New chicken mum of Australorps

[TamaraW]

Hello from South Australia. I’m a new chicken mum of 4 beautiful Australorp pullets (approx 15 weeks old). I’m a bit concerned they aren’t eating enough grower feed. They are free range and scratch around all day eating bugs and greenery. I give them mealworms and corn in the mornings and evenings. Should I be worried they are hardly touching their feed? They are getting new feathers, are very healthy and their wattle and combs are growing well. Not really sure if I would be concerned or not.

Thanks, Tamara

 

[saysfaa]

... They are free range and scratch around all day eating bugs and greenery.

This could be why they aren't eating much grower feed. If so, there is no need to worry. You might like to encourage this by planting things like clovers and other nutritious plants or allowing weeds to grow in some places (many weeds are very nutritious). There are things you can do to encourage bugs, too. An easy thing is leaving a pile of leaves. Or laying a board flat on the ground - you can turn it over after several days to let the chickens get at the bugs under it.

Free ranging gives many, many, many benefits.

I give them mealworms and corn in the mornings and evenings.

If this is why they aren't eating not eating much of their grower feed then it is concerning. Mealworms and corn are both good feeds but only in moderation. If they are available all the time and lots of other options also are, the chickens will moderate how much they eat pretty well. But if they are given as treats, the chickens are more likely to eat to much of them. By "treats", I mean they are given with social activity like you call them over to eat them - verbally or through a "feeding time" routine.

Treating with mealworms and corn gives no benefits that treating with their grower feed doesn't also give (maybe mix some water into it to make a mash so it isn't exactly like their feed). They risk too much fat and too many calories for the amount of nutrition they provide.

You might also check that your grower feed is fresh.

 

[TamaraW]

This could be why they aren't eating much grower feed. If so, there is no need to worry. You might like to encourage this by planting things like clovers and other nutritious plants or allowing weeds to grow in some places (many weeds are very nutritious). There are things you can do to encourage bugs, too. An easy thing is leaving a pile of leaves. Or laying a board flat on the ground - you can turn it over after several days to let the chickens get at the bugs under it.

Free ranging gives many, many, many benefits.

If this is why they aren't eating not eating much of their grower feed then it is concerning. Mealworms and corn are both good feeds but only in moderation. If they are available all the time and lots of other options also are, the chickens will moderate how much they eat pretty well. But if they are given as treats, the chickens are more likely to eat to much of them. By "treats", I mean they are given with social activity like you call them over to eat them - verbally or through a "feeding time" routine.

Treating with mealworms and corn gives no benefits that treating with their grower feed doesn't also give (maybe mix some water into it to make a mash so it isn't exactly like their feed). They risk too much fat and too many calories for the amount of nutrition they provide.

You might also check that your grower feed is fresh.

Well no more treats until they start eating their feed which will be hard as they get so excited when I ruffle the bag

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

I’m a bit concerned they aren’t eating enough grower feed. They are free range and scratch around all day eating bugs and greenery. I give them mealworms and corn in the mornings and evenings. Should I be worried they are hardly touching their feed? They are getting new feathers, are very healthy and their wattle and combs are growing well. Not really sure if I would be concerned or not.

One way to reduce your feed bill is to let them forage for some of their food. As long as they have reasonable options they are good at balancing their nutritional needs.

The typical recommendation is that "treats" should be less than 10% of what they eat daily, but that is for chickens that do not forage, only eat chicken feed. I don't know of any recommendations on "treats" for chickens that forage for a substantial portion of their food. All I can offer is my opinion which is to limit the treats to what they can clean up in 5 to 10 minutes, and try to vary the treats from one day to the next so they get some variety.

Feeding them only chicken feed is close to an exact science if you use the major brands. Those have been formulated to be a complete diet. Letting them forage is less exact. Basically, you have lost the ability to micromanage their diet when they forage. But they are pretty good when given options.

 

[K0k0shka]

Mealworms and corn twice a day is too much. It's like feeding kids a pile of candy twice a day and wondering why they won't eat their dinner. It messes with their appetite and desire for normal food, and it's too caloric and unhealthy for them in large amounts. Cut back to where anything you give them that's not poultry feed is no more than 10% of their daily intake, with zero treats on some days, and they'll go back to the feed. They'll hold out for something more desirable if they know you'll bring the treats, but they won't starve themselves in the presence of food if there are no treats.