Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Leahs Mom]

Over treating LOL...................... the curse of the BYCer, chickens are finicky eaters because their owners choose for them to be that way. My birds eat what they are given to eat and love it, and like Walt they don't get more until it's all cleaned up. Our birds without treats also tend to be much more healthy internaly and externaly than finicky table scrap treated chickens. It's like when you have young children and it's dinner time, they should be fed well balanced meals rich in vitamins and protiens etc etc, but like most kids they often don't like that sort of food and get finicky. Now some parents (OT's) tell them to eat it or no desert, and they will grow up big and strong ever hear that. Then you have parents who because their children won't eat the good for them healthy foods they feed them junk food way to often and let them snack/treats also too often. the result of that is apparent in our society now.................. very large Obese children who are unhealthy and unable to excersie and then leave themselfs open to other health problems down the road.

Same thing applys to most animals, it's the owners and care givers who risk their overall long term health by treating to often and over exccessively.

Moral of the story................ feed chickens chicken feed or other outdoor goodies that are natural to them, if your concerned for your chickens as much as you would like others to believe this should be sound advice, but more often looked upon with distain because it's cruel to not spoil you chickens with human food that's realy not good for them.

Al - Just for my info, do you consider items like watermellon rind, honeydew mellon rind, summer squash, garden items, etc. to be junk food? I don't want to be giving my birds stuff that will make them unhealthy.

I put out that sort of thing for them when I have it and just want to be sure I'm not giving them something I shouldn't!

(I also give them meat from time to time to suppliment protein. I'm getting electronet but don't have it yet and the bugs are pretty "slim pickins" where they're stuck during the waiting period.)

 

[Fred's Hens]

Since we market garden, we produce a lot garden scraps and we feed an appropriate amount to the birds, but that season, for us, is very short. It's unlikely to be more than 10-15% of the caloric intake, during the season. Garden scraps just aren't very filling.

I've also found the whole debate of "shape" of feed, and "my chickens will only eat xxxxxx shape of feed" to be an interesting point of view, and one I seldom comment on because it would just be viewed as offensive. A chicken, like other living beings, doesn't have drive to starve itself. Pavlov proved a long time ago that food is an important tool in conditioned responses from animals. When your birds are properly "in balance" you could feed dampened mash, pellets or crumbles and in my experience, they could care less about the "change". They just don't care.
They eat.

 

[Minchi]

I watch a bit of survival stuff here and there and have learned that there are foods that humans won't eat even if they are starving. They will starve to death rather then eat it and have. Some animals are the same. So if that are really object to it I don't force the issue unless it is something they need. I was planning on buying bulk sprout seeds and growing some for them but they really don't seam to know what to do with them so for now I have given up on it.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Sometimes chickens dont like new stuff .I am new to chickens .3 months . We have 2 levels of chicken . LOL..We have babies almost 3 months old . We have given them a varied diet from a couple weeks old . They will pretty much eat anything . My secret ? I process our food scraps ( fresh veggies fruit pieces peels in the processor . Then it gets all mixed in with their food . ..Extra ..gets frigerated for the next day or so . 2nd level . hens 1 - 1 1/2 years old ..We rescuded the 4 hens that were going to be killed by a ex- girlfriend of someone we know .They were not given much variety in their diet . They wont eat bananas as a treat . etc mixed up in their food ..they do ..It gives them healthy things to eat & it saves us money .

 

[Minchi]

Yea I mix Greek yogurt, banana, flax, corn meal, and feed for them. Then I put in in the fridge in a paper bowl in a plastic bag. After a day it becomes like a crumble. They love it. I can't get them to touch Greek yogurt or bananas alone. I think it is the wetness of it.

 

[fowlman01]

Since we market garden, we produce a lot garden scraps and we feed an appropriate amount to the birds, but that season, for us, is very short. It's unlikely to be more than 10-15% of the caloric intake, during the season. Garden scraps just aren't very filling.

I've also found the whole debate of "shape" of feed, and "my chickens will only eat xxxxxx shape of feed" to be an interesting point of view, and one I seldom comment on because it would just be viewed as offensive. A chicken, like other living beings, doesn't have drive to starve itself. Pavlov proved a long time ago that food is an important tool in conditioned responses from animals. When your birds are properly "in balance" you could feed dampened mash, pellets or crumbles and in my experience, they could care less about the "change". They just don't care.
They eat.

At the expense of offending someone. Any chicks on the property that are brooded by a hen eat what the hen eats and that comes only in the form of a pretty good sized pellet on this property. Never had a chick starve either when there was only pellets to eat. They and the hen seem to know how to make them bite sized for the little ones.

Walt

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mine prefer the pellets. They will pick out the big chunks and leave the rest behind. After a while nothing is left but powder. When they clean up the powder, they get more pellets to start the cycle over.

 

[therapydoglady]

I've never met a picky or finicky chicken! Mine will eat anything, living or dead. They catch lizards and eat them. They pecked a bullsnake to death and ate him, and if they can get a bird away from the cats, they eat that too!

When we had the broiler houses in Arkansas, there was a long, automatic feeder that had a belt that looked something like a caterpiller tractor tread. Every now and then, it would break, and we had to replace sheer pins in it. You'd better have a couple of spares 'cause if you dropped one, they had it eaten before you could ever find it! I told my grandfather, since the birds were sold by weight, that we ought to feed 'em buckshot before we sold them! LOL

When that belt broke, the feed would pile up in big mounds, and we'd shovel it into feed sacks (my job) and empty them back into the hopper (someone elses job - I wasn't big enough to lift them...I still lhave a hard time! LOL). Anyway, once they didn't get emptied back into the hopper for about a month. At least until my grandfather had a fit. When the boys moved the sacks, there were literally hundreds of mice that scattered in every direction. They got eaten in less than a minute!

My chicken feed bill has been pretty high lately...anyone selling fertile "finicky" chicken eggs?

 

[al6517]

Quote:



No those I wouldn't consider treats at all, they are from the garden, natural growing and good for them..................... And yes raw or cooked meat is also Ok to supplement fat & protein levels. I think they could be classified as supplemental feed not as treats, sure they enjoy them and that's great and also put's to use something that would otherwise be put into the trash or compost heap.

I think many of you know the treats I mean here.................. you won't find Yogurt at the feed store or out free ranging, Some think it's good for the gut action and many agree if they read enough chicken forum hersey, but the main reason is humans like to feed it to them plain and simple, If a chicken needed yogurt naturaly in their diet it would have grown on the ground for them to peck. There is a lady on here who cooks......... literaly cooks meals for her birds everyday...........and would get physicaly ill if they didn't have something from the kitchen menu, that can't be healthy. in the home kitchen prepared treats and other non essential prepared treats or things a chicken can and does eat but can't get often but is fed to much of it on a regular bases is then abused treat.



Point being there are so things in moderation that is acceptable, but extremes to often is what will hurt their health in the long term, just because they eat the fire out of it doesn't mean it's good for them. Part of responsiblity of being an OT is to educate and also to dispell the myths in these goofy fads & trends in animal husbandry and raising healthy animals, and some quite frankly are nonsense, but let it get out on the internet and way to many newby's take to mean it's the gospel. You will always have irresponsility in peoples minds on what is the right and wrong way to properly care for animals, but it is always important to have both sides of the story so one can also educate themselfs.

 

[HappyHenMama]

I'm gonna toss a question out here on my Rooster. He is an OEGB and approx. 16 months old. He grew up with only 3 hens, 2 of which were standard size hens but they have since passed on. His mate an OEGB is still brooding a chick that she hatched. I intermingled my new pullets with him about 2 1/2 months ago, there are 8 of them. 6 are standard chickens of various breeds 17 weeks old and 14 weeks old and 2 are Bantam Cochins also 17 weeks old. I guess he is getting a little frustrated not having a regular hen to mate with because I have observed him picking at the girls. He walks up behind them and grabs there fluffy butt feathers and makes them squak and run off and he is left with fluffy butt feathers in his beak. Now this is upsetting me and it appears to be upsetting the girls. What is this behavior? Or why is he behaving this way? Is it as I suspect, that he is a frustrated male with pent up testosterone, or is he just a "bad rooster"? I really need to know if I should "cull" him, or if this is behavior that will change once the girls start letting him have his way with them.

I have heard on this forum that you can seperate a bird from the flock for a period of time "chicken jail" and that sometimes straightens them out. Should I try something of this nature before I decide to get rid of him for good. He's small, so he wouldn't make much of a dinner.

Please help! I appreciate all and any comments or suggestions.