debbie26pet Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 i just been to the horse shop to get aubiose etc and she ahs given me some mixed corn to try them on will it be ok to put in there tubs a tub of pellets and a tub of mixed corn? which is best for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Hi Debbie, Mixed corn is a 'treat' food and shouldn't be given too often or in large quantities. It takes a long time to digest and so the hens don't feel hungry for their mash/pellets which is the food they need to keep healthy and lay well. The most-knowledgeable-chicken-person-ever at my local poultry centre reckons he gives 1 handful of mixed corn to his 9 hens 3 times a week. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie26pet Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 gr tta wow so much info people tell u. she told me this can be used as a food instead of pellets i have maize corn and mixed corn which is the best one to feed them as a treat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 If she told you mixed corn is a complete food then do not believe a word she says about chickens ever again! No idea about maize corn - would think it's similar so just a handful every so often of either type Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feemcg Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Your chickens would still lay eggs if you only fed them corn - it's just not as nutritionally balanced as layer's pellets/mash. Some farmer's only give a corn 'scratch' feed and the chickens otherwise fend for themselves, finding grass, weeds, bugs etc. - they still lay eggs though (that's what chickens do, no matter what you feed them ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 gr tta wow so much info people tell u. Eh? Mixed corn is definitely a treat, and very fattening. Only give them a handful between them in the late afternoon. It is definitely not a replacement for layers pellets. Is this the same woman who tried to palm you off with an elderly hen and charge you £25 for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie26pet Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 Is this the same woman who tried to palm you off with an elderly hen and charge you £25 for it? no this is our horse supplier i mean on the advice u got to a farm shop tells me one thing then go to this horse shop and htey tell me one thing, i know i can come on here and ask and get some sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 yes corn will make your chickens fat if given too much. My lot have about a yoghurt pot full between 4 of them and as a treat only late in the afternoon. Makes the yolks lovely and yellow though and my girls will scratch for hours in the hemcore looking for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkybijou Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Hmm, I'm a bit worried now. I started for the first few weeks giving mine layers pellets but they just don't like it and wouldn't eat much. They didn't seem to be growing much and weren't laying. I started giving them mixed corn which they absolutely love and started laying eggs. Since then I've just been giving them the corn. Now I'm worried that they are missing something nutritionally. What would chickens eat if they were not domesticated? What is in layers pellets? Mine eat their mixed corn plus cabbage, broccoli or an apple every day and don't seem to be getting fat (yet?) They also have grit and they get dried mealworms for treats. I don't suppose they will be too pleased to go back to pellets which they seem to hate? (Their eggs are delicious, BTW.) Oh, so many questions! Anyone any wise advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iChicken Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Hi Debbie, I wouldn't get too hung up on exactly what food in what quantities at what time of day to feed your chickens. My girlfriend grew up on a farm and they kept a small number of chickens in a courtyard, fed them nothing but kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s and maize and had plenty of eggs. Our chickens have our leftovers, corn, whatever they find free ranging as well as their pellets and they seem very happy. I think keeping them on a diet that consists almost entirely of pellets is like making a human live on muesli. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Hmm, I'm a bit worried now. I started for the first few weeks giving mine layers pellets but they just don't like it and wouldn't eat much. They didn't seem to be growing much and weren't laying. I started giving them mixed corn which they absolutely love and started laying eggs. Since then I've just been giving them the corn. Now I'm worried that they are missing something nutritionally. What would chickens eat if they were not domesticated? What is in layers pellets? Mine eat their mixed corn plus cabbage, broccoli or an apple every day and don't seem to be getting fat (yet?) They also have grit and they get dried mealworms for treats. I don't suppose they will be too pleased to go back to pellets which they seem to hate? (Their eggs are delicious, BTW.) Oh, so many questions! Anyone any wise advice? It sounds as if they are getting a good varied diet in addition to the corn. If you just keep an eye on the fat content of anything else you give them they should be OK. Layers pellets are considered the optimum food nutritionally speaking, but I dare say that when people kept hens in the garden during WW2 they they didn't have the luxury of layers pellets. They survived on s"Ooops, word censored!"s (see poster in my signature) and whatever they could forage. Have you tried them with layers mash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayflower Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Layers pellets and layers mash is very important 'life food' for hens if they do'nt free range and you want healthy eggs. Hens for the table can be fed on corn only, because all their strength goes into putting on weight. I was told recently buy an expert henkeeper that feeding hens on corn only brings about a moult. He was suggesting this for people who had ex batts like me. He believed that past caged birds should have a complete rest from laying, so feeding them on corn only stops them laying and brings about a moult. However, I did not take his advice, as I felt that bringing on a moult would be too traumatic for ex bats who have already suffered enough....they will moult in their own good time. So, feeding on corn only does seem to have an effect on hens. Try layers mash. My hens love it. On cold mornings I mix it with warm water, poultry spice and bran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkybijou Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Is layers mash just like a powder type thing, and is it the same stuff as the pellets? The reason I ask is that I once mixed up the pellets with a bit of warm water to make up a kind of porridge and they turned their beaks up at it and it sat there all day untouched. Can you get layers mash in small bags so I don't waste any if they don't like it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesyboy27 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Our chickens were the same when we first had them,we used pellets then mash,now i give them pellets plus some corn mix mixed in the seem to enjoy both now. I think like most pets ie our cat,if you give them too many treats grapes corn lettuce,then the reject the pellets and want the the treats intstead,so we just then startes again with pellets only,they soon got the message after a few days regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirkwood Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 hi Debbie hope you are well. Sounds very like my trip to the male dominated pet suppliers!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Can you get layers mash in small bags so I don't waste any if they don't like it? You can get it in smaller bags than layers pellets seem to come in. I bet you 20p that your hens will love it. I never bothered with it until I got my exbatts, and I gave some to the big girls to see what they thought, although they do eat their pellets, but they went mad for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie26pet Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Can you get layers mash in small bags so I don't waste any if they don't like it? You can get it in smaller bags than layers pellets seem to come in. I bet you 20p that your hens will love it. I never bothered with it until I got my exbatts, and I gave some to the big girls to see what they thought, although they do eat their pellets, but they went mad for it. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHICKEN-POULTRY-FEED-Layers-Mash-900g-pack_W0QQitemZ110242614460QQihZ001QQcategoryZ46292QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem small quantity of mash im thinking getting some then instead of some treats kids can make them a porridge they will think they giving them something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkybijou Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Thanks for that, I'll order some shortly! That 20p bet is on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddie Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I give mine layers pellets in the morning, and mixed corn in the late a/noon. They get all the veg kitchen waste, and if there's a bit of bacon rind, or some pasta... well almost everything except any poultry product. I rake up the debris every other a/noon, to keep it tidy and clean, and we get a steady supply of eggs from my tatty old brown reject farm hens!! I look loningly at the "fancy "hens, but cannot warrant the expentiture, as the farm ones are free, they would be killed otherwise, and they lay like hell.there is very little so humorous as a chicken eating spaghetti. Except 2 chickens eating spaghetti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 there is very little so humorous as a chicken eating spaghetti. Except 2 chickens eating spaghetti Or 7 chooks chasing one with a snail. It's like Benny Hill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 My girls had a field day the other day when I raked up the old Hemcore and forked over the run to lay new Aubiose. Their crops were stuffed with earthworms. There was the odd chasing episode, but mostly there were loads to go round. The babies even managed to get in on the act. It's great fun but does make the job take 4 times as long as they always want to stand on the very clod of earth you are trying to turn over, to be ready the moment the worms appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachel m Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 mixed corn is a great way of getting them back into the run if you need them in early, a small sprinkling in the run, and they can't get back in quick enough!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 That's exactly how I get mine back into their run after free ranging I read somewhere, probably on here that if they have a little mixed corn just before bed in the winter it helps to keep them warm and susatain them through the long night because it is digested slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebird Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I feed layers mash slightly damp in their feed bin and make sure they have a constant supply and I also throw it around their run for them to find which keeps them occupied for hours. I know I probably lose a lot in the bedding but they do enjoy a good scratch. They also get meal worms, broccili, cabbage, grapes, mixed corn etc. and they love the parsley from our herb pots. Chickens are farmyard scavengers and if allowed to free range all day in farmyard conditions they would find plenty of nutritous food but in back garden conditions they probably need substitute foods, i.e. layers pellets/mash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I feed layers mash slightly damp in their feed bin and make sure they have a constant supply and I also throw it around their run for them to find which keeps them occupied for hours. Sorry, do you mean you throw mash on the floor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...