Chickens not eating much

[Pupsnpullets]

I've gotten back into chickens after a few years absence and I seem to have lost the touch!

I have 5 girls who should be close to laying - the lady who I got them from was fairly non-specific about the age and I have now had them for 8 weeks. The younger ones I've also had for 8 weeks were 6 to 9 weeks old, the youngest being 6 weeks. Total of 10 pullets and one rooster. They are all together in a large chicken house which is new, built from all recycled materials, and in an area where chickens haven't ever lived before. My problem is they just don't seem to be thriving. I have a large self feeder with Dumor layer pellets which they won't touch, and smaller feeder with Dumor grower crumbles which they nibble at. I've been supplementing their food with lots of veggie and fruit scrapes and also soaking their crumbles and pellets together with scratch which they like, however at anytime I can pick one up and her crop is empty. The younger ones do look better than the older batch. Two of the older ones are, well, just dummies! I can throw treats and they are just too slow to react and always miss out. Is there an IQ test for chickens? Lol.

Any suggestions? A good worming, perhaps? Or maybe I'm just being too 'mother hen-ish'?

 

[cavemanrich]

Regular feed is bland in taste. My girls eat it , but are not thrilled with it. It is always available to them. When they are hungry, yes they eat anything there. Scratch is a little higher on the preference scale. Now if you want a frenzy,,,,,,, LOL LOL try giving then some wild bird seed. Get the good stuff like Cardinal Mix with sunflower seeds. If your chickens don't start eating this stuff like MAD.... then they may have a condition or sickness.
WISHING YOU BEST