Chickens arent eating!

[krazychick28]

I went outside to feed my hens and none of them wanted to eat! They are usually so excited to run to the food bowl and consume everything! I picked up one of my silkies and noticed her crop was real big. So I massaged her crop along with a few others as i have been catching them one by one. Some of the chickens dont have a big crop and feel really skinny. What should I do?

 

[Miss Lydia]

How old are they? what do you feed them? and have they ever been wormed? have you checked them for lice/mites also?

 

[krazychick28]

Most of them are fairly a year old. I have been feeding them oyster shells, mixed with cracked corn also mixed with layers mash every morning. Around afternoon, I feed them stale bread. Sometimes they get fed scraps like potato peels and egg shells. For the past week i have had garlic mixed into their water dish to help with worms if they have any. And I have sprayed them and their house for lites and mice already several times. This morning I put yogurt in a dish for them to help if they have an upset tummy

 

[Miss Lydia]

from all I have read potato peels are a no no for chickens unless cooked. when you say stale , it doesn't have any mold right? it's okay to feed a little corn but what they need most of is the layer, I also offer oyster shell on the side.. It's so hard to figure out what might be going on with them. Just watch closely and keep a close watch on that crop. Did you notice any sour smell from the one that had the big crop?
just looked this up http://fowlfacts.proboards40.com/in...iondiseaseff&action=display&thread=1121043460

 

[krazychick28]

I only put a little bit of cracked corn in their layer feed. And the bread has no mold its just stale. The one with the big crop, I didnt smell anything funky or sour when I was holding her