Over excited

[asdfjkl]

Is there a way to calm down your chickens before feeding time?
They freak out when I go to grab their meal worms; walking back and forth, knocking over their water, and sometimes bum rushing the door (even flying into it).
I get excited over food too, but I don't want them to hurt themselves or drive me insane.
They even freak out when they just see my car pull in. (To be fair I usually feed them after work so my fault for the car thing)

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is this just for treats, or actual food? Do they not have feed available all day?

 

[asdfjkl]

Is this just for treats, or actual food? Do they not have feed available all day?

I give them pellets (that has protein and whatnot), sometimes grains, but they turn into crackheads for mealworms, which I give them every day since they can't go out and find their own bugs.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They'll get mad (and probably noisy), but... try not giving them treats for a week or two, nothing but regular feed, and see if that calms them down a bit. Kind of concerned about the fact that they're slamming into things in their excitement.

 

[Acre4Me]

Mealworms are a loved treat, but they are very high in fat. Overtime, the birds can develop problems, like fatty liver disease, and will die from that. Mealworms should be given only occasionally. Overall, treats like mealworms, scratch, fruit should only be less than 10% of their diet. Given that a full grown hen eats between 1/4-1/2 cup of feed a day, then treats would be around a 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per bird.

agree that you should stop treats for a couple of weeks To calm them down.

my chickens get wet feed as a treat. I put feed into container, add water, make it a batter consistency. I sometimes sprinkle seeds on top, or mix in scrambled eggs, or chopped up fruitThey love it, and yet they are getting their feed.

during fruit season, I’ll admit that I find it entertaining to toss one or two blueberries/grapes out to watch the chase then throw another one or two, watch the chase, etc. with grapes, they should be cut into halves or quarters -chickens really can choke on those.