hens not eating or laying after new bedding

[cats and chicks]

Hi
Im a new hen mom and just bought and put out some new shavings for my girls sat. Also, having a hard time telling how much they have been eating as they refuse to eat out of a bowl so much of it seems to be getting lost in the bedding. Tried putting food on a flat piece of cardboard, but theyre not touching it, and they haven't laid any eggs since the changes.
They seem fine otherwise, but the girl I got thrm from told me they seem to get tired of their feed every few months or so.....
Just wondering if snd when I should worry and what, if anything, i can do for them. I know most species of birds tend to not show illness until they are almost dead, and i dont want to miss something simple
Just a little back story: i got my girls 2 weeks ago from someone that had them in a neighborhood backyard. They were free range with access to a large coop. The prev owners used to throw food out for them
I now have them in a complete enclosure because there are coyotes nearby and right now, im not living where they are, so letting them free range right now isnt an option.
Tia for your comments!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I would put their food in a feeder and leave it in there.

When they are hungry they will eat.

It is normal for them to stop laying with stress such as a move.

I hope this helps!

 

[Judy]

Yup, I agree. I have a couple of them that are much like this one -- I just grabbed a pic off the web of one similar to mine. They are well worth it, IMO. They are inexpensive and easy to clean. You can hang them up at around their "chin" or "shoulder" height where they will cause little waste. It's easy to see how much they have eaten. I keep the litter raked away from under the feeder, so if they do spill a little (or I spill when filling it,) they are more likely to eat it off the ground.

And yes, they will eat when they get hungry enough. It could be they are actually afraid of the new litter. Chickens adjust to change just fine -- but not right away; they are likely to be afraid of anything new, lol. I've seen mine afraid to go in the coop because I put some hay down, instead of the pine shavings they were used to. Took them a few hours to get their nerve up.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Yup, I agree. I have a couple of them that are much like this one -- I just grabbed a pic off the web of one similar to mine. They are well worth it, IMO. They are inexpensive and easy to clean. You can hang them up at around their "chin" or "shoulder" height where they will cause little waste. It's easy to see how much they have eaten. I keep the litter raked away from under the feeder, so if they do spill a little (or I spill when filling it,) they are more likely to eat it off the ground.

And yes, they will eat when they get hungry enough. It could be they are actually afraid of the new litter. Chickens adjust to change just fine -- but not right away; they are likely to be afraid of anything new, lol. I've seen mine afraid to go in the coop because I put some hay down, instead of the pine shavings they were used to. Took them a few hours to get their nerve up.

Yes! That is my current favorite feeder- the three pound ones. They are awesome. The food doen't go stale since it is a smaller capacity. I got rid of my huge ones.

 

[realsis]

Do you have a update on them? Are they eating yet? Just wondering how they are doing?

 

[cats and chicks]

Thanks everyone!
They weren't eating from a feeder before, and the home they're in at the moment is temporary.
When we get to the new house, I plan to get them all set up with feeders and a watering system.
So today I dropped by to clean up and lay down some fresh shavings and both were eating like little piggies and Rosie had graced us with another egg.
Still haven't seen any eggs from my smaller girl yet, so not really sure if she's just done or if it's heen a combination of too cold and moving stress that has her not laying...