Empty Crop at Night - How do I make sure my chicken is getting enough to eat?

[3KillerBs]

We have 4 feeders in a covered area of the run. They are right next to each other,

Best to have your feeders set up well-separated and, most importantly, out of sight from each other so that a bird eating at one feeder can't see or by seen by birds at other feeders.

 

[alwaystj9]

Best to have your feeders set up well-separated and, most importantly, out of sight from each other so that a bird eating at one feeder can't see or by seen by birds at other feeders.

Weigh your hen 2X day for a bit, if she's not getting enough to eat, that should show the loss. You can use your bathroom scale. Weigh you and the bird, then weigh just you and subtract. A digital scale works best for this. Doesn't have to be accurate. Mostly looking for a pattern.
I also keep my feeders out of sight of each other.
I would also worry about a hen going to roost each night with an empty crop, especially with colder weather coming on!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Hello, chicken friends!

I have a flock of 8 six-month-old Australorps.
I have one pullet who has seemed a bit of a loner in recent months. I've wondered if there's something wrong with her--mainly eyesight, as her eyes look a little different (I think the third eyelid is a little bigger, maybe? so it's slightly exposed?), but her pupils dilate when exposed to light and she moves when she sees us coming. Her eyes also have not changed in any way, so I may just be paranoid.

When I come out to the run with their daily grub treat, 5 or 6 will run right up to me. The shyer pullets hang back and eat the bits I scatter on the ground a little later. Recently, this pullet hangs back entirely. She does not come up for treats. She used to eat out of my hand, but, now, if I seek her out and offer food, she walks or darts away.
Tonight, I felt the girls' crops after they had roosted. Her crop felt absolutely empty.
She's one of 3 who are not laying quite yet, so I cannot say if her egg production has stopped.

I know she theoretically has access to food because my husband built 4 PVC pipe feeders that last for days.

I haven't noticed any bullying, wounds, or any chickens chasing her away from food. However, our head pullet will push her way in to take treats from my hand and I've seen her scare off pullets that she suddenly feels are too close.

Is this a bullying problem? Do I need to isolate my loner girl to build her confidence? Or do I need to feed her separately from the others to make sure she's eating?

We have a rabbit cage we've modified with a roost, so we can isolate her in our basement/garage, and let her free range a bit. We don't have a rooster or fenced lawn, so our girls are kept in a large run and don't free range often. When they do, they stick close to the run. They just refuse to come when called when it's time to go back in.

Any advice, please, on how to help make sure my girl is getting enough to eat?

Thank you in advance!

I have 4 feeding stations for 5 hens. This works for us. I use stainless serving spoons, lol. See pic. Good luck. Making a mash of feed and water usually gets everyone's attention. Give this questionable hen some mash from your hand. Make sure the others are not looking tho, lol. More feeding stations should help. Good luck!

 

[Al Gerhart]

You said four PVC feeders, are these the type like in the picture above, a U bottom and long stand pipe? Or are they the PVC bucket feeders?

 

[Iluveggers]

I reused plastic takeout containers, and along with my main feeder, I put 4 dishes of wet mash (just a scoop or two of their feed with water added), in 4 spread out places around the run. I noticed some of my more “assertive” girls were taking over the main feeder causing some of my more shy girls to hang back. Now I notice the shy girls will see where the assertive girls are eating, and head to one of the other bowls. Each one is behind something, one behind steps, one behind the roost bar, one under the coop, etc. This has helped tremendously. I always sit back and watch them eat for a few minutes after I let them out, to make sure everyone goes to a bowl and starts eating.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

You said four PVC feeders, are these the type like in the picture above, a U bottom and long stand pipe? Or are they the PVC bucket feeders?

neither, they are literally just big ol' stainless steel spoons that I had. that and some zip ties. I like how well stainless cleans.