Spoiled brats of birds

[jacilee]

I think my chickens might be a tad bit spoiled. They won't hardly touch pellets, won't eat dried grain and if they do the corn is the last to go, don't eat apples, won't touch lettuce to the point of looking at me like I am trying to poison them. They love tortillas and bread but no crackers. Love oatmeal but run away from peas. Not feeding them all this at once by the way. They are not a year old yet but getting close. I won't even go into trying to feed them worms or an accidental crawdad, ok I will. They ran from the worms and stood in a group muttering and griping as I watched the worm burrow back into the ground, (early last fall) but the crawdad around the same time was a monster invader and had to be dispatched but eat it? Are you crazy?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That spoiling is to the detriment of their nutrition.
Cut out everything but the pellets and they'll eat them. They're used to being able to wait for other things.
Bread and tortillas are not doing them any good.

If they're laying, give layer pellets - only.
If not laying, give grower feed - only - and oyster shell on the side for any laying or about to do so.

Chicken feed is formulated with all the nutrients chickens are known to need based on over 100 years of research. Feeding all that other stuff is degrading their nutritional intake.

 

[Folly's place]

x2!!! Creating junk food junkies is very bad for the birds and not so great for egg quality either. Good layer pellets with oyster shell and grit on the side, or good grower feed with the same sides, and nothing else for a while. Free range birds can catch their own worms and bugs, and scratch feed is only a treat; less that 10% of the diet. Mary

 

[hennible]

X3

 

[jacilee]

Again this is over the last year. I have them on pellets and a small amount of grain if it is cold. I just thought it was funny because they look at me like I am nuts for trying to give them stuff, they have a huge yard to eat stuff out of.

 

[HappyChickadee]

As pullets mine started to get a little picky because I was giving them some table scraps so I had to pull away all scraps for awhile. Now that is cold I give them warmed up left overs at night - after they have had all day to snack on free ranging, whatever they snack on and pellets. I see their pellets go down quickly and they like to tell me about it if they are getting low on pellets. Sooooo....for awhile mine would also not eat it unless it was cut up - spoiled!! They would not eat lettuce until recently when I was given a ton of greens by a local whole foods store and I have been throwing out heads of lettuce, cabbage, kale..etc, and they are eating it. At first they were like no way and would look at me like I am nuts. I think they got bored and started realizing that the greens were fun to pick at.

Also mine do NOT like bananas, not mashed, not cut up, not ever.