Eating

[Weaverfinch]

Will a chicken starve itself to death if it doesn't like the food?

 

[Ebony Rose]

Chickens will eat almost anything, even styrofoam (and we know how nutritious that is). If your flock is 'starving' on whatever you're feeding them, then you need to look at how old the feed is. The nutritional value drops dramatically over time. Old feed has less nutrition than fresh feed. Texture of feed seems to be of higher importance to the chicken than taste.
If this is an issue with just one bird in your flock, you'll need to examine that bird carefully, looking for signs of illness, disease, or parasitic infestation. You may also need to observe the flock dynamics to be certain that this bird is not being bullied away from the food.

Somewhere in this book I wrote, should lie your answer.

 

[Weaverfinch]

Chickens will eat almost anything, even styrofoam (and we know how nutritious that is). If your flock is 'starving' on whatever you're feeding them, then you need to look at how old the feed is. The nutritional value drops dramatically over time. Old feed has less nutrition than fresh feed. Texture of feed seems to be of higher importance to the chicken than taste.
If this is an issue with just one bird in your flock, you'll need to examine that bird carefully, looking for signs of illness, disease, or parasitic infestation. You may also need to observe the flock dynamics to be certain that this bird is not being bullied away from the food.

Somewhere in this book I wrote, should lie your answer.

It's 2 birds now, both older birds we got, the younger bird(about 2 years old) seems fine, right now. Feed isn't that old, am going to start spreading the food on the ground and see if the younger bird stays well. Am new and extremely ignorant when it comes to chickens. I have feeding buckets, just turned the tubes up so she doesn't have to put her head in it.

 

[nuthatched]

No healthy animal will starve itself when food is present. They (the birds) could just be spoiled or picky.

 

[Ebony Rose]

It's 2 birds now, both older birds we got, the younger bird(about 2 years old) seems fine, right now. Feed isn't that old, am going to start spreading the food on the ground and see if the younger bird stays well. Am new and extremely ignorant when it comes to chickens. I have feeding buckets, just turned the tubes up so she doesn't have to put her head in it.

Depending upon the breed, 2 years can be OLD for a hen due to how some breeds have been 'engineered' to produce more eggs, more rapidly, than God intended. These breeds I call "high production" types, the sort of hen that lays an egg a day, (nearly) every day for her entire adulthood. They often succumb to reproductive disorders and/or cancer and seldom live to see their fourth birthday... with four being exceptionally old and lucky girl.
If possible, please post some clear pictures of your older girls, the ones that aren't eating right.
Has it been raining lately? If so, how long has it been since they've been given treatment for coccidiosis? Rain tends to make the one-celled parasite and its eggs float to the surface of the soil, making it easy for your flock to ingest it. Various strains of cocci exist, and every square inch of soil on the planet has one strain or another present. (Cocci overload... very young birds, old birds, or those with underlying health issues are most at risk). The treatment can be given prophylactically to your entire flock without risk to their health EVEN IF they are not suffering from an overload of cocci, so it's worth treating first and asking questions after. Do NOT offer B-vitamin supplements WHILE treating for cocci. DO offer B-vitamin supplementation after the full course of treatment is complete.
I feed my flock in a garden bowl... it's about two feet across and about ten inches tall, it's big enough for everyone to gather around and tall enough that if someone climbs in and starts kicking the food around it lands back into the bowl. It works for me. I wouldn't put their feed ON the ground unless it's pellets as the powdery stuff will just get trampled into the soil, wasted.

 

[Weaverfinch]

Depending upon the breed, 2 years can be OLD for a hen due to how some breeds have been 'engineered' to produce more eggs, more rapidly, than God intended. These breeds I call "high production" types, the sort of hen that lays an egg a day, (nearly) every day for her entire adulthood. They often succumb to reproductive disorders and/or cancer and seldom live to see their fourth birthday... with four being exceptionally old and lucky girl.
If possible, please post some clear pictures of your older girls, the ones that aren't eating right.
Has it been raining lately? If so, how long has it been since they've been given treatment for coccidiosis? Rain tends to make the one-celled parasite and its eggs float to the surface of the soil, making it easy for your flock to ingest it. Various strains of cocci exist, and every square inch of soil on the planet has one strain or another present. (Cocci overload... very young birds, old birds, or those with underlying health issues are most at risk). The treatment can be given prophylactically to your entire flock without risk to their health EVEN IF they are not suffering from an overload of cocci, so it's worth treating first and asking questions after. Do NOT offer B-vitamin supplements WHILE treating for cocci. DO offer B-vitamin supplementation after the full course of treatment is complete.
I feed my flock in a garden bowl... it's about two feet across and about ten inches tall, it's big enough for everyone to gather around and tall enough that if someone climbs in and starts kicking the food around it lands back into the bowl. It works for me. I wouldn't put their feed ON the ground unless it's pellets as the powdery stuff will just get trampled into the soil, wasted.

Can this treatment be bought at a chicken feed store?

 

[rjmyooper]

Great information on Coccidioidomycosis and "Valley Fever"; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4711193/

 

[NatJ]

Will a chicken starve itself to death if it doesn't like the food?

Typically no, a chicken will not starve itself to death if the chicken is otherwise healthy.

But if the chicken is not eating the food, check to be sure the chicken can actually get the food. Some feeders are too high, too complicated, or have openings that are the wrong size for certain chickens. Also make sure the chicken food is in appropriate size pieces (example: pellets for adult chickens are too big for tiny chicks, but any chicken can eat tiny pieces.)

If you have a typical dry chicken food (pellets or crumbles), you can add water to a small portion and see if the chicken likes the food better that way. They often do.

Many animals are cautious about "new" foods, so they try a little bit and eat more each day as long as it doesn't make them sick. If they are foraging for their own food, this can save them from eating too much of anything toxic. But when you are giving them a safe chicken food that happens to be unfamiliar, this behavior can be a nuisance!

I notice other people already gave tips about making sure the food actually is safe. If one chicken is eating it and doing well, that probably means it is safe for the other chicken as well.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Can this treatment be bought at a chicken feed store?

absolutely

 

[3KillerBs]

No healthy animal will starve itself when food is present. They (the birds) could just be spoiled or picky.

This.

Though as @NatJ said, the birds need to be able to actually access the food.

And, I'll add, they also need to recognize that it is food -- perhaps by always serving food in the same dish so that they understand that anything in the feeder is meant to be eaten.