My hens won't eat anything other than regular feed

[Strix-Aliana]

I wouldn’t overthink it. They are probably just content with what you are providing them.

 

[PicketFarmer]

Oddly, our chicks hated watermelon when we tried giving it to them around 2 weeks. We tried worms, blueberries, and woodsorrel (clover) before that, and they loved them, so when we read that they love watermelon, especially seeing how great it is for chickens during hot summers like ours, we thought we'd give it a try. But they just picked at it, shook their beaks, and walked away... everything else, they've either liked or loved, except mint.

All I can say from my limited experience is that every chicken has their particular tastes, so just try some different weeds, veggies, or table scraps (as long as they're not covered in oil, sugar, or salt). There are plenty of common weeds that chickens not only love, but are great nutritional supplements to their feed. My chooks in particular go crazy for anything green, like clover and oregano from our garden, but also like pretty much any fruit or veggie we've tried (except watermelon, of course), as long as it comes from our hand or the rooster bowl, which they recognize as their treat bowl. They even liked the tuna I brought out for them!

 

[Unsworth]

I have a flock of 22 chickens. They are just starting to lay eggs. I made a batch of oatmeal for them. I cut up a lot of garlic into small pieces and mixed that in before I gave it to them. I did not cook the garlic in the oatmeal. They absolutely loved it not leaving one little speck. I also have raspberries growing along the fence of their yard. They go wild for those. They don't seem overly interested in worms yet but they will eventually. Every flock of chickens I have ever had decides one day that worms are great and go crazy if I turn the soil with a shovel and expose the worms. Give them time.

 

[VioletsMom73]

I'm a backyard chicken newbie. I have two hens around 7 and 10 weeks old. I have them on the grower feed. I've read that chickens love watermelon on hot days, so I put a slice of watermelon in there, and they didn't even touch it. I also read that they like tomatoes and I threw some in there as well. The hens also completely ignored those.

Any thoughts?

The first time I gave watermelon, I hand fed a few of my girls tiny pieces. They will pretty much eat anything from my hand. Once they realized it was edible, they went to town. They love it!

 

[kubotafoot]

Put the fruits in a blender to make a slurry....Pour it into a flat pan and add some chicken feed to it. Stir and then top with chicken feed sprinkles. They need to get a taste of it and often times something larger and new is overlooked, but they WILL love it, once they are used to it.

 

[Jrios58]

Watermelon was ripe. I removed the tomato stems. Might need to try smaller pieces.

Try just putting the rind in there. I use a tool to make little balls out of the whole watermelon since it's neater and easier to eat, and when I put the rind in their yard they ate all the red off. My goats enjoyed the other half. Mine don't like other veggies tho. But when I call CHICK CHICK CHICK they come running, since that means a grasshopper treat

 

[Vegasvampire]

My experience is it’s just new especially younger Chickens once they taste it and find that it’s really good they can’t eat it fast enough! There’s some good ideas here just try different ones!

 

[Desertdogs21]

It may be because they are young. Ours wouldn’t eat anything but feed either when they were young, but now that they are 5 months old, nothing is safe! Everything is a treat, toes, food, fingers, leaves, you name it!

 

[jeabjeab]

what about leftover cooked rice?................the wife always cooks too much!

 

[claudiabostic]

I introduce my chicks to greens starting at about 3 weeks. They don't really eat them until 4 or 5 weeks, until then they are just playing around with them for the most part. Chickens are very wary of new foods. They are not at all good at throwing up, and they even have a hard time spitting something out once it's in their beak. So they are quite slow to try something totally new. It often takes days or even weeks to get them interested. The earlier in life you can introduce new categories of food, the better. Start with pieces that are definitely smaller than they are, even pieces that they can easily fit in their beaks and swallow. First they will look at it with one eye then the other. Eventually someone will get up the courage to peck it. They will probably take one taste and wait a while. If it makes them feel ill they won't eat it again. If it makes them feel good they will come back for a little more. After a while it will be something they remember eating and liking. Once they like one type of fruit, they'll be more likely to try another kind of fruit. Once they like one type of greens, they're more likely to try another kind of greens. Whatever type of food they are used to, they will be more likely to try something that looks only a little different. Also you might try bringing in new foods in the afternoon. They've been eating their usual food all morning, now they are a bit bored and maybe more likely to try something new.