They vary in age, youngest is 2 days, 15/16 weeks, 20/22 weeks and just over a year. They don’t eat all their scraps, often the chipmunks, birds and my dog will clean up after them and if they don’t then I will clean it up. They are very active and are constantly moving around the yard, thanks for the advice!
My birds have hanging feeders that always have feed available but I have a lot of birds. I don't give them treats daily but they do get some quite often. The birds take what they want. I have 40# feeders in the coops so I fill them once a week. I go through a half ton of feed a month. I realize my situation is quite different than most chicken owners. Good luck and have fun...Okay, then maybe I'm not understanding treats as opposed to food.
Can I ask why? My friend, who is a major bird person, has had chickens for 20 years, healthy and some still laying at 8 years. and told me to feed them half scratch and half layer pellets mixed - 1/2 a cup per chicken daily. That's 2 cups of pellets and scratch per day.
My feeder is just a tray raised off the ground.What kind of feeder do you use?
I like my traditional, hanging feeder, which I have in a shelter so that it stays dry.
I live in the Steamy Southeast of the USA, where 95F with 95% humidity is our summer normal, and have never had feed rot/mold unless water was directly getting into it.
Since the life of a mouse in a chicken run in the daytime is short, your better option would be to either switch to a rodent-proof feeder or to put your feed into a secure place (in your house, inside a metal garbage can, etc.), at night.
I personally limit scratch, empty carbs, to a few handfuls a week -- thrown into the run in whatever place I think needs to have the litter turned over.
I don't limit green stuff like weeds, veggie trimmings, etc. on the theory that they'd be eating plenty of greens if they were free-ranging.
I don't find that my birds over-eat fruit. I give them melon guts and rinds, bruised apples, and various peels and they generally eat some and leave the rest to become one with the litter.
HOWEVER, I'm sure that if they didn't have free access to their feed at all times during the day they would gobble down anything that appeared without self-limiting because they were HUNGRY. Chickens are designed to forage all day rather than eat bulk meals.
Scratch is empty carbs. The pellets are scientifically designed with the perfect balance of nutrients to keep chickens in optimal health.
Not trying to be a problem or anything, but what do you mean by unnatural? I remember my grandparents and great-grandmother going out in the morning and throwing whatever feed they were using (I think it was cracked corn) to the chickens in the morning. Later in the day, they threw the household kitchen scraps to them. They didn't feed them anything at night. The chickens lived in the backyard and one of those backyards was in New York City.
I think a little tiny bit like you’re doing is fine but mixing it in half and half as part of their diet like OP was doing isn’t especially because I guarantee they’re not even touching the pellets if given a choice.Seriously? It is literally a handful for the flock. They are adult birds. Thought it was good to give them something to do.
They eat a lot of their feed, Purina Flock Raiser. They get oystershell and grit on the side. They also just get a handful of mealworms. What is the reason not to give them scratch? If is a good brand, no corn in it.
