What to feed to fill up chickens?

[bantam_n00b]

I have a roo that doesnt seem to eat anything at all really. I notice that everytime i go and check on my pair, my hen is always full but my rooster will have nothing or barely anything in his stomach sach. What gives? Theyre on flockraiser right now. Any suggestions? I dont want to change the feed drastically because my hen is laying. I thought that he would love manna pro poultry conditioner since there is fish meal in there, he barely touches that too.

 

[bantam_n00b]

By the way these are not meat birds, i do plan on showing in the future. I just dont want my roo to start losing weight and his body because of this.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

A roo usually doesn't gorge like a hen. Sometimes he gives his food to his hens.

 

[tammyd57]

My roo only eats after the hens are completely finished. Even then he doesn't eat nearly as much as they do. As long as you are offering good quality feed free choice and he is not sick, he should be eating enough even if it doesn't seem like it.

 

[bantam_n00b]

Hm.. I wonder if i should have a separate feed for him because i dont want him to lose weight and start being skinny, i remember i had a little bit of this gamebird feed and he did somewhat like to eat that. Should i give that a try? They have little 2 pound bags of the gamebird feed at my local feed store im wondering if i should just buy him a bag of that.

 

[brendapa]

My rooster does not eat either, I have his feeder filled with gamebird and he doesn't touch it. I know he gets plenty of grass and bugs but the others are pigs with the gamebird starter. So, he gets lots of treats. He does like leftover corn, peas, and wet catfood!

 

[bantam_n00b]

Quote:
Mine will only touch corn but i try not to give too much to him, i want him to have more a nutritious diet. hm..i know grains and corns arent really nutritious for him, theyre just filled with different amino acids but i guess that is better than nothing?

 

[twentynine]

If you have food available to him, he won't starve.

 

[MareeZoCool]

My roo acts the same, he'll stand back and watch the hens gobble.After the hens slow down, he'll chomp something.Mac 'n cheese is his favorite treat. He will eat at the same time as the hens, when I've delivered mac & cheese.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A hen will lay an egg that is 2% to 3% of her body weight every day. She needs to eat a lot more than a rooster to make that egg then lay it. If the hen and the rooster were each eating the same amount, then you would have a problem. Since the hen is eating more than the rooster, things are probably in good shape.

Good Luck!