Is this normal?

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fuzzyfarmer

Chirping
Mar 9, 2021
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I have 6 Easter Egger hens that are about 7 weeks old. I converted half of a large old tool shed into a coop, and they have access to a large grassy run during the day. I have two questions:

1: My chickens don't seem to eat a lot of their feed. They seem to forage quite a bit but... should I be concerned at how little they're eating? I've read an adult chicken will eat 1.5 cups of fermented feed a day. All 6 of them eat maybe 3 cups a day? They're pooping and no one seems lethargic or sick at all.

2: Related to question 1.... they absolutely LOVE to be outside. Not a problem, but today we have severe thunderstorm warnings and heavy rain was blowing in through their chicken door and soaking the inside of the coop. So I wanted to get them inside so I could close it. I tried treats (they usually come running for those), I tried lifting them (they immediately ran back outside), I tried covering their door landing so it wasn't being lashed with rain (they ignored me).

Is that... normal? At this point, even if we have a tornado warning I won't be able to get them inside the coop so I'll just have to hope for the best. They don't seem to mind the horrible weather. They're hanging out, scratching, looking for worms in the dirt area... They have a covered area outside, too, but they're not using it (they do nap under it when it's sunny because it provides some shade and hawk safety, even though their run is completely covered against predators, they don't realize that).

I think their coop is pretty nice, but I'm not a chicken so maybe I'm missing something?
 
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They are out foraging so they won't eat as much feed. I would enjoy the cheaper feed bill for the moment. I wouldn't be feeding them a bunch of filler (treats) when they are like that.

All chickens are different but mine love playing in the rain. My main run and coop are always open to each other and covered. I let them come and go as they please so they can stand in blowing in rain or go find a spot to stay dry.
 
As far as the weather thing goes, I would say that's normal. My chickens enjoy being out in the rain, as long as it's not a downpour. They look like they're finding plenty to eat, so my guess is they are eating all the worms that come to the surface during the rain.
As long as there's food available to them, I wouldn't worry about it. Like you said, everyone's acting normal and seems healthy.
 
Isadora T said:
As far as the weather thing goes, I would say that's normal. My chickens enjoy being out in the rain, as long as it's not a downpour. They look like they're finding plenty to eat, so my guess is they are eating all the worms that come to the surface during the rain.
As long as there's food available to them, I wouldn't worry about it. Like you said, everyone's acting normal and seems healthy.
Click to expand...
It was a crazy heavy downpour. They kind of huddled up for a minute but then went back to foraging. It must be the lure of the worms. My yard is chockablock with worms. Every shovelfull I pull up is just like 50% worms.
 
fuzzyfarmer said:
I have 6 Easter Egger hens that are about 7 weeks old. I converted half of a large old tool shed into a coop, and they have access to a large grassy run during the day. I have two questions:

1: My chickens don't seem to eat a lot of their feed. They seem to forage quite a bit but... should I be concerned at how little they're eating? I've read an adult chicken will eat 1.5 cups of fermented feed a day. All 6 of them eat maybe 3 cups a day? They're pooping and no one seems lethargic or sick at all.

2: Related to question 1.... they absolutely LOVE to be outside. Not a problem, but today we have severe thunderstorm warnings and heavy rain was blowing in through their chicken door and soaking the inside of the coop. So I wanted to get them inside so I could close it. I tried treats (they usually come running for those), I tried lifting them (they immediately ran back outside), I tried covering their door landing so it wasn't being lashed with rain (they ignored me).

Is that... normal? At this point, even if we have a tornado warning I won't be able to get them inside the coop so I'll just have to hope for the best. They don't seem to mind the horrible weather. They're hanging out, scratching, looking for worms in the dirt area... They have a covered area outside, too, but they're not using it (they do nap under it when it's sunny because it provides some shade and hawk safety, even though their run is completely covered against predators, they don't realize that).

I think their coop is pretty nice, but I'm not a chicken so maybe I'm missing something?
Click to expand...
Chickens prefer to be outside unless there is deep snow on the ground or it's bitter cold with biting winds.
No matter how heavy the rain, it should not be getting inside the coop. Can you post pictures of where it's getting in?
It's also quite normal for them to forage as much food as they can. I have a flock of LF chickens and they don't eat nearly 1.5 cups of fermented feed each a day.
They should always have fresh complete feed available to them during waking hours as well as separate containers of grit and oyster shell. They'll take what they need from any of it.
My flock is on pasture but I keep a container of grit just in case they want it. During the winter, they need it when the ground is frozen.
 
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I purposely keep mine in the run for a half hour or so in the morning so they eat some feed. They definitely eat less when they're out foraging in summer.

They also sometimes like to be in the rain, sometimes not. I let them do as they please.
 
I guess the problem to solve is shielding their door so rain doesn't blow in their coop, instead of trying to get them to go inside. Now that the rain's let up I can see worms crawling across the ground. No wonder they don't want to go in >.<;;
 

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