Can Chickens Overeat Feed?

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Just wondering (as I watch the girls stuff themselves on their winter bedtime mash): can chickens eat too much feed? Are they like goldfish with no instinctual limit?

I always leave feed out free choice all day. Additionally, I supplement with small amounts of healthy treats (always less than 10% diet). This winter, in the late afternoon, before bed, I mix up a bowl of warm mash (feed + water and sometimes probiotics, herbs, and/or spices). I give them plenty to ensure the bottom rung girls get enough to eat. But they really eat it!

That has me wondering whether I should ration feed or if they will naturally cut themselves off. I can't imagine my girls cutting themselves off! I want them to be happy and healthy layers, and to prevent issues tied to obesity (while also ensuring they get the nutrients they need).

What are your thoughts? Does anyone ration feed?

Pictures for attention

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Most stop when full. I have a few that really probably shouldn't eat as much as they do, but they stop before they get sick

 

[ChickenCanoe]

No.
They are voracious eaters but when fed a balanced food or appropriate percentages of protein, energy, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals, they won't get the desire to overeat.
When the crop is empty, they are hungry. When it is full, they aren't.

 

[Mtnboomer]

So long as its quality feed/forage, access to water and they have the opportunity for plenty of exercise, there's no worries.

Treats on the other hand should be limited.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

When given access to plenty of food/water, chickens are "grazers", not "gorgers" in my experience. They eat some, crop gets full, and they go off to rest, scratch around, dust bathe, etc. and digest. Then they come back for some more.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Thanks, I wondered about grazers vs gorgers. Wish I could leave food out 24/7. I’ve had to restrict the chickens’ food so there’s nothing left over to the rats coming from the neighbors’ nut orchard. I’ve got a row of coops that will be getting their dirt floors replaced with gravel or concrete and half inch wire mesh to stop the rats from tunneling up. I’m putting together some rat proof runs to expand each coop.

Do you leave the food out during daylight hours? That's really all they need...they sleep when it's dark out. But if you can't do that because of the rodents, yeah, that's a bit trickier.

 

[Annalyse]

I supply my flock with feed all day too. Mine don't even finish the 2 small bowls. So I don't believe they can over eat. They know when they're full I'm pretty sure. If they foyage too(looks like they do from the picture) I suggest your doing great. As long as they have a feed supplement they will be good.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I supply my flock with feed all day too. Mine don't even finish the 2 small bowls. So I don't believe they can over eat. They know when they're full I'm pretty sure. If they foyage too(looks like they do from the picture) I suggest your doing great. As long as they have a feed supplement they will be good.

Thank you! I supervise free range them every day, weather permitting (too many predators and loose dogs around here). Usually 30 min - 1 hr, and wish I could do more! But they have a large run and keep themselves quite active in there.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

This. Also don’t make my mistake. Two of my very healthy hungry roosters saw me open a bag of Purina Duck pellets and they jumped in the bag and gobbled some then drank their water. Those duck pellets expanded back up their throats and choked one rooster and I lost him. The pellets almost choked another rooster (whom I saved by holding him upside down and with my finger swiped the expanding food away from his windpipe.) I now feed only whole scratch in a bowl, but feed mash over a flat surface and withhold mash until it’s fully absorbed the liquid. And switched to Flockraiser which doesn’t expand as much.

I'm so sorry about your rooster! But I appreciate you sharing your experience--that's good to be aware of. Mine eat flockraiser (crumbles) and that's solely what I use for mash. But I will be extra careful about water absorption!

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Wow, how pretty chickens! Off hand, I see golden Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red and Buff Orpington (?). What variety. Is the rooster? Is he a gentle one? If of our 10 pullets (Australorp, Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock and Buff Orpington) we don’t get any rooster I would like to buy somewhere a young rooster like yours. (But he must be a gentle one - not to chase our grandchildren).

Thank you, I'm blushing on behalf of my chickens! The rooster is a bantam salmon faverolle, and yes, he is a huge sweetheart to both his chickens and humans. He's also a source of nonstop entertainment and antics. In general, salmon faverolles (bantam and standard) are known to have calm, docile temperaments and are often recommended for those with small children. There are always exceptions, but I only have good things to say.

For example, he's always looking for treats for his ladies. Even if I give him one, he drops it and calls them over. One of my hens isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and often gets lost from the others when free ranging. She'll make this forlorn cry and he'll go running to her, find her, and escort her back to the others. He's also a great guard and alert system.