My chickens are hardly eating the layer pellets

[kuntrychick]

Maybe I'm feeding them too many other things....lol

I bring them oatmeal with a little yogurt on top or scrambled eggs, various fruits and veggies throughout the day. We also let them free range for an hour or two a day.

Hubby says I'm feeding them too much...to bring maybe one treat a day and if they're hungry, they'll eat the provided food.

When I get close to their pen...they all come running as if saying, "What did ya bring me this time?!"

Should I slack off so they'll eat their food?

 

[MandyH]

That's exactly what they are doing. Why eat that nasty, old, dry layer feed, when you can have great treats if you wait long enough. They need their layer feed because it supplies the necessary rations beneficial to their growth and health. Limit the treats to a couple times a week and see if they start eating.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Yeah, what she said.

 

[JewellFarm]

I know you love them, as I do mine, but you may be hurting them with all of the treats. If they aren't eating the layer pellets then they aren't getting the nutrients/vitamins/protein that they need. I am sure they love you for it. I enjoy giving mine treats also, but I only give treats every other day or so and only a small amount.

 

[crazy huhn]

Maybe they do not like the pellets.
I use the crumble, but once my feed store gave me a bag with layer pellets by accident. My girls did not like it at all and did not eat a lot. I soaked them a little in water and mashed it up for them. They sure ate a lot more of that. You can also add some yoghurt as a healthy treat to the mixture.

 

[norcal]

Is this Purina's Layena you're talking about? I don't know what it looks like. I just switched from the starter/grower medicated to Flock Raiser. Flock raiser is crumbled like the starter, and they seem to enjoy it. Once they start laying, is the Flock Raiser okay, if you supplement w/ oyster shells?

 

[keljonma]

Yes, FlockRaiser will be fine for your laying hens, as long as you provide oyster shell separately for them. That is what we feed our flock.

edited for typo.

 

[australorpchick]

My girls protested about the pellets and have won. I noticed my girls weren't eating as much, but I thought it was because of the heat. I found some leftover crumbles at the bottom of the bin and tossed this out for them, you would have thought I had brought them watermelon! I'll be sticking with crumbles from now on.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Crumbles are crumbled pellets. It's the same formula, just in a different form. I can't imagine a chicken refusing to eat pellets to the point of starvation. You know they can swallow things larger than a pellet.

I prefer the pellets because it seems they waste less. When it spills on the ground the pellets are easier to retrieve. Perhaps it just seems like they're eating less of the pellets because they're wasting less.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Agree, they will eat them long before they starve.

The formula threehorses uses for treats is that 95% of their diet needs to be their ration. You can give treats every day -- just limit the amounts, a lot.