Chickens Won't Eat Produce Or Scratch?

[Roxannemc]

I haven't tried any of the things your hens like, so maybe I will just keep trying new things and find out if they like them. For some reason I thought fruits and veggies would be a given. Today was a no to apples. I tried the black oiled sunflower seeds and they didn't like them either. Funny, they will fight and steal earthworms out of each others beaks though, so go figure....maybe they will like cooked spaghetti as a treat! Thanks for getting back to me, I appreciate it!

Try watermelon Mine LOVE it!! I gave mine the rinds with some red goodies still on them They eat them down to the skin.Their favoritetreat so far ...besides grass! Also cereal (maybe not the sugared kind)corn flakes, shredded wheat, cherrios puff rice oatmeal.I do crush them up really tiny mostly.Oh yeah and spegetti started mine on it as a first treat. ,.

 

[Kikiriki]

I haven't tried any of the things your hens like, so maybe I will just keep trying new things and find out if they like them.  For some reason I thought fruits and veggies would be a given.   Today was a no to apples.  I tried the black oiled sunflower seeds and they didn't like them either.  Funny, they will fight and steal earthworms out of each others beaks though, so go figure....maybe they will like cooked spaghetti as a treat!  Thanks for getting back to me, I appreciate it!

Isnt it crazy how weird they can be?

My girls will not eat an earthworm unless I cut it up, but they will catch anoles (small lizards) and tear it to pieces as they fight over it and chase each around the yard for it! An earthworm they just peck once and drop it...

My girls will not eat whole sunflower seeds in the shell, but they eat whole cantaloupe or honeydew seeds. (yes, they are edible...in Mexico they use all that middle stuff for a drink by blending it and straining it). They decided yesterday that my mild variety of mustard greens were better than anything else in the yard and stripped it clean, but they ignore fruit or any grain that is cooked.

I have chase them away from my tomato plants...they eat the leaves which is bad because they are in the nightshade family. The small amount they've gotten has not seemed to harm them, but I think they would eat enough to do harm.

They do seem to like small stuff more than big chunks of stuff.

 

[kdsres]

I throw a pile of loose wheat straw into the run, and then toss bird seed, pellets, bread, moistened cat chow, and oyster calcium pellets into the straw, and they love to scratch
it apart and devour whatever they find. Watermellon rinds they love. I put a piece of clear rug runner down, and use a two sided dog bowl for special treats to stay clean until they eat it or reject it. Mealworms seem to be the very favorite treat. Easy to raise your own, rather than $12-$15 for 1,000.
My girls were free range, but winter is coming, so we built a coop with a tile floor (peel & stick from the Dollar Store) for easy clean up and disinfecting, and built a nice 8' w x 12'L x 7' high run. Once they are used to it, they will get a couple of hours of free range a day. They love chasing after bugs and hiding under the shed.

 

[appps]

Mine are 3 months old and the same. Think I should have introduced it earlier.

I've bought a big water tray you put under plant pots and am going to try putting the scraps on that and sprinkling some feed over it so they will hopefully get a taste while pecking at the feed.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds- BOSS

My birds never went nuts over scratch. I've tried with several flocks and at various ages. They just don't crave the corn. They do love the oats but for the cost (as much as feed) it's a wasteful treat in my opinion. The only treat that we purchase is BOSS and that's mainly for our winter months for the high fat content to keep them warm and variety as they can't free range in snow. Other than that they get all our aging leftovers.