My chickens do not eat much

[U_Stormcrow]

and not to stir the pot, but "Organic Dewormer"? Save your money. I have yet to see an anthelmintic made from natural sources with any reasonable degree of control and guarantee of concentration of the actual bioactive compounds. Pumpkin seeds and wormwood are fine in theory, but in practice, its little better than prayer.

The dosage is the poison. For the worms, and the chickens. No need for dark ages witchcraft when safer, more reliable options, are available.

 

[NatJ]

they are refrain from eating. They just eat a small amount and spill the food.

How much do they eat?
Or how long does a bag of feed last, and how much does the bag weigh? That would give some idea, because they can't be eating more feed than the amount you are buying.

To work from numbers that have already been mentioned in the thread:
5 chickens might eat 1/4 pound each per day
That makes 1.25 pounds total per day
So a bag that weighs 5 pounds would last 4 days
Or a bag that weighs 50 pounds would last 40 days.

Chickens can actually eat much less than that if they are small (bantams) or if they are finding lots of other things to eat. Chickens can eat quite a bit more if they are big or in cold weather, and of course they can waste enormous amounts.

 

[kappa]

Thank you all for responses. To provide more info, my chicks are 20 week old, not laying egg and located in Vancouver, BC. I have couple of Wyandotte, a speckled sussex and a blue cochin. I have same problem with all. I tried:
Poultry Feed 18%
Natural Harvest 20%
Very Fresh cracked corn (Premium Grain)
Nothing working.
Two of them ate some isolators from their coop wall while ago, I monitored no bleeding on poop, etc, however since none of them eat well I do not think problem is that. I really desperate to find a solution. Because do not want them to suffer.
Thank you for the help and advice in advance.

 

[kappa]

How much do they eat?
Or how long does a bag of feed last, and how much does the bag weigh? That would give some idea, because they can't be eating more feed than the amount you are buying.

To work from numbers that have already been mentioned in the thread:
5 chickens might eat 1/4 pound each per day
That makes 1.25 pounds total per day
So a bag that weighs 5 pounds would last 4 days
Or a bag that weighs 50 pounds would last 40 days.

Chickens can actually eat much less than that if they are small (bantams) or if they are finding lots of other things to eat. Chickens can eat quite a bit more if they are big or in cold weather, and of course they can waste enormous amounts.

maybe one 10th of a pound a day each! I check their crop and feeder every evening. They only spill food.

 

[kappa]

and not to stir the pot, but "Organic Dewormer"? Save your money. I have yet to see an anthelmintic made from natural sources with any reasonable degree of control and guarantee of concentration of the actual bioactive compounds. Pumpkin seeds and wormwood are fine in theory, but in practice, its little better than prayer.

The dosage is the poison. For the worms, and the chickens. No need for dark ages witchcraft when safer, more reliable options, are available.

The problem is in Canada we cannot find of the shelf biochemicals, even if it is just a simple pesticide!

 

[kappa]

Hi, and welcome to BYC !
It would be helpful to know more about your chickens like age, are they laying eggs?
Are they free range or confined?
Where are you located in the world, and what feeds exactly have you tried?
I've never heard about feeding grape vine leaves. My chickens have a vineyard right next to their coop and compleetly ignore the leaves but will eat the grapes if they can reach them. Mostly they love picking tender grass.
Also cracked corn is not the best thing to feed them. More like a treet given occasionally.
If they are adults, laying eggs, acting normally, and wasting food, maybe they are fine. 4 chicken's won't eat much.

They are confined, I considered 15sqft for each. they do not lay egg, and they are very light. I had chicken in my childhood, that time my chicken ate in such a way they got big bulge every evening in front of them. The crop was completely full; but these poor ladies go to bed with empty crop!

 

[Al Gerhart]

How are they getting to the grape leaves? As Stormcrow pointed, out, that might be part of the problem.

May I suggest you clean out their feeders at dusk, refill with a weighed amount so you know exactly how much is in the feeder once dark begins, then re weigh at dusk the next day to determine exactly how much they ate that day. You can just weigh the entire feeder to make it easier.

 

[NatJ]

they do not lay egg, and they are very light.

How much do they weigh? Some chickens just are small, and small chickens do not eat as much as big chickens.

 

[Folly's place]

Also, what type of feed, and are you checking the mill dates on each bag? All good advice already here, and stop feeding the cracked corn, it's yummy but not a complete feed, so should only be an occasional treat in limited amounts.
Do you have oyster shell and grit in separate containers out there? Both necessary too.
And an all-flock feed, a better choice rather than a layer feed.
Worming should be reserved for specific issues, best after having a fecal test run, or when worms actually seen. And then, a product that actually is effective!
Mary