One of my chickens only wants to eat millet, it's okay?

[tanvirglhs]

I've two chickens as pets. One of them eats way less than the others. The only thing she eats with pleasure is the millet I purchased as bird feed. On the packaging, it says Parakeet feed. I don't have problems giving it to her, but is it healthy? Can a chicken live on eat without health issues? I don't care about egg production, I just want them to be healthy and live long.

(According to the manufacturer) The composition of the feed is grains (86.5% yellow millet, 3.5% red millet, 3.5% white millet), seeds (1.5%), minerals, and honey (0.1%). Nutritional additives: vitamin A 6,000 IU, vitamin D3 600 IU, vitamin E 18 mg, manganese (as manganese (II) sulfate, monohydrate) 39.9 mg, zinc (as zinc sulfate, monohydrate) 20 mg, iodine (as Calcium iodate, anhydrous) 5 mg. I also give them mealworms which they both eat.

Here's the link to the product: https://www.dm.de/dein-bestes-vogelfutter-mit-vitaminen-jod-und-honig-p4010355221964.html

I tried grain feed <https://amzn.eu/d/9Bz8yvD>, and pellet feed <https://amzn.eu/d/1KL21oP>. It's not like she wouldn't touch them, but she eats a very small amount. The pellet feed has 3 mm pellets, but they don't eat it, I have to grind them to fine powder, and even after that millet-lover hen only eats a very small amount.

Please help with suggestions on how to proceed to change their habit or how to make sure they stay healthy. Thank you very much!

 

[Brooks_]

Discontinue use of millet. Soak the the pellets in water (oatmeal like consistency) and feed only that. An otherwise healthy animal will not starve itself in the presence of suitable food.

 

[SilverBirds]

Stop feeding them the millet. Not even parakeets, who it's meant for can live long eating only millet. Great advice given above about soaking the pellets in water. Make sure you clean out any uneaten mash at the end of the day so it doesn't mold.

 

[tanvirglhs]

Hello @Brooks_ and @SilverBirds, thank you for your suggestion. I tried it and wanted to share some updates. She doesn't seem to like wet foods but eaten only a little. Will it take some time to adjust? Also, can I try anything that's not wet (like soaking in the water) so I don't need to change everyday to avoid mold?

 

[Brooks_]

Hello @Brooks_ and @SilverBirds, thank you for your suggestion. I tried it and wanted to share some updates. She doesn't seem to like wet foods but eaten only a little. Will it take some time to adjust? Also, can I try anything that's not wet (like soaking in the water) so I don't need to change everyday to avoid mold?

You could try just leaving only the dry food until it's eaten. A chicken won't starve itself when food is available. Just spoiled. It's like offering me a cheeseburger and fries or something healthy. Cheeseburger every time. Offer me only healthy and eventually I'll get hungry enough to eat it. Even if it's kale.

 

[SilverBirds]

Hello @Brooks_ and @SilverBirds, thank you for your suggestion. I tried it and wanted to share some updates. She doesn't seem to like wet foods but eaten only a little. Will it take some time to adjust? Also, can I try anything that's not wet (like soaking in the water) so I don't need to change everyday to avoid mold?

You did say she was eating the solid pellets before, just didn't seem like enough. She knows how much food she needs and won't starve herself.

 

[tanvirglhs]

You did say she was eating the solid pellets before, just didn't seem like enough. She knows how much food she needs and won't starve herself.

Well, "she was eating" would be an overstatement. She only pecked at it and ate maybe a few pellets once or twice. She ate more when I ground them to fine powder, but still a lot less (maybe 20-30g a day).

One more thing I need to ask—I also give them parsley and broccoli (the two vegetables they like). Should I stop giving them those as well? Should I give them only pellets as the whole food source?

 

[SilverBirds]

Well, "she was eating" would be an overstatement. She only pecked at it and ate maybe a few pellets once or twice. She ate more when I ground them to fine powder, but still a lot less (maybe 20-30g a day).

One more thing I need to ask—I also give them parsley and broccoli (the two vegetables they like). Should I stop giving them those as well? Should I give them only pellets as the whole food source?

Yes, that would probably be best. What breed is your hen? Have you been monitoring her weight? Does her crop feel full ever? I'm wondering if she may have an underlying health issue.

 

[rosemarythyme]

One more thing I need to ask—I also give them parsley and broccoli (the two vegetables they like). Should I stop giving them those as well? Should I give them only pellets as the whole food source?

Because she's not currently eating her chicken feed well, I would only provide chicken feed in order to get her hungry enough to keep eating it. Anything extra is just taking up space in her stomach.

 

[SourRoses]

I've had some chickens that just hate pellets. Smaller or more sensitive throats or something. They are the reason we stick with Crumble feed.
But since you're in Germany you may have less options? Perhaps instead of grinding to powder, you could use a blender or something to just reduce the size of the pellets?