Cattle dog Mom
Songster
Probably the reason your hens seem to "choke" is because they are HUNGRY and scarfing the food down as fast as they can before someone else eats it and they have to go without. You said you think they should eat less than 1/2 cup a day each. Even at 6 cups, (Which is what your sister thinks they should have it seems) that is STILL less than 1/2 a cup per hen per day. 3 cups is less than 1/4 of a cup each. And when rationing feed like that, there is a very good chance that some birds are eating MORE than their alloted amount and others are getting less. (Maybe even far less.)