Spoiked chuckens? Won’t eat scraps.

[CSAchook]

Also I agree with every one else that your girls are still really young. They will likely become more adventurous eaters as they get older. One thing I do when introducing very young birds to new foods it to chop it into small pieces. My big girls will attack whole veggies no problem, but the littles are often scared of anything new that is bigger than a quarter

 

[lomine]

I am sure there are many many reasons and I can't speak to all of them but...

1) Most chickens seem to really enjoy it. Exploring the big wide world, hunting for bugs, finding a really great spot for a dust bath etc etc.

2) The extra exercise and mental stimulation is certainly very healthy and good for them .

3) IMO there is a difference between a balanced diet and a varied diet. Commercial feed is balanced but offers no variety. Free ranging and or providing small amounts of appropriate treats provides them with variety (which they appreciate) and can also improve the taste and flavor of their eggs.

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.

I think that’s a great way to put it.

 

[dandread]

Sadly when I went outside to put the chickens back in their coop one is missing. Heart broken. My wife is going to be very upset

 

[junebuggena]

Sadly when I went outside to put the chickens back in their coop one is missing. Heart broken. My wife is going to be very upset

It's a bit early in the day to be putting them into the coop for the night. Or are you referring to a run as the coop?

 

[Sunshine Flock]

One of the reasons I chose Welsummers is their fondness for foraging.

At just two weeks old they immediately latched onto foraging when I would take them outside. I also sat with them while they clumped under a manzanita shrub and dug and dug and ate.

And now free ranging is their daily expectation. They love it and get very antsy and pace the chicken run when I don't let them out. They seem to think they're inmates in San Chicken serving a life sentence.

Foraging does help with lowering the costs of chicken feed. Not significantly, but every penny saved helps. They do seem to eat more in colder temperatures, though, so expect feed consumption to change throughout the seasons.

 

[dunnmom]

Mine can be picky or distrustful of scraps. They have their favorites, and then some things go ignored. If I'm giving vegetable scraps from the kitchen, a whirl in the food processor sometimes does the trick.

 

[dandread]

It's a bit early in the day to be putting them into the coop for the night. Or are you referring to a run as the coop?

Yes we have a small coop with an Enclosed Ron. They only let them out in the fenced yard for about two hours a day. Then we going to leave the house we put them inside the coop/run.

We have had raccoons visiting a couple times in the evening and last week. The Coons don’t come out in the daytime normally especially when there’s activity. So hard to believe the raccoons took one of them.

If they kept showing up I was going to trap them and take them someplace else.

 

[junebuggena]

Relocating coons just makes them someone else's problem. Best to have a very secure coop and bring feeders inside at night. This early in the day, I think a cat or hawk is more likely. But she could just be hiding somewhere.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Check with the neighbors, since your birds are young it's possible the missing one went over a fence into another yard.

If you have an issue with raccoons don't trap and then relocate them. In some areas it's illegal. Either contact wildlife control to take care of them or dispatch them humanely if that's allowed.

In regards to the scraps, chickens do take some time to warm up to anything new, and every flock has different tastes (i.e. mine won't eat bread, most people report their chickens love bread). You might just have to try different scraps and give them some time with them to see what your birds might like.

 

[dandread]

Can’t see how chicken can get out. It’s fenced with 4’ landscaping wire. They can only fly a foot up max.No one seen it. Mostly hawk but never see any flying around where we live and much of the area is not wide open. But the. They are skilled birds of prey.

We have seen two raccoons two times at night.

They cannot get into run or coop.