Not feeding chickens

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If she's concerned about money or just wants them to be self sufficient then she could do more to make that possible too. A few summers ago I couldn't scrape together enough to buy my chickens their feed for about 2 months but I made other efforts. I started a big compost pile in a corner of the yard with chicken friendly food scraps. Scraps from our own kitchen weren't enough to do that as we had so little food waste so I asked the cafeteria workers where I worked if I could take home a few buckets of their food waste every few days. They were happy to know stuff wasn't just going into landfill and I surprised them a few times with extra eggs from my girls as I saw no reduction in laying using this method. My chickens ate their fill every day and what food scraps they didn't eat they would scratch and turn in and work into compost. I would add fallen leaves once a week and that encouraged creepy crawlies for the girls to snack on too. If you guys aren't lucky enough to work somewhere that has a cafeteria then you could reach out to the local schools or restaurants. My local school district has been trying to go green and is teaching the kids about separating waste into different categories and would probably be happy to have someone help dispose of compostables (kids produce hundreds of pounds of food waste every week at my daughter's school).

One way to prove to your roommate that her chickens are hungry would be to show her that their crop is empty. Encourage her to palpate it a few times a day and she will soon see that they arent eating.
 
Floof said:
If she's concerned about money or just wants them to be self sufficient then she could do more to make that possible too. A few summers ago I couldn't scrape together enough to buy my chickens their feed for about 2 months but I made other efforts. I started a big compost pile in a corner of the yard with chicken friendly food scraps. Scraps from our own kitchen weren't enough to do that as we had so little food waste so I asked the cafeteria workers where I worked if I could take home a few buckets of their food waste every few days. They were happy to know stuff wasn't just going into landfill and I surprised them a few times with extra eggs from my girls as I saw no reduction in laying using this method. My chickens ate their fill every day and what food scraps they didn't eat they would scratch and turn in and work into compost. I would add fallen leaves once a week and that encouraged creepy crawlies for the girls to snack on too. If you guys aren't lucky enough to work somewhere that has a cafeteria then you could reach out to the local schools or restaurants. My local school district has been trying to go green and is teaching the kids about separating waste into different categories and would probably be happy to have someone help dispose of compostables (kids produce hundreds of pounds of food waste every week at my daughter's school).

One way to prove to your roommate that her chickens are hungry would be to show her that their crop is empty. Encourage her to palpate it a few times a day and she will soon see that they arent eating.
Click to expand...

Such a good idea! I'll ask my job for the extra scraps after dinner service! Also how do you check a crop?
 
.... I've been sort of sick to my stomach how my roommate raises animals.

You can tell that roommate of yours that were her chickens out in actual nature 100% of the time, as was like hundred or so years ago, replete with abundance, then fending for themselves would make natural sense. But since then chickens have grown used to (in other words, changed genetically to need) at least human refuse, compost, as chickens have become scavengers. They can still get much of their feed that way. Then I supplement with chicken feed (non-GMO 18% "peak of lay" layer pellets, mostly). i can afford to feed them the best, or nearly, whichever, cuz it's only to supplement their feed, not their sole source of food.

Maybe that'll wake up your roomie to reality. Happy Springin' FWD, Nick
 
I’m actually confused. This is your roommate? As in you share a yard ? Are you sharing coop space? Sorry I didn’t read every post between so maybe someone else has asked this but how do your birds have food and hers do not?
 
Err, I meant to post this when it was back at only one page. Oops. I've had a quick scan and nothing seems to have changed much? So I'll just post as is... I was writing it in another app because my browser was playing up and not brining up the keyboard.
******
I'll preface this by saying that I don't even have my chucks yet. Experienced folk should chime in.

The way I understand it, chucks store most of what they guzzle up during the day in the crop, and do most of their digestion over night. What I've read is that to check a bird's digestive system is working well, you do a crop check in the morning. It should be empty. Now, you can also check at bed time, to make sure it is full in the first place (there are guides for this... and someone kindly already linked to one).

They're going to wake up hungry. Who doesn't wake up hungry? But if their crop is well filled at night then you know they're "finding their own food." If the crops are not well filled you have some options.

1, tell her they seem to be hungry at night, and ask if she's been doing crop checks to make sure they've been finding enough food (regular crop checks, if you have a small flock, are a good way to spot problems early). Don't mince words, talk to her as an equal. No "I've read, been told". Just straight up talk like you know what you're saying (easier said than done, I know). This prevents her latching onto something to call into question your knowledge. This is probably the easiest way to get through to her that isn't simply shoving this forum under her nose. It allows her, if she'll do it, to see for herself.

2, offer to feed them for her, as long as she buys food. Or even just hands you the cash. "I'm feeding mine anyway, no point two of us going out there." Call it a bed time snack, top up, supplemental to foraging, just to make sure they're full at bedtime. That allows her to feel like she's still in the right, but the chucks will be getting fed.

3, feed them anyway. Not enough to fill them up, but enough that they're not starving. When they come of age and aren't laying well she might just change her ways.

4, feed them and outright tell her you're not letting an animal go to bed on an empty stomach, ESPECIALLY not an animal that does most of its digestion at night. I've found over my time in pet forums that people like this will very rapidly give up on ownership of an animal they are neglecting if someone else takes the responsibility off them. Not always. Some people see it as an affront, and there's no way for us to know which way they'll swing. Only you can gauge that.

Of course, folk have pointed out these are youngsters and should not be being provided with a balanced diet for optimal health and wellbeing, not to mention future laying! But beyond shoving this forum and lots of articles under her nose I don't think you'll get that through to her.
 
aligarysmom said:
I still would like to know how hers aren’t being fed while yours are. Separate coops?

Inquiring minds want to know
Click to expand...

From the original post:

Sam Pritchard said:
She finally got her coop "ready" and they've moved in. They all hang or during the day free ranging. But she refuses to feed her chickens AT all when she puts them up.
Click to expand...

Sounds like they free range during the day and have seperate coops at night.
 

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