Can chickens tell when their feed has gone bad?

[jomary2013]

So I bought my chicken her food I think in the last week of June/beginning of July. I notice my chicken is not eating her feed but she’ll eat snacks if I give her some. Could she tell if the food has gone bad and refuses to eat it? Her poop looks normal so I don’t think it’s cause she’s sick that she’s not eating it.

 

[Tonyroo]

So I bought my chicken her food I think in the last week of June/beginning of July. I notice my chicken is not eating her feed but she’ll eat snacks if I give her some. Could she tell if the food has gone bad and refuses to eat it? Her poop looks normal so I don’t think it’s cause she’s sick that she’s not eating it.

Check the date on the feed bag and smell it. Make sure there's no foul or sour smell occurring. Moldy feed can do serious damage to a chicken.

 

[jomary2013]

Check the date on the feed bag and smell it. Make sure there's no foul or sour smell occurring. Moldy feed can do serious damage to a chicken.

The date seems fine.

Check the date on the feed bag and smell it. Make sure there's no foul or sour smell occurring. Moldy feed can do serious damage to a chicken.

The only thing is I notice like “webs” on the corners of the bag? Could that be a sign that it’s gone bad?

 

[Tonyroo]

The webs were on the inside corner of the bag?

 

[Tonyroo]

There shouldn't be bugs or foreign material in the bag.

 

[NanaK]

The only thing is I notice like “webs” on the corners of the bag? Could that be a sign that it’s gone bad?

Those are probably from grain weevils. They hatch out and consume nutrition from the feed and leave poop behind. You need fresh feed. I try to use feed within 2-3 months of the mill date on the bag. I will not give my birds feed from a bag with webbing.

Also be careful of where you store the feed. Fresh feed stored cool and dry is best and will prevent a lot of problems.

 

[SourRoses]

How long the feed has been opened matters too. If you can't use it up within a month or so, I'd buy the smaller bags.