Hens scattering feed all over

[flock mommasan]

A couple of my 9 month hens have started scattering their feed out of the feeder like they are looking something. We put oyster shell in with the feed so I'm wondering if that's what they are searching for? We are in the process of putting out a separate feeder of oyster shell in case this is the issue. Or perhaps they are mad because it's been hot lately and they haven't been out of the cage quite as much -- but they DO have a small "swimming pool" to keep 'em cool, especially for those that like to stand in it.

Any thoughts? And do we not refill the feeder until we see that they've eaten all the pellets they've scattered??

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Chickens spooning out food is a pretty normal problem, even in a bowl of ration they are hardwired to search through it for the good stuff. Some feeders are said to minimize it. I would definitely keep the oyster shells in a separate bowl as they will seek it out as they need it and they don't consume much.

 

[MasAhora]

Scratching through their food is, I believe, normal foraging behaviour. I have made (ummm my dear Dad made) long feeder troughs for their fermented feed and some still insist on walking through them and scratching through the wet feed....to find the good/favourite stuff first.
Try feeding a mama with chicks - she scratches up a huge mess teaching the chicks how to forage so from day one the chicks are scratchers and mess makers

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I once made the mistake of mixing scratch with the chicken feed. They went for the scratch and made a huge mess on the floor with feed. Never again.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Very possible they're looking specifically for the oyster shell. For my flock I've found the least amount of scattering/food waste is by having layer pellets in a standard round feeder (the uniformity of the pellets causes them to not dig through it as much), fermented mash in cat bowls, and oyster shell and grit in separate cups. I used to put the mash dry into a pvc gravity fed feeder but as you can imagine there was a lot of waste with them digging through for favorite bits.

 

[DLE140]

Very possible they're looking specifically for the oyster shell. For my flock I've found the least amount of scattering/food waste is by having layer pellets in a standard round feeder (the uniformity of the pellets causes them to not dig through it as much), fermented mash in cat bowls, and oyster shell and grit in separate cups. I used to put the mash dry into a pvc gravity fed feeder but as you can imagine there was a lot of waste with them digging through for favorite bits.

You can do a search here for diy "no waste feeder" . Made with 3" 90 degree pvc elbows and a 5 gal plastic bucket. I have zero waste on my feed.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

View attachment 1062206
You can do a search here for diy "no waste feeder" . Made with 3" 90 degree pvc elbows and a 5 gal plastic bucket. I have zero waste on my feed.

I use something similar (90 degree bend on outside of bucket) and when I mixed scratch with feed they simply shoveled out the feed onto the floor and ate the scratch.

 

[DLE140]

I use something similar (90 degree bend on outside of bucket) and when I mixed scratch with feed they simply shoveled out the feed onto the floor and ate the scratch.

Wow, I guess they were picking out the "good stuff"