Merax
In the Brooder
Hi All,
Just as a bit of background, my chickens free range most of every day. I have an acre, and they always seem to have full crops when we put them back in the coop in the afternoon. They also get kitchen scraps (or at least what is chicken appropriate) each afternoon when they go back. So, plenty of food, but they also have a feeder full of layer mix available at all times.
The issue? When the feeder is full they know, and the little buggers deliberately shovel perfectly good layer mix out onto the floor of the run to get at their favorite tidbits (usually sunflower seeds). They will happily peck at the other stuff (sometimes off the floor where they have just deposited it) but each week I am clearing out a fair amount of perfectly good food that they have just thrown away to get at the bits they like best. I've tried different brands and mixes, but pretty much the same thing happens.
So my question is, should I limit their feed or perhaps feed them in another way? Obviously they are feeding first thing in the morning and last thing before bed - the rest of the time they are out in the yard doing chicken things and getting their food there.
Also this is funny but if I take a handful of layer mix out to where they are foraging during the day and scatter it where they are, they will generally eat up most of it.
Just as a bit of background, my chickens free range most of every day. I have an acre, and they always seem to have full crops when we put them back in the coop in the afternoon. They also get kitchen scraps (or at least what is chicken appropriate) each afternoon when they go back. So, plenty of food, but they also have a feeder full of layer mix available at all times.
The issue? When the feeder is full they know, and the little buggers deliberately shovel perfectly good layer mix out onto the floor of the run to get at their favorite tidbits (usually sunflower seeds). They will happily peck at the other stuff (sometimes off the floor where they have just deposited it) but each week I am clearing out a fair amount of perfectly good food that they have just thrown away to get at the bits they like best. I've tried different brands and mixes, but pretty much the same thing happens.
So my question is, should I limit their feed or perhaps feed them in another way? Obviously they are feeding first thing in the morning and last thing before bed - the rest of the time they are out in the yard doing chicken things and getting their food there.
Also this is funny but if I take a handful of layer mix out to where they are foraging during the day and scatter it where they are, they will generally eat up most of it.
