When to give chickens oats, whole corn, scratch, treats, etc...

[Wisegirl99]

I have been raising hens with my daughters for only about 2 months. I'm still learning about feeding our hens. I'm wondering the timing for feeding our hens. They have 24-7 access to Purena Layena pellets and fresh water. They have sand in their coop, so right before they go to sleep we scatter cracked corn for them to scratch around for. (Their coop has lights on a timer, the lights turn off at 7:30pm and turn on at 5:30am) We let them out around 8am and they are starving!! I'm wondering what exactly I should be giving them, since they just had the scratch the night before and possibly some leftovers in the coop in the early morning. Should I give them some whole corn and oats in the morning and wait until around 3 or 4 to give them any treats like fresh fruits and veggies? Or should I be giving them the fresh fruits and veggies first thing in the morning? Also, how much whole corn and oats do I give? I have 4 hens. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a blessed Thanksgiving! 1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

[rebrascora]

I am confused! If they have access to their layer pellets 24/7, how can they be starving in the morning??
Chickens are far better at training people than people are at training chickens! Don't let them train you to give them more treats because it is not only unhealthy for them to have too many treats, it can actually kill them.... too much corn or scratch can make them obese. The layer feed is formulated to provide everything they need to be healthy and lay eggs. Adding anything else reduces the amount of layer feed they will eat and that starts to knock their diet out of balance. Short term this is not too much of a problem but over weeks and months it can cause a build up of fatty deposits in their body and the liver is particularly vulnerable. If there is too much fat, the liver can become impregnated fat molecules and it's structure starts to weaken. The fat also develops around the vent area narrowing the outlet and egg binding and prolapse become more of a risk. A bird straining due to egg binding or prolapse can then rupture it's liver and die. Of course it is very difficult to assess body condition on a hen that is covered with fluffy feathers and laying hens are much slighter than the supermarket chickens we see ready for the oven, so many people have no idea that their chicken is obese. Better to be mean with the high carbohydrate treats like corn, grains, bread, pasta etc than too generous and kill your chickens with kindness.
If you must give them corn or other grains make it no more than one tablespoon per bird per day and no other treats. You really want the vast majority of their daily intake to be the formulated feed. You also need to provide them with grit and crushed oyster shells if you are giving them anything other than layer feed.
Good luck with them.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

… too much corn or scratch can make them obese. The layer feed is formulated to provide everything they need to be healthy and lay eggs. Adding anything else reduces the amount of layer feed they will eat and that starts to knock their diet out of balance. Short term this is not too much of a problem but over weeks and months it can cause a build up of fatty deposits in their body...

Not only the fatty deposits bad on a chickens' liver but these deposits of fat can and do lead to hen deaths because of egg Peritonitis. The reason for this is because hens (and roosters to) carry most of their body fat around clustered around their vent or egg laying opening. The result is trouble forcing the eggs out of the body and often this can result in an egg being broken inside of the hen.

 

[Percheron chick]

T

Thanks for your reply. I do appreciate any help. How would you answer this portion of my question.... "Should I give them some whole corn and oats in the morning and wait until around 3 or 4 to give them any treats like fresh fruits and veggies? Or should I be giving them the fresh fruits and veggies first thing in the morning? Also, how much whole corn and oats do I give?"

. You are trying to elevate fruits, veggies, oats... to a necessary component of the hens diet. It is not. It is a treat. Sometimes you eat pie for breakfast. Sometimes it's a bedtime snack but most of the time, it doesn't exist. Feed them when you need to dump the compost pail, feed them when you need them to put themselves to bed before they want to. Give them a handful of goodies whenever just because you can. As long as they eat their layer and provide eggs, you're good.

 

[rebrascora]

If these are pullets (ie hens under a year old) they will usually lay through their first winter without supplemental lighting. If you give them artificial light, it is better to have it come on earlier in the morning and let them go to roost at dusk with no light. The problem being that the light going off suddenly when it is dark outside means they can get stranded in the dark on the coop floor rather than climbing onto the roost bar as the daylight is fading as they should.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

. You are trying to elevate fruits, veggies, oats... to a necessary component of the hens diet. It is not. It is a treat ....

Things like strawberries, watermelon, kale, other fruits and vegies are not chicken treats. These eatables are given to their flocks by chicken keepers who either feel guilty about confining their birds or else keepers who are frustrated mothers, big mothers, or little mothers looking to replace their real or imagined family members with a compliant domestic animal.

 

[Percheron chick]

The general consensus is to add all the artificial light in the morning and let your chickens put themselves to bed naturally with the setting sun. If the sun sets at 5, then you would need to have lights come on at 3am to achieve 14 hours of light. You do not want the lights to go off when they are off the roost.
But to answer your original question, treats are treats. They aren't on a schedule. Some people use them to get their chickens in the coop, some use them to get them out of the coop. I use them to use up food items. You are not going to harm them however you choose to do it.

 

[Wisegirl99]

If these are pullets (ie hens under a year old) they will usually lay through their first winter without supplemental lighting. If you give them artificial light, it is better to have it come on earlier in the morning and let them go to roost at dusk with no light. The problem being that the light going off suddenly when it is dark outside means they can get stranded in the dark on the coop floor rather than climbing onto the roost bar as the daylight is fading as they should.

Thanks for the reply. We do have our lights fade on and fade off over a timing of 3 minutes so they aren't blasted with light in the morning and also not stranded on the coop floor in the evening.

 

[rebrascora]

T

Thanks for your reply. I do appreciate any help. How would you answer this portion of my question.... "Should I give them some whole corn and oats in the morning and wait until around 3 or 4 to give them any treats like fresh fruits and veggies? Or should I be giving them the fresh fruits and veggies first thing in the morning? Also, how much whole corn and oats do I give?"

What is the percentage protein of your layer feed? If it is only 16%, I would give them very little corn and oats... less than a tablespoon of both combined each bird a day. Ie one tablespoon of the mixed grains each and not every day. If they have a higher protein feed then you can give a little more but not double.
I don't think it makes a huge difference as to when you treat them. I am not sure how long it takes to release the calories from whole grains as compared to a pellet or crumble but I would suspect at least several hours, so the suggestion that they might burn the calories from them off free ranging if you feed it to them in the morning may not be accurate. Many people feed corn on a night so that the birds are digesting it whilst they roost and believe it keeps them warmer because their body has to work harder to break down the grains. I do not think it is nearly as important as not giving them too much of such treats. I would probably give the greens in the morning and the corn at night as it can sometimes be helpful to get them in when you want to go out earlier and they are still happily ranging.
I still don't understand how they are starving on a morning when they have access to their feed in the coop? I think you may be misinterpreting that. Can you explain?

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Did I miss how old these "hens" are ? You said you have had them for 2 months. Are they in fact grown hens ?