that's it. locking the EE out of the coop/feeder for most of the day!

[haTHOR]

sounds mean but i swear she will stand in there and eat 75% of the day while the other hens and chicks forage on their huge grassy enclosure. they are catching frogs, beetles, scratching up grubs, and eating lots of green stuff...and the EE just eats and eats and eats at the hopper while the rest do it.

any ideas why she is doing this? i've had her for a week, she has laid just one egg, and that was her first ever.

 

[Gloria]

Is she able to eat at the feeder when the rest are eating? Maybe they are pushing her out of the way to get their share, and she isn't getting enough? Just a thought. Hope it helps.

 

[haTHOR]

yes! she rules the roost with regard to eating, and pecks everyone else!

 

[Julie08]

put out 2 feeders so everyone can get their fair share. You can't lock her out of the feed IMO.

 

[haTHOR]

i locked her out for three hours to force her to free range in an awesome green field. do you really think that's mean?

it's odd, and maybe unrelated, but her eggs don't taste nearly as good as the other hens'...and the only difference is that she hardly forages at all.

 

[danielbrown]

Quote:
Grass, bugs, frogs, and all the other things that you don't want to know they eat makes the eggs taste better.

 

[haTHOR]

that's what i was figuring too.

tomorrow i am going to keep her away from the hopper for the morning and the late afternoon-evening, but they'll be in the tractor, enjoying the shade (with access to the feed) from about 12-4. i really think she'll be fine.