zinnia_flower
In the Brooder
- Dec 10, 2022
- 11
- 2
- 39
Good morning! We need some advice - our 5 year old Wyandotte hens are reluctant to eat our feed (Mile Four layer feed, available all day and we even provide fermented feed in the AM to them) and are preferring to free range the backyard for their meals, and I am worried it may be causing health issues.
I don't want to overthink things, but I am trying to strike a balance between providing the balanced diet they need while trusting them to self-maintain and choose the right foods for their body. This said, I also know that they will happily ignore the food they SHOULD eat for the food they WANT to eat.
Two recent issues have kicked my concern regarding food into higher gear - one hen was acting a bit sluggish/slow a few weeks ago, and after no other issues to be found (checked for sour crop, no egg bound issues, all good), I fed her some scrambled egg and she perked right up (was she just hungry??). She regularly waltzes right past the feed container and any feed we throw out for her. Then, this morning, we found a mild prolapse issue in a different hen - and while oyster shell is always out and available, it makes me anxious that eating less feed means our prolapsed lady might have walked right into a reproductive issue due to insufficient calcium intake.
We have 6 Wyandotte hens who are just over 5 years old. They are in a mobile run with fencing that keeps them from tearing apart our vegetable garden and they usually have large swaths of the yard to run and explore at a time, and we move the fence every few weeks or so to keep the space fresh. Our yard is mostly garden, fruit tree guilds, bushes - lots to play and explore and lots of bugs in the wood chip paths. They are fed Mile Four layer feed and have grit/oyster shell available 24/7 - I started fermenting the feed a week or two ago to try to drum up feed interest, and they like it, but don't love it. They do eat the feed, especially in the winter, but are not eager about it anymore. We've gotten Mile Four for several years now.
I'm wondering about trying to fence them in a narrower run for longer during the day, which may force them to focus on eating their fermented feed, then letting them out to roam later. Or, am I just overthinking the health concerns, and a prolapse may be coincidental given that Wyandotte are moderate layers and she is getting older?
I don't want to overthink things, but I am trying to strike a balance between providing the balanced diet they need while trusting them to self-maintain and choose the right foods for their body. This said, I also know that they will happily ignore the food they SHOULD eat for the food they WANT to eat.
Two recent issues have kicked my concern regarding food into higher gear - one hen was acting a bit sluggish/slow a few weeks ago, and after no other issues to be found (checked for sour crop, no egg bound issues, all good), I fed her some scrambled egg and she perked right up (was she just hungry??). She regularly waltzes right past the feed container and any feed we throw out for her. Then, this morning, we found a mild prolapse issue in a different hen - and while oyster shell is always out and available, it makes me anxious that eating less feed means our prolapsed lady might have walked right into a reproductive issue due to insufficient calcium intake.
We have 6 Wyandotte hens who are just over 5 years old. They are in a mobile run with fencing that keeps them from tearing apart our vegetable garden and they usually have large swaths of the yard to run and explore at a time, and we move the fence every few weeks or so to keep the space fresh. Our yard is mostly garden, fruit tree guilds, bushes - lots to play and explore and lots of bugs in the wood chip paths. They are fed Mile Four layer feed and have grit/oyster shell available 24/7 - I started fermenting the feed a week or two ago to try to drum up feed interest, and they like it, but don't love it. They do eat the feed, especially in the winter, but are not eager about it anymore. We've gotten Mile Four for several years now.
I'm wondering about trying to fence them in a narrower run for longer during the day, which may force them to focus on eating their fermented feed, then letting them out to roam later. Or, am I just overthinking the health concerns, and a prolapse may be coincidental given that Wyandotte are moderate layers and she is getting older?