Chickens ate an entire roll of paper towels...

[Tatuana]

I let the babies into the yard today for free range time. I apparently forgot to bring in a paper towel roll I was using to germinate seeds. They must have found it while I wasn't home. All I can find is shredded bits in the yard. Out of an entire brand new paper towel toll I can find maybe six squares that have been clearly chicken shredded. I can't even find the empty cardboard roll it was on.

... Is this a horribly bad thing? Should I up their water intake? Watch for stocked up poo?

Worse, they seem to have LOVED it. When they see me walking around with a paper towel roll they go nuts.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I let the babies into the yard today for free range time. I apparently forgot to bring in a paper towel roll I was using to germinate seeds. They must have found it while I wasn't home. All I can find is shredded bits in the yard. Out of an entire brand new paper towel toll I can find maybe six squares that have been clearly chicken shredded. I can't even find the empty cardboard roll it was on.

... Is this a horribly bad thing? Should I up their water intake? Watch for stocked up poo?

Worse, they seem to have LOVED it. When they see me walking around with a paper towel roll they go nuts.

Do they have grit (crushed granite) available free choice? They probably will pass the paper towels no problem, but you may want to watch to see that none are straining to go poop.
Water should be available at all times during waking hours.

What are you feeding them? Chickens love to eat odd things, so it would be worth walking around and picking up or blocking off access to anything they can get into to.

 

[Tatuana]

They have tons of grit - both store bought and outdoor soil. I'm also feeling them chick grit currently due to the younger babies sharing.
(They were born end of Jan)

I'm learning that chickens really DO eat everything! These are things I never even had to worry about with my kids. Chickens on the other hand...

As long as it doesn't poison them I'll just keep a close eye on them. Maybe find a shredding toy they CAN eat. I'm really curious as to how they destroyed an entire paper towel roll. It's thick cardboard!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They have tons of grit - both store bought and outdoor soil. I'm also feeling them chick grit currently due to the younger babies sharing.
(They were born end of Jan)

I'm learning that chickens really DO eat everything! These are things I never even had to worry about with my kids. Chickens on the other hand...

As long as it doesn't poison them I'll just keep a close eye on them. Maybe find a shredding toy they CAN eat. I'm really curious as to how they destroyed an entire paper towel roll. It's thick cardboard!

Did the roll get blown away - was it windy today?
I would just leave the grit where they can take what they need. No need to feed it to them.

Oh yes. They love things like that. Mine will try their best to get to insulation. That pink foam stuff is their favorite Maybe because it squeaks, I have no idea LOL

 

[BlueBaby]

They have tons of grit - both store bought and outdoor soil. I'm also feeling them chick grit currently due to the younger babies sharing.
(They were born end of Jan)

I'm learning that chickens really DO eat everything! These are things I never even had to worry about with my kids. Chickens on the other hand...

As long as it doesn't poison them I'll just keep a close eye on them. Maybe find a shredding toy they CAN eat. I'm really curious as to how they destroyed an entire paper towel roll. It's thick cardboard!

A shredding toy? Why not just put a 1/2 of a head of cabbage out for them to shred and play with? It has to be more healthier for them than paper towels.

 

[Tatuana]

Did the roll get blown away - was it windy today?
I would just leave the grit where they can take what they need. No need to feed it to them.

That's the weird thing, it wasn't! And it was in a covered area. I would have seen SOME signs of it SOMEWHERE. I mean, I can find my cat's tiny catnip toy in the yard, but not a paper towel roll? They're developing odd tastes. Luckily they don't seem to want foam or insulation like yours! That would be very scary.

A shredding toy? Why not just put a 1/2 of a head of cabbage out for them to shred and play with? It has to be more healthier for them than paper towels.

I'll have to try that. They don't seem to keen on veggies for some weird reason. They're NOT allowed to eat the paper towels, despite what they think.

They seem to be okay for now. I would think that if they'd eaten enough paper to damage their stomach I would see results by now? Either way, I'm going to be VERY careful about what's in the yard. The towels were on a table in a bug keep away tent, so I didn't think it would be a problem.

 

[123RedBeard]

Paper towels rolls come in different sizes, do you remember what it was?

How many chickens were out! Ages?

 

[Tatuana]

It was roughly that size (from the bottom of my thumb in).

There was six of them destroying it. Three were born at the end of Jan, and the other three are about two weeks younger.


I gave them cabbage and they have no interest.

 

[123RedBeard]

That's too big, but neither are the chickens!

I think they should be fine though ... just a little extra fiber!

Maybe pull off pieces of the cabbage and try to haND feed it to them ... or toss it, and see if they will chase?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

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It was roughly that size (from the bottom of my thumb in).

There was six of them destroying it. Three were born at the end of Jan, and the other three are about two weeks younger.


I gave them cabbage and they have no interest.

They will eventually come around to the veggies. At that age unless they have been introduce to veggies really early, they just look at them. Once one brave soul decides to take a few pecks, the others will join in.

Yes, I'm one of those that puts grit in the brooder first thing. Mine also get a piece of something put in the brooder daily for them to investigate. The goal is to get them familiar with whatever I put in there. They don't really start eating the veggies until a little older.