Hens won't eat any food, cry on and off all day

[KMac091]

We're at our wits' end! We have four backyard hens that we love dearly and pamper too much. We've been in search of the ideal food situation, because we're dealing with the predictable rat problem, and also our hens are bad eaters. They only eat their favorite seeds from the whole grain mix, mostly they dig it into the dirt, and they don't see crumbles or pellets as food unless I make a mash of them (which they also knock into the dirt). They'll take one or two bites of mash, walk away, never return, cry for ages. Egg laying has been on and off (we've also dealt with worms and possible fowl pox or scaly leg mites, lice, and a lot of heat this summer). Molting has started. Their yard is completely enclosed and unfortunately lacking in grass because, well, they're chickens. We bring them fresh greens a few times a week, but they prefer wandering through my garden (supervised) when I bring them out for a jaunt. There's plenty of grit and oyster shells in their food (and in the dirt), though they far prefer their own eggshells to the oyster shells.

I know they can train us to pamper with this horrendous noisemaking, but when their crops are still empty at the end of the day, I worry they'll starve themselves. Are they too stupid to figure this out? Or stubborn enough to starve themselves?

- crying chicken keeper of crying chickens

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have you tried fermenting their whole grain feed?

What feed specifically are you currently using? Is it fresh/recently milled?

 

[KMac091]

Have you tried fermenting their whole grain feed?

What feed specifically are you currently using? Is it fresh/recently milled?

Hi! Yes, I do give them fermented seeds (S&P whole grain, without corn). They enjoy them, but walk away and ignore leftovers just like with the other food. The feed was recently purchased, though I'm never clear what counts as stale.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

have you tried trapping the rats?
we used this to kill many of our little cute rodent friends. make sure to get the rat size one.
do you see them in the daytime? if so, you can use eel traps. put a bit of corn, peanut butter, a jar lid with a bit of molasses, anything you think will lure. we caught 27 rats in one day! the rats won't die automatically, so you must do with them as you see fit. some ideas are:
drown them in a large fish tank (the option we used)
feed them to your pet snake
shoot them with a pellet gun ( what mom did to many afterwards, who did not get lured by delicious treats)

 

[TooCheep]

What is S&P whole grain? A full name/web site would be helpful to examine what is in it and comment further. Pellets/crumbles are a good way to keep their intake properly balanced and not allow them to pick out the "candy".

How many birds do you have? Are they all laying hens or do you have a mix of ages/sexes?

It sounds like you may need to overhaul your feed setup. There are low/no-spill feed setups. Grit and calcium should *never* be mixed in with feed. Pictures of your current feed setup would help as well.

People here are very helpful. Glad you are here to help your chickens do better.

 

[KMac091]

What is S&P whole grain? A full name/web site would be helpful to examine what is in it and comment further. Pellets/crumbles are a good way to keep their intake properly balanced and not allow them to pick out the "candy".

How many birds do you have? Are they all laying hens or do you have a mix of ages/sexes?

It sounds like you may need to overhaul your feed setup. There are low/no-spill feed setups. Grit and calcium should *never* be mixed in with feed. Pictures of your current feed setup would help as well.

People here are very helpful. Glad you are here to help your chickens do better.

We absolutely need a feeding overhaul. S&P is the brand Scratch & Peck, I thought it was a pretty mainstream brand. We have 4 laying hens, 3 of them are about 1.5 and the other one is about 3.

I am now informed on why not to add oyster shells to the feed, thank you for telling me. Yikes.

We have this feeder. It's pretty useless because the dust from the food clogs the output almost immediately. I've read complaints that other feeders (like treadle feeders) have the same issue. What's your setup?

 

[KMac091]

have you tried trapping the rats?
we used this to kill many of our little cute rodent friends. make sure to get the rat size one.
do you see them in the daytime? if so, you can use eel traps. put a bit of corn, peanut butter, a jar lid with a bit of molasses, anything you think will lure. we caught 27 rats in one day! the rats won't die automatically, so you must do with them as you see fit. some ideas are:
drown them in a large fish tank (the option we used)
feed them to your pet snake
shoot them with a pellet gun ( what mom did to many afterwards, who did not get lured by delicious treats)

lord have we tried! we've done the have-a-heart live traps as well as snap traps. using peanut butter, corn, cheese, etc. the rats are too smart, with too many snacks that aren't in death traps.

 

[TooCheep]

OK. That info helped a lot. Thanks.

First- It is obvious that you are well meaning by the type of feed you are using- organic with no corn and soybeans and very expensive. Unfortunately, there are multiple problems with your current setup. The good news is that it is fixable, but chickens don't like change, so they may complain for a while.

Problem #1- You are feeding scratch grains as a primary feed. That allows them to pick out the good tasting grains while ignoring the others that are required for balanced nutrition. That can result in predictable health problems. The usual solution is to use pellets or crumbles (usually pellets for adults) which force the birds to eat the balanced ration. Scratch grains are generally fed only as a treat (< 10% of food), not as a primary feed.

Problem #2- Mixing grit (rocks) and calcium (usually oyster shell) in with the feed. Do not confuse the two- they perform very different functions. These should be in additional containers "on the side". Putting them in with the feed may force them to eat more or less than they need. Chickens are good about eating as much of these as they need. Let them control their own intake.

Problem #3- Chickens are naturally messy eaters. They like to flick their beaks in the feed to find the good bits. That traces to their natural habit of digging around in plants/dirt looking for seeds, bugs and worms. That wasted feed raises costs and attracts pests. There are feeder designs that greatly cut down on food waste. The basic idea is to get the chicken to stick their head into a hole in the feeder. Flicked food stays in the feeder and not on the ground. I'll get some pictures/videos in another post for you.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

lord have we tried! we've done the have-a-heart live traps as well as snap traps. using peanut butter, corn, cheese, etc. the rats are too smart, with too many snacks that aren't in death traps.

have-a-heart traps never work. snap traps are cheap Chinese junk. trust me, I know from experience.
I had a very bad rat problem for awhile. they even chewed into the (supposedly rat-proof) coops, until mom the handyman came along with her pellet gun. the only way to work is with water, and food. the traps have to be pretty much solid metal, or electric. that's just the way it is with rats. they are too smart for their own existence.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

You are feeding scratch grains as a primary feed. That allows them to pick out the good tasting grains while ignoring the others that are required for balanced nutrition.

Scratch & Peck is the brand name, it's whole grain, but it isn't "scratch grains". The brand does recommend fermenting or wetting the food to avoid the problem of eating only the bits they want (and to ensure they get all the "fines"), but it is a 'nutritionally balanced' feed. I just wanted to clarify that point.