Chickens don't want to eat their feed

[kattabelly]

Winters here are windy and rainy, with a damp coldness that seeps into your bones even on a "dry" day. Everything turns brown to match the mud and the six hours of daylight we're meant to get around the solstice are often lost behind heavy grey skies. My chickens are pretty hardy but they tend to hide their various shelter spots during the worst days and only make very short trips out to forage during calmer moments. I'm always mobbed when I bring them food in the morning and again a couple of hours before they go to roost.

Today was drier and less windy than it's been in a while. I couldn't see any chickens when I got there this afternoon, and some of the morning's feed was still lying out uneaten. A few of them eventually noticed me and came over to see what I had, then promptly buggered off back out into the field. They had a small amount of the feed I'd brought just before going to roost but probably only ate about half as much today as they did yesterday, when the weather was much worse. It was grand seeing them all happily off chickening about for themselves.

Someone wrote recently that all they seem to read about on here is illnesses and other problems, so I thought it would be nice to share something to counter that. Not a big, important success but just a day when everything was fine and good.

 

[pennyJo1960]

How old are they please.
My year plus girls not lay in the winter.
I buy pullets most spring time so they start lay through the winter.

 

[AinaWGSD]

What a beautiful picture! Very scenic and the flock in the foreground makes it even more so.

 

[Ccort]

Winters here are windy and rainy, with a damp coldness that seeps into your bones even on a "dry" day. Everything turns brown to match the mud and the six hours of daylight we're meant to get around the solstice are often lost behind heavy grey skies. My chickens are pretty hardy but they tend to hide their various shelter spots during the worst days and only make very short trips out to forage during calmer moments. I'm always mobbed when I bring them food in the morning and again a couple of hours before they go to roost.

Today was drier and less windy than it's been in a while. I couldn't see any chickens when I got there this afternoon, and some of the morning's feed was still lying out uneaten. A few of them eventually noticed me and came over to see what I had, then promptly buggered off back out into the field. They had a small amount of the feed I'd brought just before going to roost but probably only ate about half as much today as they did yesterday, when the weather was much worse. It was grand seeing them all happily off chickening about for themselves.

Someone wrote recently that all they seem to read about on here is illnesses and other problems, so I thought it would be nice to share something to counter that. Not a big, important success but just a day when everything was fine and good.

View attachment 4269219

I have to ask....where do you live? It is so beautiful! I'm glad to hear your girls are doing well!

I'm having a similar experience today. Mine hate the cold and it's been pretty terrible this year with that and snow. Today, however, it's 50 degrees and for the first time in a long time mine are venturing out and looking for bugs. It's really made my day.

 

[kattabelly]

How old are they please.

Slightly different ages but they all hatched this year, why?

I have to ask....where do you live? It is so beautiful! I'm glad to hear your girls are doing well!

I'm having a similar experience today. Mine hate the cold and it's been pretty terrible this year with that and snow. Today, however, it's 50 degrees and for the first time in a long time mine are venturing out and looking for bugs. It's really made my day.

I'm in Orkney (the less northerly island group of the Scottish Northern Isles).

It's brilliant to see them happy and thriving, isn't it?

 

[Echelontheory101]

Winters here are windy and rainy, with a damp coldness that seeps into your bones even on a "dry" day. Everything turns brown to match the mud and the six hours of daylight we're meant to get around the solstice are often lost behind heavy grey skies. My chickens are pretty hardy but they tend to hide their various shelter spots during the worst days and only make very short trips out to forage during calmer moments. I'm always mobbed when I bring them food in the morning and again a couple of hours before they go to roost.

Today was drier and less windy than it's been in a while. I couldn't see any chickens when I got there this afternoon, and some of the morning's feed was still lying out uneaten. A few of them eventually noticed me and came over to see what I had, then promptly buggered off back out into the field. They had a small amount of the feed I'd brought just before going to roost but probably only ate about half as much today as they did yesterday, when the weather was much worse. It was grand seeing them all happily off chickening about for themselves.

Someone wrote recently that all they seem to read about on here is illnesses and other problems, so I thought it would be nice to share something to counter that. Not a big, important success but just a day when everything was fine and good.

View attachment 4269219

Mine were doing this during our last couple subzero days, I added hot water to a bowl full of their feed to make a warm mash and they were ALL over it haha so now I get my butt out there early on cold mornings to dump a thermos of hot water on some feed haha!

Gorgeous photo!

 

[kattabelly]

Mine were doing this during our last couple subzero days, I added hot water to a bowl full of their feed to make a warm mash and they were ALL over it haha so now I get my butt out there early on cold mornings to dump a thermos of hot water on some feed haha!

Gorgeous photo!

Yeah I often bring them warm mash when the weather is especially grim. It was nice to see them not even bothered about the possibility of that or anything else I might have today though - bugs or seeds or whatever else they were finding was clearly a better option.

 

[Echelontheory101]

Yeah I often bring them warm mash when the weather is especially grim. It was nice to see them not even bothered about the possibility of that or anything else I might have today though - bugs or seeds or whatever else they were finding was clearly a better option.

I'm sure! I'm ready for the snow to melt here and uncover the ground again so they can forage but will be atleast another 3 months unfortunately haha