How do you get them to forage?

[Cindy2348]

My meaties are three weeks old and have been outside for a week and still won't forage! Any ideas on how to get them to do so?

 

[lilmouthy]

How much are you feeding them? When mine were younger,and I didn't know any better(I say this because I have never planned on eating mine...mine have always been for pets)I was feeding mine all the time,so of course they didn't forage. Why do all that work when you get food from the feeder? After reading so much on here how if you want to keep these guys as pets,you have to only feed them a small amount,I cut waay back on their feed. Now that they only get fed once in the AM and once in the PM,They pretty much forage off an on all day. Now when it gets really hot out you'll find them under our shed cooling off,but other than that,they forage just like any other chicken.

 

[Cindy2348]

Mine are now only fed for 12 hours a day. They do not have access to food during the whole 12 hours either and am doing the no food for the first hour they are out but they are still not eating grass or anything. I can offer them treats and they show no interest. We just moved them into a much larger pen with oodles of space to run around so we will see if they start to show some more interest.

 

[cassie]

I am going to sound like a curmudgeon here, but if you want a chicken that forages don't get Cornish X broilers. That is not what they were bred or designed to do. Get some of the other broiler breeds like freedom rangers or something that is a little more active instead. Getting a coop potato like a Cornish X to forage is a little like getting my brother-in-law off the couch. It can be done, but, in my humble opinion, it really isn't worth it.

 

[LarryPQ]

A new vegatable: coop potato. Sounds less than appetizing.

 

[jenjscott]

I would let them go hungry until instincts kick in and they start foraging. After the first time or two, they will know what's going on. Believe my, they are not going to starve, they will find something to process! I'm not talking about a starvation program. just don't feed them at all one morning and see how long it takes. So you have another more active chicken you could put in there to get them started?

 

[jaku]

I've never had my Cornish X's eat anything but their food. Not a single blade of grass.

 

[lilmouthy]

Yep,if they get hungry enough,they'll look for their own feed. When I feed mine,they really don't get a whole lot. I'll put it to you this way,with in 5 minutes of feeding mine,they are finished. That's all they'll get until about 6 PM. Mine eat grass,weeds,insects,flower seeds...just like any other chicken. They even go to the drive way and eat small rocks/sand. But,if you are planning on eating yours,I can see where you can't cut back on their feed like I do mine. Just wanted to point out to the ones saying they will NOT forage,YES they do...unless mine are some really strange ones.

 

[cassie]

Quote:
I attribute the term to Gail Damerow in Storey's Guide to Backyard Chickens. It fits. And I think my coop potatoes are yummy.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Yep, let them sit without food for a while. It won't take them long to figure out that those things moving in the grass over there actually taste good.... along with those mixed salad greens.

It always reminds me of the movie Madagascar with the circus animals... when they get tossed into the wild.... It's kind of like that with cornish x's as they are clueless when they hit pasture and it's almost like they are afraid of a little bug that crawls by as almost to say... "you expect me to eat that"

The best results to get them to forage in my opinon.... I just learned this with the last batch of chickens I did. So I'm letting you in on a secret here... What I did was I didn't feed them at all during the day and I lifted the tractor off of the ground... let them roam all day and turst me they did roam as they ARE chickens... no matter how many people try to say they are freaks of nature and all the other bs that may come with them.... bottom line the instincs havn't changed, they are still a chicken.

So with it being daylight, their instincs tell them to look for food... However when they are looking for the prepared meal they are so used to getting they stumble accross all kinds of tastey treats on the way. Now when the sun goes down put a light in the tractor and let them eat all night (feed) Let their twelve hours of feeding be at night and their twelve hours of rest be in the day.

Don't worry about letting them sleep twelve hours as they will do fine and get their cat naps when they want.