Help - my friend doesn't want me to feed the chickens at all tomorrow.

[shellistuart]

I live in a little house behind my friend's house. When I moved here, she had 17 roosters & chickens. Now we have 26. I fell in love with all of them immediately and have been feeding them real food twice a day for over a year now. They get so excited! They gobble it up. String cheese, pork roast, beef tips, corn, white beans, grapes, watermelon, canteloupe, honey dew melon, peanuts, ham, green beans, blueberries, squash, rice, peanut butter on toast, etc. 2 of our hens & one rooster out there were raised in my house for 4 months when their mother stopped taking care of them. So I really have a soft spot for Leroy, Sharon, and Jane - my babies.

Anyway, my friend used to just give each chicken one handful of seed per day. I know from raising them in my house that they eat like people do - breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus snacks. They get so hungry!

My friend can't stand it if there's any food left on the ground. So if she sees any specks of food buried in the ground, she doesn't feed them. I think it's more important to make sure there is something to eat for them, because it's a lot worse to go hungry than it is to have a bit of food on the ground. I think when you have something and you keep it in a cage, you are obligated to make sure its needs are met.

So today, because I fed them corn, peas, and grapes even though there was still some seed on the ground, she put her foot down and said I am not allowed to feed them AT ALL tomorrow. Even if all the food happens to be gone, she said I can't feed them. How would she like to not eat at all tomorrow??

I CAN'T NOT FEED THEM!! I'll be so upset I won't even be able to go to work. How can I just not feed them?? I don't know what to do.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Am I in the wrong here? Thank you very much. I cried for 2 1/2 hours straight after she told me.

 

[enola]

I would be upset if someone was feeding my animals without permission, also.

 

[shellistuart]

Well, before, she said she was glad that they had something to look forward to. Would you let your chickens sit there and be starving? 3 of them are mine.

 

[enola]

If you are concerned about your three chickens, take them home and care for them in the manner that you see fit.

As for her chickens, if she doesn't want you feeding them, then your don't have the right to feed them.

 

[dekel18042]

Well, before, she said she was glad that they had something to look forward to. Would you let your chickens sit there and be starving? 3 of them are mine.

While you have the right to feed your chickens, I can see why someone else would be upset with your feeding hers. I certainly wouldn't want anyone else feeding any of my animals.
The best food for chickens is age appropriate chicken food like grower food, all flock or laying crumbles, etc. Snacks are great and so is foraging, but I cringed a bit when I saw some of the foods you were feeding chickens. Not sure how good string cheese is, don't think birds digest dairy and ham could be a bit salty and has preservatives.

 

[enola]

There were a LOT of foods on that list that I would be very upset with.

 

[bantamized]

There were a LOT of foods on that list that I would be very upset with.

I'm with you I only feed my chickens veggies and fruits for snacks they get grower and mealworms any other time

 

[cppeace]

I understand your heart was in the right place but yes, most are her chickens and several of the foods you listed just wouldn't be healthy for a chicken but on very rare occasion. Chickens are omnivores but people food like lunch meat and such is designed for our digestion not a birds. The chickens will be fine a little food shorted one day. Discuss what she would allow you to feed the chickens and the amounts. If you don't like it then, yes remove your birds to your own area.

 

[Toddrick]

I have no problem with the scraps you were feeding them per say. The problem I see is the amount. Three times a day? They eat constantly by foraging, plus they should have access to real chicken feed all the time. They need the balanced nutrients in the feed to be healthiest, and feeding them so much scraps means they aren't eating their main food. You should only be giving them scraps as treats every now and then, and not feeding them scraps as their primary meal 3x a day. I suppose they could live off that, but it is not ideal, especially for layers, and more importantly the owner doesn't like it.

A handful of scratch is a good treat for an average day. Leftover fruit and veggies (watermelon rinds, and corn cobs are my favorites to give) is a great special treat once or twice a week. Pork and beans and stuff like that on a daily basis is going over board IMO.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens need a balanced diet. They need a certain ratio of protein, fats, fiber, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, salt, and other nutrients for good health. If the forage is good with lots of different weeds and grasses, weed and grass seeds, plenty of creepy crawlies to catch and eat, rotting vegetative matter to scratch in, maybe some large animal poop like cow or horse to gather good partially digested nutrients from they can do a pretty good job of balancing that diet themselves. But they are not going to get that balanced diet from foraging in suburbia. Suburban backyards don’t have the quality of forage they need.

They are not getting that balance from the foods you are feeding them either. Their commercial chicken feed is a balanced diet. In suburbia they should get about 90% of what they eat from the commercial chicken feed. The rest can be treats or “dessert”. They will do fine on that. The general rule of thumb is that they should be able to clean up any treat you feed them in about 15 to 20 minutes. If there is any left after that you are overfeeding them that stuff. Personally I don’t see anything wrong with any of that stuff you are feeding them as long as it is fed in moderation. It sounds like your neighbor did not have a problem until you refused to feed them in moderation.

I don’t know what “feed” those seeds are that you mentioned. It might be scratch, a mix of seeds that is not a balanced diet for all I know. It’s possible they are not getting the balanced diet they need anyway. It’s possible those “seeds” are a commercial feed that does provide a balanced diet.

But those are not your chickens. It’s up to the owner to manage that. She has asked you to feed in moderation and you refuse. How would you feel if someone consistently fed your children so much dessert every day that they would not eat their regular food? Would you want someone feeding your dog nothing but a huge amount of doggy treats so they don’t bother to eat when you provide regular dog food? If three of those chickens are actually yours take them and feed them as you will. If they are not yours they are not yours to feed or control.

It sounds like she has been willing to work with you and cooperate but no, you have to do it your way and not listen to what the owner of the animals says about how those animals should be managed. I consider you very much in the wrong here no matter where your heart is.