Chickens don't want to be spoiled..

[SavKel&RynKel]

My chickens aren't eating the fruits and veggies I throw out. I am wondering if them having access to their flock raiser all the time is the culprit? I want to give them the scraps from dinner but they won't eat them! They'll of course eat the dried worms I offer but won't actually eat the other stuff. They have access to the yard all day long so they get plenty of grass and bugs, etc. But they don't attack scraps like I see other chickens do! Any suggestions?

 

[Cryss]

Maybe they're full?
I'd just toss it into the run. What they don't eat will become compost fertilizer where it sits. Spread that run soil on your garden this coming fall. By spring your garden will be ready.

 

[Rlmp817]

How old are they? Is this the first time you have been introducing scraps? (I am new to chickens, and like you want mine to eat food scraps to keep costs down)

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Flock raiser isn't what I would call a culprit. THAT is your nutritionally complete feed.
Anything else you add will alter the nutritional balance.
I understand wanting a means to utilize table scraps. It depends on how many chickens you have. For instance, scraps from a family of 4 for a flock of 3 or 4 chickens may be way too much. In my case, with 6 flocks with 70 birds total, not all the birds get even a single bite.
While you're giving table scraps, don't limit it to fruits and veggies. Meat and fish scraps are important for omnivores. Try some meat and see if they still don't want to be spoiled.

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

Four at 9 weeks, 5 at 5 weeks, 1 at 4 weeks

We've been trying scraps for maybe two weeks now?

Generally only fruits and vegetables so far, so definitely will try meat next!

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

I fed them a head of broccoli that was wilting but not molded and they pecked it a few times, played with the pieces a bit and then nothing... same with everything else I've tried to feed them. It's just me and my husband so we don't have a lot of scraps but we don't have a lot of birds either so the few things I do throw out to them it seems like they would eat. Ugh. It's frustrating.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Four at 9 weeks, 5 at 5 weeks, 1 at 4 weeks

We've been trying scraps for maybe two weeks now?

Generally only fruits and vegetables so far, so definitely will try meat next!

I wanted to add that it is important to dice scraps into bite size pieces. Hard, whole vegetables will get ignored. The same vegetables in bite size pieces will be eaten readily.

Adding only fruits and vegetables and you are lowering their intake of essential amino acids.
Even if they're full, they will greedily consume fish and meat.

 

[meetthebubus]

Four at 9 weeks, 5 at 5 weeks, 1 at 4 weeks

We've been trying scraps for maybe two weeks now?

Generally only fruits and vegetables so far, so definitely will try meat next!

Your culprit is their age they are babies and aren't used to foraging scraps, they can't get small bites probably I introduce treats one at a time and I hand feed them, by the time they are 3 months old for so they can forage treats even better and when they are full grown they can break down food better I recommend hand feeding so you hold it and they can easily tear off their bite

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Mine will ignore broccoli unless I dice it small. Your birds are very young. I don't give anything but chicken feed till they're over 10 weeks except for what they find while foraging.

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

Okay, I can definitely cut everything up I feed them. Haha. It's either compost or let them try it so I guess I'll continue with that just in smaller pieces. I just see everyone's posts where their chickens will eat everything and I'm over here like how do you do that? Mine can't be the only ones on earth that prefer the processed stuff. But that makes sense that their just young and leery. I can deal with that.