PopoMyers
Free Ranging
They are like us, in that respect. If we have cookies every meal, we won't fight over them if they are on a buffet table. But some favorite food that we don't get often? You bet. We'd eat that first. Prime rib, king crab, whatever you think.I have never seen my chickens eating shavings. But I wonder if eat the shavings because they are hungry or because they are curious. Who knows what goes on in a chicken brain?
FWIW, I keep a hanging DIY 5 Gallon PVC bucket feeder in the coop with feed available 24/7. I don't know if that would keep them from eating shavings, but at least I know they are not eating shavings because they are hungry. My chickens will get all crazy and fight over kitchen scraps I throw out in the morning, but I have never seen them fight to eat feed from the hanging feeder.