Do chickens eat significantly less in the winter?

[goldeneggtees]

Mine do not like the pellets. I noticed some pellets had gotten really wet the other day in the rain and the next day, they were at it like there was no tomorrow. I think I may try crumbled laying feed next time. Try and wet their pellets with warm water and see if they like it better then. Mine totally prefer it if it's mushy as opposed to hard. Of course, if you do that method, there may be more chances for mold to take hold so I would only feed wet pellets it if it's fresh and not sitting around for too long.

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

NO!!!, Mine eat like WAAAAAYYYY more!!! its crazy i go through 150lbs. of feed per month! its like crazyy

)

 

[Amethyste]

In the cold months here, latefall-early spring, our feed bill jumps. They eat constantly! If they can get to it it gets eaten. It slows way down tho in summer thru beginning of fall.

They prefer pellets to crumbles...but they LOVE the crumbles if it is made into a mash. They will eat anything if it is in a mash...silly girls. I just add hot water till it is not burning hot, and its nice and disgusting, then add whatever else to it and let them at it. You would think they never get anything at all, the way they carry on.

 

[chuckzoo]

I have two hens now about 8 months old and they are also not eating much. I was surprised because as fall arrived they started eating a lot but now are eating very little. The one is still laying. The other one seems to be molting because I see lots of small downy feathers in their run. I had intoduced cracked corn since I read it is supposed to raise their body temperature to keep them warmer. Even when they don't get the corn they don't eat much. I don't let them out when its cold or raining they stay in the run. They appear healthy otherwise, but I would not describe them as heavy. I mix some yogurt into their pellets to try to encourge them to eat more. Do they eat less when they are molting? I have stopped the cracked corn. Does anyone have any suggestions to get them to eat more please?

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
Yes, often they will lose a lot of their appetite during a molt. Yours are probably in a mini-molt. That's what it's called when they do a molt at 8-9 months old. Give them extra protein. Corn doesn't have much protein.

I have one girl who stopped laying and started a mini-molt this November, at 7 months old. She really lost her appetite and got pretty thin -- I found this out because I felt her crop, after she roosted one night, and it was empty. Not good. So, I started hand-feeding her just before she roosted for the night, to make sure her crop was full. I gave her high-protein foods like some scrambled eggs, or fish, or cooked soybeans & oatmeal mixed with yogurt and some baby vitamins without iron. Sometimes I gave her a handful of mealworms, because she LOVED them. Molters need a lot of protein to replace feathers. Unlike the full year molt, not all mini-molters lose their appetite, by the way. But my mini-molter definitely lost her appetite for a little over a month. She is just now finishing up her molt, I believe. And recently her appetite seems to have returned to normal and she's filling up her crop, on her own again. Yay, I no longer have to hand-feed her in the kitchen! She hasn't resumed laying yet, but I think it's gonna happen within the next weeks.

For your two girls, I'd regularly check their crops at night. If they are empty (or if you notice them losing weight) then intervene with some tasty protein treats, like I did. Help them fill their crops for the night. If they aren't laying, make sure their treats don't include too much calcium. My molter seemed to dislike foods that were calcium-rich or had oyster shell in them. I think it was because she had stopped laying and didn't need it. However, I didn't change the regular feeder, since I still had 4 other hens that needed and were eating layer feed.

 

[chuckzoo]

Thanks feathersnuggles! I will increase their protein and introduce some mealworms too, hopefully this will help.

 

[jmsim93]

I totally understand what you are going through!!! I was just telling my husband today how worried I was about our 12 hens. They eat SOOOO little. They barely touch their food. I've tried crumbles, pellets, different brands...they barely touch it! I bought them in July and ever since they went free-range they rarely touch their food. We live on 13 acres of woods and pasture. They disappear all day and come to roost at night. They all look healthy and happy. I throw out scratch first thing in the morning to get them jump started (about a cup to cup and a half) I would have thought all the bugs would be gone by now???? I'm tired of worrying about it. I guess if they start losing weight or something I will have to try something else.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

Is it possible that something else was eating so much of your feed during the summer? When I leave the full door open to our coop, the amount of feed that goes to the birds ( literally) is amazing. A popdoor decreased the amount lost significantly.
On a sunny day when i want the girls to benefit from the warm sunshine and I open the full door, the sparrows return in full force. Good enough reason to keep the big door shut.

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

they eat more, because it takes more food to create more body heat in the winter

 

[ChickenCharmer]

Quote:
Are you kidding me?? My chickens eat a heck of a lot more in winter, I guess because of molting and body heat. I've been having to get rid of a lot of my non-layers because of this.