How do you know they’re getting enough food?

[JoCin]

Hi everyone! We’re 9 weeks in to having chickens today! We love having our 6 cinnamon queens. Since they’re hybrids and require lots of nutrients, we give them daily. My question is for our last on the pecking order gal. She gets chased away from the food often that has the supplement in it. She does eat and lays great, but does anyone have any advice on making sure she gets all the other 5 are? Thanks

 

[nuthatched]

As long as they're being fed properly with chickens feed, they rarely need any supplements. what's their diet?
Get a second feeder. Feel their crops.
Hybrids don't require extra nutrients.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I second getting a second feeder. You say you feed them daily - do give them a set number of meals a day or do you free feed (leave the feed in there so they can eat as much as they want)? And what is this supplement you are adding to their feed?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have nutritionally balanced chicken feed available during waking hours and multiple feeders spread around to prevent food guarding, and they'll all have enough to eat without issue.

 

[JoCin]

I have a feeder with 16% pellets that is free choice. Each morning they get a pan of 3 cups of 18% scratch with Omega3 and coop kelp and brewers yeast. The pan comes in at night until morning again

 

[nuthatched]

I have a feeder with 16% pellets that is free choice. Each more they get a pan of 3 cups of 18% scratch with Omega3 and coop kelp and brewers yeast. The pan comes in at night until morning again

How old are your birds?
What's is this scratch? They don't need the supplements.

 

[StinkyAcres]

What's in the scratch? I'd worry about them becoming chubby being fed scratch daily.

 

[JoCin]

They’re 27 weeks old. It’s Scratch and Peck brand feed

 

[StinkyAcres]

They’re 27 weeks old. It’s Scratch and Peck brand feed

Starter, grower, all flock, layer, or just scratch?

 

[nao57]

When they get old enough to lay eggs, you can actually use the color of their yolks to tell if their nutrition is adequate. The darker the orange the better the nutrition; the lighter and paler the yellow the worse their nutrition is.

You can also disturb the pecking order once in awhile to corral and stop the alpha bird from going after the weakest. Then after feeding the one you are worried about, let the alpha back in then. Also you can break up bullying issues if you are worried about this, in a similar manner. Isolate the 'provocateur' for a few days; although in this heat you have to be careful how you do that.