sonandsal
In the Brooder
- Feb 23, 2017
- 29
- 26
- 49
Hi everyone
For your info I'm in Australia and its Autumn.
i haven't been on here for a while. I do need some advice though. My girls are healthy and appear happy and one is just going through a massive moult. I've just read the article on moulting and now Ill sleep tonight as its put my mind at rest.
Ok about the food. I have 3 girls. 1 x 5yo or so bantam frizzle (Mrs Frizzle) 1x 2 yo buff orpington/bantam cross(Fatty chicken) and 1x 3yo arakana/bantam cross (bluey chicken). Well Mrs Frizzle is the oldest, the smallest and absolutely the boss and fussy as. She came to us about 3 years ago from an elderly lady who loved her to bits and occasionally bathed her and always spoiled her.
My problem is this. If I put food down and Mrs frizzle doesn't go nuts over it the other two ignore it as well. So its come to this. They don't eat chicken layer crumble or pellets at all anymore.
We also have a pet weiro (cockatiel) that we found in the bush when she was just a few weeks old. She was already finger tamed and joined our family. The chickens eat all the weiro seed that falls out from the cage and love it so much so that they just would not east the crumble. I wasted far more layer crumble than I care to say as all the local native birds came down to eat it all. Party at my place every day. I finally gave in, stopped buying the chicken crumble and they now eat weiro seed mix, some grated cheese, some sweet corn kernels, shredded lettuce, every day with occasional chopped cucumber, watermelon, rice cooked or uncooked, kale, tomato small amounts of raw mince beef or cooked fish.
Yes I know I've been totally sucked in by the girls. First and foremost, will this diet harm them in the long term? If it doesn't really matter Ill just continue. But if I need to change it how can I introduce some layer crumble again? One problem that I think will happen is if I remove the bird seed and replace it with crumble and they start whinging and complaining which I'm sure they will do. But then darling hubby calls out even louder for me to go outside and see why they are making the noise (even though we both know why) and shut them up. The reason being.. the noise, the neighbours, blah blah blah. So my girls know that when they call out nice and loud, he yells out, I go out and feed them. Fatty starts it off and they join in, in harmony.
Thanks all.
For your info I'm in Australia and its Autumn.
i haven't been on here for a while. I do need some advice though. My girls are healthy and appear happy and one is just going through a massive moult. I've just read the article on moulting and now Ill sleep tonight as its put my mind at rest.
Ok about the food. I have 3 girls. 1 x 5yo or so bantam frizzle (Mrs Frizzle) 1x 2 yo buff orpington/bantam cross(Fatty chicken) and 1x 3yo arakana/bantam cross (bluey chicken). Well Mrs Frizzle is the oldest, the smallest and absolutely the boss and fussy as. She came to us about 3 years ago from an elderly lady who loved her to bits and occasionally bathed her and always spoiled her.
My problem is this. If I put food down and Mrs frizzle doesn't go nuts over it the other two ignore it as well. So its come to this. They don't eat chicken layer crumble or pellets at all anymore.
We also have a pet weiro (cockatiel) that we found in the bush when she was just a few weeks old. She was already finger tamed and joined our family. The chickens eat all the weiro seed that falls out from the cage and love it so much so that they just would not east the crumble. I wasted far more layer crumble than I care to say as all the local native birds came down to eat it all. Party at my place every day. I finally gave in, stopped buying the chicken crumble and they now eat weiro seed mix, some grated cheese, some sweet corn kernels, shredded lettuce, every day with occasional chopped cucumber, watermelon, rice cooked or uncooked, kale, tomato small amounts of raw mince beef or cooked fish.
Yes I know I've been totally sucked in by the girls. First and foremost, will this diet harm them in the long term? If it doesn't really matter Ill just continue. But if I need to change it how can I introduce some layer crumble again? One problem that I think will happen is if I remove the bird seed and replace it with crumble and they start whinging and complaining which I'm sure they will do. But then darling hubby calls out even louder for me to go outside and see why they are making the noise (even though we both know why) and shut them up. The reason being.. the noise, the neighbours, blah blah blah. So my girls know that when they call out nice and loud, he yells out, I go out and feed them. Fatty starts it off and they join in, in harmony.
Thanks all.
