They act like they're starving!

[amyfitz100]

I have 4 chickens, 8 and 9 weeks old. The chicken run is not finished, so they stay in the coop and we bring them out for supervised yard time. I feed them when I get home from work at noon (It is very dark and they are asleep when I go to work), and they always have 1/2 their feeder still full of crumbles and plenty of water. When I open the door, they attack the new food like they've never had any, and eat for a good long time. What's the deal? Why wouldn't they eat all the food instead of "starving" once the "fresh" food is gone?

 

[Fred's Hens]

This is just mass hysteria. Some chicks of that age do this. I seriously doubt they're starving given the details you posted. Once the frenzy dies down a bit and they notice it's the same old feed, if you watch, most will walk away, ho-hum. All the excitement has passed.

 

[amyfitz100]

Thanks, I thought maybe they were just spoiled and only liked their crumbles "fresh" or that they couldn't get their heads far enough down in the holes of the feeder... Crazy, but sweet chicks!