch til they start eating the pellets again?

 

[azygous]

Yes. Scratch is preferred by chickens over everything else just as candy is preferred by children. Expect an uprising when you withdraw the candy, I mean scratch. Your chickens need to get used to the idea again of eating their commercial chicken feed as their majority diet.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Should I withhold scratch til they start eating the pellets again?

Yes. This is a little like a kid refusing to eat dinner because they'd rather have sugary cereals or cupcakes.

As far as other treats, every flock seems to have their own yes/no list, so if you try certain veggies and they don't seem to like it, just try something else.

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

Does anyone else have picky eaters? This is my first flock and I was under the impression that chickens would eat a lot of my little veggie scraps but mine don't really eat any (carrots, lettuce, broccoli, etc) except cauliflower they do like usually, haha. I even chop it up small and sprinkle it out for them and they'll peck at it once and then ignore it. Nothing is ever spoiled or off, or even seasoned. OH, and they won't eat mealworms! They do eat earthworms though, lol.

Similarly, I am feeding them layer pellets and recently got some scratch grain and they now love the scratch so much they don't even want to eat their pellets. I'd been spreading a small bowl of scratch in an area with a lot of leaves for them because they like to turn that area over, but today I sprinkled their pellets there instead and it's gone mostly untouched They are free range on my acre and from the droppings it seems like they're still getting a good amount of food, maybe they are eating a lot of bugs? Should I withhold scratch til they start eating the pellets again?

Picky eaters? ohhh my.. I experienced that a lot. I was actually blaming the chicks the 1st time. figures its the food that I bought. I was adviced to by from a different store. that seems fixed it.