Spoiled chicken wont eat their food.

[ChickieBooBoo]

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My chickens free range too and still eat quite a bit of chicken feed. They are not eating the chicken feed because they are filling up on the treats.

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Exactly what I was thinking, where I live, the ground is covered in snow or frozen for 5+ months of the year. And for about 6-7 there isn't very much green stuff for them to eat. Then they need the chicken feed, not treats.

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Good post!

 

[faerielady]

During the winter, if we have a hard freeze I'd treat my last batch of birds with a warm mash made of chicken crumbles moistened with hot water, mixed in some dried fruit of some kind, bird seed, some corn, red pepper flakes, and molasses. I fed it in SMALL portions, it really was a treat. I never understood treating a lot, that's like telling a child to cut their own piece of cake. Seriously? You want half that cake on their plate?

I honestly think my poor feed choices (I used a mill feed last winter, and I think it went stale before I was even a quarter way through the barrel... as soon as I suspected it was stale, I should have immediately bought bagged feed) contributed to the demise of my last 4 chickens during a pretty vicious cold snap last winter because they didn't have proper nutrition to survive. I blamed myself for a long time, and I didn't get any more chickens until yesterday. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE. Be a responsible chicken owner and feed the proper food.

I don't let my daughter eat junk food for the rest of the day just because she eats a decent breakfast. Taking care of chickens is no different. Do what you're supposed to, or you'll pay the consequences later.

 

[gophert]

I still am interested in the answers to my questions.

During the winter, if we have a hard freeze I'd treat my last batch of birds with a warm mash made of chicken crumbles moistened with hot water, mixed in some dried fruit of some kind, bird seed, some corn, red pepper flakes, and molasses. I fed it in SMALL portions, it really was a treat. I never understood treating a lot, that's like telling a child to cut their own piece of cake.

But that sounds pretty nutritious, right? It's not like cake. Wouldn't the chicken version of cake be...cake? Or white bread or something? Okay, the molasses is not necessary and too much corn wouldn't be great, but the rest sounds fine, right?

There are delicious things that are good for us that we as humans would love to get a lot of--for me, perfect fruit, fine sushi, and hey, fresh eggs. I sure would choose them over a daily dish of rice and beans (which I also like, but still). Would it mean I was going to die young? No...it's not ice cream and french fries. Do people feel the OP is feeding the chicken equivalent of ice cream and french fries? How do we define chicken "junk food" anyway? I thought yogurt was good for them. It sure is good for us. Maybe the fat content is too high?

I feel like we are mixing up all kinds of things in this discussion--nutrition, health, and then stuff that sounds kind of like "Chickens should eat what the scientists say chickens should eat," and "You're being too soft on your chickens." (Why do we care, IF the chickens are in good health?)

I don't personally feel like chicken feed "must" be perfect because it has been scientifically formulated. It's not the freshest thing on earth, for one. It also lacks variety.​

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

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If you provide their pellets free-choice I wouldn't worry about it. If they are laying one egg a day each, that is exceptional! They won't be getting a scientifically correct diet, but if they weren't getting enough of the right things they couldn't be laying. Our grandparents chickens basically lived on scratch grain and whatever they found foraging. Chickens are good at telling what they need. I have had birds ignore kitchen scraps for mash. Just remember if you ask 10 different chicken-keepers this question, you will get 11 different answers. MW

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

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Why not? If the chicken is laying well and appears healthy, what is the problem? I thought they didn't lay well if their diet was off.

They really need grains.

Why do they need grains? Aren't chickens evolved from a jungle bird that would basically eat fruit, seeds, greens, and bugs in the wild? I see a lot of talk around here about how too much scratch is what's bad, and that's all grains, isn't it?

Is the concern here that the chicken will live a short life, or what? Wil a layer "burn out" on a diet of too much protein or something? (Do we think the OP is giving too much protein?)​

There is some information out there I have read on BYC about how fatty liver disease can be caused by too many seeds (but don't be afraid to feed seeds, there just needs to be a balance).

 

[faerielady]

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But that sounds pretty nutritious, right? It's not like cake. Wouldn't the chicken version of cake be...cake? Or white bread or something? Okay, the molasses is not necessary and too much corn wouldn't be great, but the rest sounds fine, right?

Yes, it was nutritious. But it was a TREAT. I fed them it like it was a treat, not like it was replacing their regular food.

Feed your flock whatever you think is best, however you lose the right to complain if something goes wrong because you weren't feeding them adequately.