treat question... please help

[gavinandallison]

okay I am new at chicken keeping - we have 5 lovely BR ladies ( one maybe a roo ) ..

anyways I have a problem , I love to feed things - be it a husband , dog or any thing really ... so I get these sweet baby birds they are 3 days old , I hold them love them and I think I may have spoiled them ... they are now 16 weeks old .....

Once they got old enough for treats ( I went by the Rasing Chickens for Dummys Book ) started giving the treats- tomatoes, grapes , mill worms and the other suggestions- my girls are picky , they like what they like and will turn up the beak if it is not what they like -

Well the little brats have started not eating as much feed as they should - and I think I have ruined them - I have cut back on the treats hoping they will dive into the chicken feed again and they do eat some but not very much . My question is do they go through times of eating less or have I truly failed as a chicken momma ?

 

[jen5680]

Lots of treats are a no no!! It does make them not want to eat the regular food they should be and can cause problems with egg
laying ect.
I would cut out the treats all together for a while and see if they don't pick back up on the regular food.
I no it is so fun to give them treats but try to stick with jsut the hubby and dogs. LOL!!
Good luck!

 

[Judy]

Like kids who have become picky eaters, they will eat when they are hungry. Stick to your guns and watch.

 

[Tropical Chook]

Well mine free range all day so I suppose they find their own treat

because they hardly touch their feed anymore. Suites me fine though because I rarely buy feed, and I still get the most amazing eggs with bright orange yolks. Maybe it's all in the mind, but I'm convinced the meat is also more tender since I started free ranging. For additional treats, they vacuum anything and everything that gets tossed out the kitchen widow

, and they also get some paddy rice and corn occasionally.

If you're concerned, simply stop the treats for a week or so.

 

[Caseman]

just hold up on the treats and couple days they will go back on their feed.. I had to do the same for my bantams...

 

[wyandotte freak]

Their preferences seem to change from time to time. For instance, spring and early summer they were into red clover in the yard. Then they were more into dandelions leaves and ants, later it was tomatoes and zucchini. Anything to keep from buying feed all the time. We use organic feed that is $18 per 50 lbs.