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

[h2oratt]

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.

Is that so, I wonder why my chickens routinely flew into my garden, eat their fill and fly back.

 

[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

 

[Cindy in PA]

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.

 

[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.