New Pullets Not Eating

[Lehcar4]

Hi! I need some advice or at least some peace of mind. I have 2 new pullets, 5 mo old. Picked them up on Tuesday evening. It is now Friday night and they have not eaten a thing. Nothing. They probably aren’t used to my starter/grower feed so I have tried: soaking the feed in a little warm water to give them mash. When that didn’t work I tried the following: scrambled egg, mealworms, BSFL, chopped apple, shredded cabbage. Won’t touch any of it. They are drinking water, but I am getting extremely concerned. I’ve checked them over thoroughly. Them seem very healthy. Help?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Hi! I need some advice or at least some peace of mind. I have 2 new pullets, 5 mo old. Picked them up on Tuesday evening. It is now Friday night and they have not eaten a thing. Nothing. They probably aren’t used to my starter/grower feed so I have tried: soaking the feed in a little warm water to give them mash. When that didn’t work I tried the following: scrambled egg, mealworms, BSFL, chopped apple, shredded cabbage. Won’t touch any of it. They are drinking water, but I am getting extremely concerned. I’ve checked them over thoroughly. Them seem very healthy. Help?

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Looks like you’ve learned your first lesson about chickens: they can be stubborn!

For now, I would skip all the treats that you’ve tried; mealworms, etc. Just stick to the feed that you have, because that’s what you want them to eat.

They have some energy stores in the form of fat. No healthy chicken has ever starved themself to death in the presence of good food.

Out of curiosity, did the seller tell you what they’ve been eating? By no means do you have to switch to that, but if it’s substantially different, that might be why they’re balking. They’ll get used to it, although they will enjoy making you crazy in the process.

What are you feeding them? (or trying to)

 

[Fluffy_Butt_Hutt]

Hi! I need some advice or at least some peace of mind. I have 2 new pullets, 5 mo old. Picked them up on Tuesday evening. It is now Friday night and they have not eaten a thing. Nothing. They probably aren’t used to my starter/grower feed so I have tried: soaking the feed in a little warm water to give them mash. When that didn’t work I tried the following: scrambled egg, mealworms, BSFL, chopped apple, shredded cabbage. Won’t touch any of it. They are drinking water, but I am getting extremely concerned. I’ve checked them over thoroughly. Them seem very healthy. Help?

I assume they're stressed. The wet mash idea is great, keep doing that. Mother of Chaos is right that they won't starve themselves dead. It might be the new environment, it might be that they get pecked/attacked when they try to go for food. Are they separate from the rest of the flock? It is recommended to quarantine birds that have been exposed to other birds that aren't yours to quarantine them for possible disease. This can also help with stress if they are together with the other birds.

 

[Lehcar4]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Looks like you’ve learned your first lesson about chickens: they can be stubborn!

For now, I would skip all the treats that you’ve tried; mealworms, etc. Just stick to the feed that you have, because that’s what you want them to eat.

They have some energy stores in the form of fat. No healthy chicken has ever starved themself to death in the presence of good food.

Out of curiosity, did the seller tell you what they’ve been eating? By no means do you have to switch to that, but if it’s substantially different, that might be why they’re balking. They’ll get used to it, although they will enjoy making you crazy in the process.

What are you feeding them? (or trying to)

Thank you! Purina Organic Starter/Grower crumbles. They are basically the same age as the rest of my flock and that’s what they all eat.

 

[Lehcar4]

I assume they're stressed. The wet mash idea is great, keep doing that. Mother of Chaos is right that they won't starve themselves dead. It might be the new environment, it might be that they get pecked/attacked when they try to go for food. Are they separate from the rest of the flock? It is recommended to quarantine birds that have been exposed to other birds that aren't yours to quarantine them for possible disease. This can also help with stress if they are together with the other birds.

Yes, they are separated for quarantine in a separate small coop/run combo.

 

[TheChickenGirl16]

Everyone is right.
Just make sure you give constant access to feed. Whenever they DO decide to eat, you want it to be there for them!

I had some ‘lil peeps who were absolutely uninterested in feed. I made a mash, stirred a little bit of molasses into it, and topped it with plain yogurt and hard-boiled egg yolks. They were SO curious, that after a few hours, they couldn’t help themselves!

I don’t know why chickens can be so picky sometimes, just have some patience, and keep up the good work!!

 

[Lehcar4]

Everyone is right.
Just make sure you give constant access to feed. Whenever they DO decide to eat, you want it to be there for them!

I had some ‘lil peeps who were absolutely uninterested in feed. I made a mash, stirred a little bit of molasses into it, and topped it with plain yogurt and hard-boiled egg yolks. They were SO curious, that after a few hours, they couldn’t help themselves!

I don’t know why chickens can be so picky sometimes, just have some patience, and keep up the good work!!

Thank you!

 

[Fluffy_Butt_Hutt]

Yes, they are separated for quarantine in a separate small coop/run combo.

Sounds like it's just stress. Are you sure they aren't eating *anything* for a few days? You're right that it has been some time and they should start eating soon.

I've had long car rides to introduce new chickens to the flock three times so far. I do not notice them eating the first day and second day, but third day I do notice them eat maybe 0.25 pounds each or a bit more?

 

[Lehcar4]

Thank you! Purina Organic Starter/Grower crumbles. They are basically the same age as the rest of my flock and that’s what they all eat.

Sorry I didn’t answer your first question. No, I don’t know what the breeder was feeding them. I left and forgot to ask. Rookie mistake.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Sorry I didn’t answer your first question. No, I don’t know what the breeder was feeding them. I left and forgot to ask. Rookie mistake.

No problem. I was just curious.

Hang in there. This is a battle that you’re going to win.