Can Chickens Overeat Feed?

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

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

Ha! That's how I feel about some of hungry hippos. But yeah, they never seem to get sick from it.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

No.
They are ravenous 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.

Good to know

 

[Annalyse]

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.

I do the exact same thing! Glad I'm not the only one

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

What do you do while you supervise? Watch, obviously, but do you call them back periodically or anything like that? Is it only to chase off predators or do you also keep then in a certain area or out of certain areas?

I only have a little over an acre, bordered by a country road, a yard with aggressive dogs in an invisible fence, and another yard full of other chickens. So I'm pretty helicopter-like in my approach (some of girls seem to have death wishes and head right towards the dogs, or try to go start beef with the other chicken faction lol). I casually walk around with them, keeping them more or less together. I use it as an excuse to stretch my legs and get fresh air, plus, I find their antics highly entertaining (and seeing them happy is the best!). I also use it as time to get a sense of how they're all doing. Sometimes I'll have my first cup of coffee while I walk around with them, or I'll have my evening glass of wine. Often if I sit down somewhere they'll cluster around me and won't go far. Other times I do chores in the yard where I can still keep an eye on them.

When its near time to bring them in I start guiding them towards the run, and shake a can or scratch or oats to get them to head in. Usually one or two of my rogue girls I'll have to fetch by hand.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

No.
They are ravenous 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.

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.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

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!

Thanks lesson learned. My chickens don’t all gobble like that but I definitely wait for the food to stop expanding before serving it.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

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.

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.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

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!

Flockraiser should be fine. I just wait to serve it til after it absorbs water

 

[Rodrad]

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
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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).

 

[WaveyCreekChickens]

I have to limit my chickens’ feed because I have one that actually does overeat. She has had crop issues multiple times. i also feed soaked mash in the early evening, and I noticed this particular bird will wolf down food, then turn away (I think when she is full), but then start running from plate to plate to try and finish all the leftovers. She is an exception to the rule I think, but I definitely have to watch her.
So now I feed twice a day, with a snack in between.