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

[chickengeorgeto]

Also, treats mustn't exceed 10% of their diet so I would try giving it to them when you let them out

One potential benefit of treating your hens early in the morning is that depending on how BADLY YOU "TREAT" your hens that maybe they will run some of the treats off before it is time to give them real food. Whole corn is not a treat, whole corn is a viable chicken food on par with any of the other foods mentioned in the title of this thread. Just because the anti-Monsanto click bad mouths maize is no reason to not feed it.

This seems to have started when High-Fructose Corn Syrup cut into the market of European sugar beet growers. Therefor this is no reason to not feed whole, un-cracked corn or American Maize to your chickens. Just do it within reason and with the understanding that there is NO BEST OR PERFECT food for either man nor beast, not even God's own Manna from Heaven.

 

[Wisegirl99]

T

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.

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?"

 

[Wisegirl99]

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

They are 6 months old

 

[Acre4Me]

If you use lights in the coop I am assuming your feed & water is in the coop also, is that correct? There would be no use having lights turn on in the morning if there is no feed or water inside.

We have a light in the coop for winter. They have water in the coop, but no food. We feed them daily, but put food away at night so that rodents don’t find an easy source of food. Once they are let out in the morning, they have their feed available all day.

 

[New2Chicks97]

My chickens have all day access to their flock raiser crumbles and a flock block to keep them from getting bored while locked in their covered run. They get scratch grain in the morning and then again in the evening to lure them back in from free ranging. When the weather permits they have free range time for at least an hour up to 3 hours. My chickens don’t seem to like being out in the rain or snow so free range time hasn’t been as plentiful lately.

My chickens always eat their scratch grain like they are starving! They just really like their scratch.