My chickens aren't eating right.

[TedJan92_in_Idaho]

Chickens are thin. I have feeders filled 24-7 and never let them run out. All have been wormed with Valbazen. All act great and seems to be fine but are under weight. They never seem to have much in their crop when inspected.
They seem to not like purina flock raiser. I switched to laying pellets and they don't seem to like it.

What can I give them to stimulate their appetites?

 

[stone_family3]

Will they eat produce? Maybe try another feed.

 

[Spoiled1_629]

Try putting some of the feed in another pan and wetting it down to create a mash. Mine seem to think that is a treat instead of the normal food.

 

[TedJan92_in_Idaho]

Thanks!! Do you think this would be a good thing to feed chickens? Maybe mix it and make a mash with it and the pellets?? They love anything with milk in it

Sheperd's Best Instant Lamb Milk Replacer

A complete replacement for ewe's milk. Composed of highest quality milk ingredients, animal and vegetable fat, soluble vitamins and chelated trace minerals in an acidified formula that can be fed free-choice, cold to save labor. The 24% protein comes entirely from milk ingredients and total lactose does not exceed 25%. It's 30% fat level achieves performance similar to that of lambs suckling the ewe. Preservatives keep it fresh and inhibiting growth of pathogens. Beneficial direct-fed microbials produce lactic acid and colonize the gut to deny pathogens the opportunity to grow.

Protein - 24%
Fat - 30%
Fiber - 0.15%
Lactose - 25%
Vitamin A - 32,000 IU/lb.
Vitamin D3 - 12,000 IU/lb.
Vitamin E - 150 IU/lb.
Total Bacteria - 1 Billion CFU/lb.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I don't know how experienced you are with chickens. Are you sure they're under weight or is it possible they're a light weight breed? A lot of the pictures you see are of heavy breed chickens, that are chunkier looking. There are also light breed chickens, that naturally look slimmer. Younger pullets also look more slender than adult hens that have filled out. I just wanted to mention this, in case you're new to chickens.

Sometimes chickens do eat more lightly after you change feeds. Usually it happens if they don't like the taste as well or if they don't like pellets as well as they like crumbles. Sometimes, it's just because the food is different, not because it's a worse food. They usually get over it pretty quickly, though.

I'm sure whatever you come up with to tempt them to eat more will be appreciated.