How to confirm acceptable nutrition when free ranging?

[RoyalChick]

and my rural wooded area I know isn't good enough.

How did you determine that?

 

[thecatumbrella]

I am not sure what's odd about the schedule. They just have food and water access at all times. I'm not removing the feeder or anything. They have a 3 gallon nipple style waterer, and a 12 lbs hanging feeder that is about 8" off the ground. We're in a suburban location, and pests have not been a problem. The feeder is protected from the elements, I don't see any benefit in removing their food.

Sorry for the confusion. I understand your chickens have feed available all day, but they're choosing not to return to the run to eat. I agree with shortening their free range time, especially in the morning (when they're hungriest) to ensure they get some good time on the feeders.

 

[4chickensIA]

So they're not getting layer feed or any supplemental calcium like oyster shell?

Yes, they have access to oyster shells and grit within their run as well.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

They’ll self-regulate. If you’re offering them commercial feed and they’re preferring what they forage, then their forage is what they need. Just keep offering the feed. You don’t need to shut them out of free-range to make them eat the processed food.

I don’t hate commercial feed. But know that its a multi-billion dollar industry (as in, half one-trillion dollars) that has an interest in marketing the notion to you that animals can’t be healthy without their products.

 

[nuthatched]

How did you determine that?

I don't have flocks of feral chickens, or even wild turkeys.
The ground doesn't grow anything, there's no leaf litter or deep shrubbery to host food.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

We're in a suburban location, and pests have not been a problem. The feeder is protected from the elements, I don't see any benefit in removing their food.

I have kept more chickens in the suburbs than anywhere else and I consider rats, mice, and cockroaches pests. If they are eating more of your chicken feed than the chickens then that would be a problem. Hence I mention it and removing it. Another problem I found with leaving food out was staleness. Chickens don’t like stale feed. You have to decide what works for you and this might just be something to think about in determining that.

 

[RoyalChick]

They’ll self-regulate. If you’re offering them commercial feed and they’re preferring what they forage, then their forage is what they need. Just keep offering the feed. You don’t need to shut them out of free-range to make them eat the processed food.

I don’t hate commercial feed. But know that its a multi-billion dollar industry (as in, half one-trillion dollars) that has an interest in marketing the notion to you that animals can’t be healthy without their products.

I agree with the self regulate point. I have nothing against the feed industry making money - I use their products and am happy to have choice - but the chickens will know what they need.
Recently my chickens have barely been touching their feed because it is bug season! In the last few days a hawk has moved into the tree above the coop and my chickens are spending more time in their roofed run and are eating a bit more of the commercial feed. In winter they will eat a lot more.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

They’ll self-regulate. If you’re offering them commercial feed and they’re preferring what they forage, then their forage is what they need. Just keep offering the feed. You don’t need to shut them out of free-range to make them eat the processed food.

I don’t hate commercial feed. But know that its a multi-billion dollar industry (as in, half one-trillion dollars) that has an interest in marketing the notion to you that animals can’t be healthy without their products.

Caveat being that you presumably don’t have chemicals on your lawn. I’d keep them away from chemicals. And make sure they have plenty of grit to break the grass down.

Otherwise, let them eat all the green grass they want. Its very natural. I have not seen a study that says how much grass a chicken will eat, but turkeys, being closely related galliformes, will eat 50% of their daily food intake in grass.

What happens if you have a well-fed chicken in a dirt bottom coop released onto a green lawn? They usually chow down on green grass like its candy. Its their instinct. They know what they need.

 

[Perris]

It will depend a lot on the type(s) of grass in the lawn. Those of us whose chickens are at liberty to eat grass have noticed (on other threads) that they are quite selective. Not all greens are the same. A single grass species may suit for a while but is not going to contain the full range of nutrients a chicken needs. Chickens are not geese, for whom grass is a principal component of the natural diet. If they have been denied it for a long time then yes, they will gorge to get the nutrients present in grass and that were missing from their feed, but once sated, that appetite will dissipate.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

It will depend a lot on the type(s) of grass in the lawn. Those of us whose chickens are at liberty to eat grass have noticed (on other threads) that they are quite selective. Not all greens are the same. A single grass species may suit for a while but is not going to contain the full range of nutrients a chicken needs. Chickens are not geese, for whom grass is a principal component of the natural diet. If they have been denied it for a long time then yes, they will gorge to get the nutrients present in grass and that were missing from their feed, but once sated, that appetite will dissipate.

I should clarify I’m not arguing that the commercial feed should be removed from this scenario, where the yard doesn’t have much going on for the chickens beyond grass. Grass alone is not a sufficient forage.

I’m only advocating for letting them have their fill of grass, given that the grass doesn’t have chemicals on it and the chickens have plenty of grit. They won’t fill up on grass at the expense of not eating other foods/nutrients they need that’s being provided in the commercial feed. Its not analogous to a child eating their dessert instead of their main course, which is the impression I have of the OP’s main concern.

Now change the scenario to a yard that is large and varied in natural food sources, then one can consider doing away with commercial feed.