Feeding chickens scratch in winter

[OrpingtonManiac]

We have 5 hens, all Orpingtons, who are 3 years old. After one hen got sick and died (canker), we noticed that all our other hens were very thin -thinner than usual. We weighed them, but it was really inaccurate, but checking their keel bones, it was very prominent. Then, they started moulting, and stopped eating pellets at all. The only food they would eat was scratch, and we gave them meat for protein. We've switched to growers now, as they aren’t laying, but still give them the occasional handful of scratch. However, i've seen that it could give them fatty liver? They're acting fine, apart from one who keeps sneezing.
Should we stop giving them scratch?

 

[saysfaa]

Scratch does not have a good enough nutrient profile to be anything but a treat*. A useful rule of thumb for feeding treats is up to 10% of their diet. That comes out to a tablespoon per hen per day. So, if you have smallish hands and a handful is one handed (vs scooping with both hands cupped together) and "occasionally" means not more than once per day and you don't feed any other treats then what you are doing is probably not harmful.

What, if any, other food do they have access to?

Did you figure out why they didn't eat the pellets?

*The way most of us feed our chickens.

 

[Shadrach]

We have 5 hens, all Orpingtons, who are 3 years old. After one hen got sick and died (canker), we noticed that all our other hens were very thin -thinner than usual. We weighed them, but it was really inaccurate, but checking their keel bones, it was very prominent. Then, they started moulting, and stopped eating pellets at all. The only food they would eat was scratch, and we gave them meat for protein. We've switched to growers now, as they aren’t laying, but still give them the occasional handful of scratch. However, i've seen that it could give them fatty liver? They're acting fine, apart from one who keeps sneezing.
Should we stop giving them scratch?

What I would like everyone to bear in mind is that free ranging chickens who consume way above the fat content of commercial feed aren't all dropping dead from fatty liver disease. Most grasses have a higher fat content than commercial feed, never mind the fat from bugs and grubs.
It's the type of fats and the lifestyle of the chickens that may cause fat deposit problems and of course, often overlooked is the energy expenditure of the chicken. An all day free ranger that forages should get sufficient exercise and food variety to keep accumulated fat a t bay. A bored confined chicken that has commercial feed available 24/7 is likely to over eat. The fats used in commercial feed are often the cheapest and possible trans fats
and this may be a ointributing cause of fatty live disease.

 

[theoldchick]

https://the-chicken-chick.com/surviving-winter-with-chickens/

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

Scratch does not have a good enough nutrient profile to be anything but a treat*. A useful rule of thumb for feeding treats is up to 10% of their diet. That comes out to a tablespoon per hen per day. So, if you have smallish hands and a handful is one handed (vs scooping with both hands cupped together) and "occasionally" means not more than once per day and you don't feed any other treats then what you are doing is probably not harmful.

What, if any, other food do they have access to?

Did you figure out why they didn't eat the pellets?

*The way most of us feed our chickens.

Thanks for the reply!

They have access to veg (occasionally), oyster shell, grit and eggshells

They didn't eat the pellets the previous moult, and they often wake up with small crops, so i presume moulting makes their digestions slower (?)

 

[Penpal]

Fat does not make you fat, except transfats (as mentioned by Shadrach). Carbohydrates are turned into fat and then used for energy. If the chickens are eating too much carbohydrates then they are not using the stored fat.

They may have stopped eating the kibble if it has gone off. For instance if it got damp and mold started growing in it. Giving them meat is a fine idea, but it should be raw. Cooking the meat destroys enzymes that help them digest it. Also, you loose certain nutrients with cooking.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What kind of pellets are you feeding them? Layer pellets? If they're molting they're probably not laying. Do they normally eat pellets? Try them on a 20% or higher all-flock crumble and see if they'll eat that. Layer pellets contain calcium, and if they're not laying they don't need it. Offer crushed oyster shell in a separate container on the side, in the coop, and when they get ready to lay they'll help themselves. Their crops should be empty in the morning before they eat or drink, by the way, and nice and full at night before they go to roost.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

What kind of pellets are you feeding them? Layer pellets? If they're molting they're probably not laying.

We have changed from layers to organic growers pellets, as there are no all-flock crumble available for us.

Do they normally eat pellets?

Yes, but its just during their moult when they stop.

Offer crushed oyster shell in a separate container on the side, in the coop, and when they get ready to lay they'll help themselves.

We've done that already

Their crops should be empty in the morning before they eat or drink, by the way, and nice and full at night before they go to roost.

Thats what concerns me, their crops have always got some food in, in the morning, before they eat/drink anything. Its not sour crop or impacted crop, because their crops empty completely during the day, in between feeds.

 

[SueT]

Check the date on the feed, make sure it is fresh. Mine like the 20% protein all flock from Kalmbach or Purina. Both these companies use Julian calendar to date their feeds. First the year, 24, then the day. Days are numbered 001 to 365. Feed milled today would read 24341.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

Check the date on the feed, make sure it is fresh. Mine like the 20% protein all flock from Kalmbach or Purina. Both these companies use Julian calendar to date their feeds. First the year, 24, then the day. Days are numbered 001 to 365. Feed milled today would read 24341.

We bought the bag while they were moulting, and fed it to them straight away. It wasn’t moldy