I have 4 Hens and a Roo. Bantam breeds. When I brought them home as chicks, I free ranged them to grass and bugs etc and offered a feeder with Chick Crumble until the entire 18 Kg bag was gone. Then I switched to Starter Feed, same brand, and fed that until the bag was entirely done. At this point the chicks were 4 months old. At the tail end of that last bag I started getting 1 egg a day from my Easter Egger (maybe Olive Egger cause all her eggs are green???). After 4 days of her laying, I ran out of Starter and bought a Layer feed, same brand again. Filled the feeder the same amount I usually do. Two days later I started getting an egg a day from my Buff Orpington. So now Im getting 2 eggs a day, waiting on the other two hens to start. (Barred Rock and SLW) But I have noticed that since I started feeding the Layer feed the flock is not consuming much feed. It seems they arent eating much of it at all. I havent had to replenish the feeder in several days, which is not typically the case.
Should I be worried? The last transition didnt seem to bother them, so Im not sure why this one would. Does pellet/crumble consumption decrease upon maturity? I know Parrots will sometimes get fussy about a new food and can actually starve themselves to death rather than eat it, but Im not sure Chickens are that picky, ,right?
Should I be worried? The last transition didnt seem to bother them, so Im not sure why this one would. Does pellet/crumble consumption decrease upon maturity? I know Parrots will sometimes get fussy about a new food and can actually starve themselves to death rather than eat it, but Im not sure Chickens are that picky, ,right?