Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[wenhen]

Hi

 

At the moment our 3 hens are not eating their mash (used to be a favourite when they were on the grass) or the pellets (but they have never eaten them!) - they like their treats of sweetcorn, raisins and mealworms.

 

When I got back this evening they didn't look like they eaten anything all day (mash or pellets). Could we be filling them up too much on their treats in the evenings?

 

Does all pellets and mash taste different - would it be a case of changing brands and see if they prefer that? Has anyone else had these problems with their new hens?

 

They have been on Hemcore for about a week now, incase that might have any impact?

 

Thank you!!!

[Willow]

Do they free range ? If they do I wouldn't worry. Ours are out most of the day so the pellets don't go down very quickly but if I need to keep them in the run they definitely eat the pellets. I would cut down on the treats though

 

I just noticed they are very new - pullets often don't eat much until they start to lay eggs. If they seem alert and well I wouldn't worry.

[wenhen]

Hi Patricia

 

They get to free range in the evenings during the week and as much as we can over the weekends.

 

 

They all seem fine and perky, so it might just be us expecting them to eat much more than they do.

 

Not laying yet - but Fern did flatten herself to the ground when I first stroken her this evening!! which was rather exciting!

 

Thanks for the advise - we will cut back on the treats and see if that makes any difference.

[Sandychick]

Hi Wenhen, yes I had a simular problem with mine for a while. I think it was a combination of factors, but they are all scoffing away now!

 

Firstly, they were never very keen on the Omlet pellets and definatly eat a lot more since I changed the brand. Do you add garlic powder or anything to their feed? Mine protested when I first did this, so I then introduced it in increasing amounts and they don't seem to notice it now.

 

If you want to get some mash in them, try mixing some in a bowl with water to make a sort of porrage. Someone suggested this to me on here, and they go mad for it. I also mixed in a bit of corn and the odd mealworm to encourage them to get their beaks into it

 

The amount they eat does increase a lot once they start laying.

[wenhen]

That's a good point - we've gone straight in with a teaspoon of garlic in their food - so it might be that. They definately like the bokash bran - but we were missing far too much of that in!!

 

Might try a different brand of pellets - they are our first chickens and are so worried about doing something wrong or making them unwell! Sure I'll stop worrying soon!!

[Sandychick]

they are our first chickens and are so worried about doing something wrong or making them unwell! Sure I'll stop worrying soon!!

 

I know what you mean, I was exactly the same It might be worth trying them without the garlic for a day or two to see if that makes a difference. If it does, then just put small amounts in to start with and they will soon get used to it.

[Egluntyne]

They don't seem to eat very much until they come into lay, and then their appetites increase massively.

 

As long as they have food in their crops at bedtime and they seem healthy, there is probably nothing to worry about.

[Steph101]

It's true, mine ate hardly anything to begin with, but now they are laying, they have huge appetites.