A little concerned....

[musikfan]

If there is another thread on this, I would appreciate if someone would redirect me to it. I apologize if this is a repetative question. I have three Buffs (a little over a year old) and they have been doing great. This is my first time with hens that are in this stage. They only just started to molt in the last two weeks here in PA where we have had unusally mild weather until the second week in November. They are now in full molt and look pretty ragged but not horrible. They have cut way back on their consumption of feed. I was using pellets and the last time I went to the store, I thought I was getting pellets but it is the ground version. Would they not eat this since they are used to their pellets? They are eating scraps of whatever I bring them from the kitchen - apple peels, and more recently a pumpkin, but they are hardly consuming their chicken feed. They are drinking. Do I need to be concerned?

 

[azygous]

Usually, when it comes to food, chickens will eat anything. But most chickens hate change, so if they happen to be molting, their appetites are falling off and they may simply not be hungry enough to try the crumbles.

Knocking off the treats and table scraps until the new food catches on might expedite the transition.

Have you considered fermenting the feed? Just take about four cups of crumbles, place in a large bowl, cover barely with tepid filtered water, add a tablespoon of ACV to kick start the ferment, and place in a warm place as you would bread to rise. Stir once or twice a day, and in about two days, you will have your first ferment. It should smell yeasty and appear light and fluffy. My chickens adore it.

 

[NatJ]

You can put a bit of the new feed in a dish and add water, then offer it to the chickens.

Chickens usually think wet feed is a big treat, so that might be a way to tempt their appetites while you're dealing with molting and with a new shape of feed.

Wet feed is faster and easier than fermented feed, because you can serve it right away instead of letting it sit for several days.

 

[musikfan]

Usually, when it comes to food, chickens will eat anything. But most chickens hate change, so if they happen to be molting, their appetites are falling off and they may simply not be hungry enough to try the crumbles.

Knocking off the treats and table scraps until the new food catches on might expedite the transition.

Have you considered fermenting the feed? Just take about four cups of crumbles, place in a large bowl, cover barely with tepid filtered water, add a tablespoon of ACV to kick start the ferment, and place in a warm place as you would bread to rise. Stir once or twice a day, and in about two days, you will have your first ferment. It should smell yeasty and appear light and fluffy. My chickens adore it.

Thanks for the suggestsion. I will consider trying that and see if they like it.

 

[musikfan]

You can put a bit of the new feed in a dish and add water, then offer it to the chickens.

Chickens usually think wet feed is a big treat, so that might be a way to tempt their appetites while you're dealing with molting and with a new shape of feed.

Wet feed is faster and easier than fermented feed, because you can serve it right away instead of letting it sit for several days.

Ok. Thanks much for the suggestion.

 

[3KillerBs]

I never allowed my kids to be picky and I certainly won't tolerate picky chickens.

If it's in the feeders and it's not moldy, rancid, etc. they should eat it.

When I change brands or type I usually mix some of the old with some of the new for a couple days.