My Girls Won't Eat!

[KariApple129]

I have 4 girls, all about 18 months old. They've been on the Scratch n' Peck feed pretty much all their lives and have suddenly just stopped eating it. I thought maybe I got a bad batch, but I bought a new bag and they still look at it like I'm offering them mud. I'm not really sure what to do. Should I wait them out? Should I swap their food again? They hate the pellets, so I'm not really sure what other options are out there that they will eat.

Also, since they've stopped eating, their egg production is (obviously) way down.

I'm at a loss. Please help!

 

[staceyj]

Try just wetting it in a bowl in the morning. Let us sit for about 5 minutes before taking it outside. (Like thick oatmeal consistency)
If you want to get fancy you can put a blob of plain yogurt on it.

Let me know if they like it.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

I've heard those Scratch n' Peck feed (while costing an arm and a leg and a bank loan) are not ideal when it comes to offering a complete nutritionally balanced meal....... that's just what I've heard reading in this forum. I don't know, maybe look into brand of feed that offer organic crumble and see if that works? Though I am not sure if feed has to do with the change in your hens or not. Might be something else?

And to staceyj..... those Scratch n' Peck feed are not ground matter that are like the crumble or pellet variety, they are feed that are unaltered in shape and form with just seeds being thrown together so I don't think it would be advisable to wet it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

And to staceyj..... those Scratch n' Peck feed are not ground matter that are like the crumble or pellet variety, they are feed that are unaltered in shape and form with just seeds being thrown together so I don't think it would be advisable to wet it.

Scratch & Peck themselves recommends fermenting their feed: https://www.scratchandpeck.com/wp-content/uploads/Scratch-and-Peck-Feeds-How-to-Ferment-Feeds.pdf

Also by fermenting it, it encourages the chickens to eat a balance of all the grains in the mix, lessens waste because they're not throwing out bits they don't want, and gets them to eat the powdery fines that have a lot of vitamins and protein in it.

 

[andreanar]

Try switching them to another brand of crumble. Mine don't care for the pellets.

 

[staceyj]

I've heard those Scratch n' Peck feed (while costing an arm and a leg and a bank loan) are not ideal when it comes to offering a complete nutritionally balanced meal....... that's just what I've heard reading in this forum. I don't know, maybe look into brand of feed that offer organic crumble and see if that works? Though I am not sure if feed has to do with the change in your hens or not. Might be something else?

And to staceyj..... those Scratch n' Peck feed are not ground matter that are like the crumble or pellet variety, they are feed that are unaltered in shape and form with just seeds being thrown together so I don't think it would be advisable to wet it.

Thanks for the info!