Overfeeding chickens how to stop

[21hens-incharge]

I also say to limit the treats to about 1 tablespoon per bird.

Diluting the nutrition the pellets are formulated to provide by giving to many treats leads to poor health.

Fatty liver and laying issues are the most common.

 

[demonic]

I also say to limit the treats to about 1 tablespoon per bird.

Diluting the nutrition the pellets are formulated to provide by giving to many treats leads to poor health.

Fatty liver and laying issues are the most common.

I heard a saying that whatever outside food you give your chickens it should be finished in 15 minutes maximum. Is this true or pushing the line?

 

[CHlCKEN]

My hens are spoiled rats but I know to keep treats to a minimum so I can keep them in good health and love them for a long time. Mine have accidentally been taught that when I walk outside with something it’s for THEM and it’s gonna be GOOD so eating my own lunch out there is nearly impossible. I have one hen who is so food obsessed that she will even take food out of my mouth!!!! But this does have some benefits. My birds will follow me into the run or come to the sound of the metal treat can opening when it’s time for free range day to end.

But once again you need to keep it to a minimum. If you feel like your birds are becoming unhealthy from it, then cut it altogether. But at all times other than that A small handful of scratch every few days is okay, and once in a while (like once or twice a month) I think it’s fine to give them a bowl full of chicken safe table and garden scraps. They always get so excited when they see me coming with the bright red bowl!

I know it’s fun to give chickens treats as they always get so excited when you do, but keeping your birds healthy is really important so do your best to make it happen.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I heard a saying that whatever outside food you give your chickens it should be finished in 15 minutes maximum. Is this true or pushing the line?

Chickens are grazers not meal eaters. They need to have feed available all daylight hours. Treats....well they are treats so a very small amount is ok but I would recommend spreading the treats out so one hen doesn't hog it all.

 

[demonic]

Chickens are grazers not meal eaters. They need to have feed available all daylight hours. Treats....well they are treats so a very small amount is ok but I would recommend spreading the treats out so one hen doesn't hog it all.

Got it! Thank you for your response

 

[demonic]

My hens are spoiled rats but I know to keep treats to a minimum so I can keep them in good health and love them for a long time. Mine have accidentally been taught that when I walk outside with something it’s for THEM and it’s gonna be GOOD so eating my own lunch out there is nearly impossible. I have one hen who is so food obsessed that she will even take food out of my mouth!!!! But this does have some benefits. My birds will follow me into the run or come to the sound of the metal treat can opening when it’s time for free range day to end.

But once again you need to keep it to a minimum. If you feel like your birds are becoming unhealthy from it, then cut it altogether. But at all times other than that A small handful of scratch every few days is okay, and once in a while (like once or twice a month) I think it’s fine to give them a bowl full of chicken safe table and garden scraps. They always get so excited when they see me coming with the bright red bowl!

I know it’s fun to give chickens treats as they always get so excited when you do, but keeping your birds healthy is really important so do your best to make it happen.

Yeah! At this point whenever they see me even if I have nothing they follow me around, even the ones who are scared of me and don’t like to be pet it’s so funny to watch

 

[CHlCKEN]

Yeah! At this point whenever they see me even if I have nothing they follow me around, even the ones who are scared of me and don’t like to be pet it’s so funny to watch

They are very smart animals!

 

[Foxinthehenhouse]

My family and I overfeed and spoil our chickens a lot, and we decided it’s time to stop. We would feed them rice meat and vegetables everyday at around 2 and call it “lunch” .... and they have gotten used to that being their main food and their pellets being their side food. Neighbors have recently been complaining so They are not in their real run at the moment and are in a small Run temporarily before we get a fence built so they aren’t getting that much exercise To burn those calories. My chickens are healthy at the moment, perfect weight, lay nice eggs, but we want to stop before it gets out of hand and something happens. Do I slowly decrease their food daily or just completely stop at once? If we are late to giving them “lunch” they start complaining and making caw-caw noises so I’m thinking we slowly decrease their food day by day. In their current temporary run they don’t have access to grass and only dirt and stone/rocks. I don’t know how to get them to start adjusting to realize that the pellets should be their main food now that they adjusted to this “lunch” though

With the internet I’m amazed how people can go so far astray! Talk about “ killing the with kindness!” Feed them laying pellets and nothing else.....they will eat it when they get hungry enough!!

 

[Mturner]

My family and I overfeed and spoil our chickens a lot, and we decided it’s time to stop. We would feed them rice meat and vegetables everyday at around 2 and call it “lunch” .... and they have gotten used to that being their main food and their pellets being their side food. Neighbors have recently been complaining so They are not in their real run at the moment and are in a small Run temporarily before we get a fence built so they aren’t getting that much exercise To burn those calories. My chickens are healthy at the moment, perfect weight, lay nice eggs, but we want to stop before it gets out of hand and something happens. Do I slowly decrease their food daily or just completely stop at once? If we are late to giving them “lunch” they start complaining and making caw-caw noises so I’m thinking we slowly decrease their food day by day. In their current temporary run they don’t have access to grass and only dirt and stone/rocks. I don’t know how to get them to start adjusting to realize that the pellets should be their main food now that they adjusted to this “lunch” though

Put the pellets in a bowl and add water to turn the pellets into mush ... that way they think they are getting a treat but it is full of nutrition!!

 

[Tilhana]

Oh... so is it hurting them that I give them treats? I’ve been slowing down on the treats recently, at most usually a few mealworms a day... and occasionally a handful of popcorn (no butter or salt, of course!)

So should I stop even that? Mostly why I’ve slowed down the treats is that mealworms are expensive, but I use them to call the girls in from free ranging.

It depends on what you consider treats. Rice is pretty much empty calories - it's not junk food but if they're eating it in addition to their regular diet then it's probably just making them fat, which is not healthy. But there's nothing wrong with feeding them meat. It's a great source of protein and vitamins. But again, if it's in addition to their regular feed then you're probably overfeeding.

What you could do is swap out a portion of their pellets with meat, mealworms, and/or kitchen scraps. But I would leave it to just the one meal a day, and not give them anything extra, or at least not more than say a tablespoon of additional "treats" per chicken per day. Not so much that they're treating it as a meal, though. I know some people are really adamant that the only way for chickens to have a healthy balanced diet is to feed them 100% formulated feed pellets, but there are plenty of healthy, happy backyard chickens who subsist in large part on kitchen scraps and leftovers supplemented with grains and some added vitamins. Chickens are natural omnivores and opportunistic feeders, much as humans are (or were, before the invention of agriculture). So it's perfectly natural for them to get food from a variety of sources: greens, meat, bugs, etc.