Foraging for food...

[ChuckenGirl]

So, with the huge flock we have (70 ish birds) my dad and I decided it would be best to start feeding the chickens every other day and let them forage the days they don't get food. This is because the price of food and we can't be buying 50 lbs of food every 3 days. So this seems like A good idea right?
WRONG
the chickens that were hatched out of incubators with no mother hen don't know how to forage, but the ones that were raised with a mother hen, do. So we have an issue... I thought foraging was an instinct, but not for these chickens

 

[Judy]

I love broodies but you gotta start somewhere, so most of mine came from a hatchery. Some forage much better than others, but they all do it. They seem to learn from each other. Henderson's chart includes info on which breeds are better at foraging, too. I don't limit feed with my free range flock, but they don't eat a lot of feed, they find their own.

Maybe give them some more time?

 

[ChuckenGirl]

hmm... good idea