4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Jenstuds]

Hello

 

Had my three ex-batts for three weeks now. They're getting on well, laying frequently and really love it when they get to free range (a few sessions a week so far as we're a bit cautious about leaving them and the cat alone at present.) However, I'm trying to keep things interesting for them by giving them a more varied diet and so far they are not responding at all to the new offerings.

 

Been feeding them layers mash, which they eat constantly doing little else but eating when in the run. Hung some brocolli up for them in the run and they didn't touch it at all. Gave them grapes, which I'd read was a real chicken treat, and they pecked at them and then ignored them. Got a bird feeder type thing and filled this with chopped (uncooked) carrot and turnip and they showed no interest. Sprinkled some layers mash on it, they ate some of the mash and ignored the veg. My final effort was to chop up some carrot and turnip and put this in their feeder, along with the mash, and they just ate around them.

 

Any tips on what I can do to entice them to try something other than mash? I can appreciate that mash should be their core diet, but it seems a shame that they aren't enjoying any treats or having fun trying to get to the other food.

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

Jenny

[Guest]

tinned sweetcorn, just give it a rinse before you give it them or mealworms, they should adore both.

[blackgold]

cut the grapes in half to start with. Look at my collietalk spaces because i had the same problems with my ex batts for the first week, now they eat more or less anything as well as my fingers lol

[blackgold]

ps carrots need to be grated at first

[Jenstuds]

Thanks, that's really helpful. Glad to know others have had similar issues and it's not just me. Great blog BTW.

Jenny

[Happy chickens!]

My ex bats have taken a while to eat anything much but pellets - but they love their dried corn, just a treat (like sweets for kids). Tried sprout stems, cabbage leaves, pecka block, lettuce, veggie peelings (not potatoes) with no interest at all. They do like it in the afternoon though when I make a 'porridge' of any leftovers - if they're cooked and chopped small they'll eat more - mixed with hot water and bokashi bran.

[Lizzie]

Mine adore spaghetti - I put a little olive oil on it and some grated cheese

They also love porridge, weetabix (use water), digestive biscuits (crumbled up), toast with an absolutely tiny tiny coating of marmite, soaked briefly in water, cut up into pieces (not often). Rice, and croissants or cake crumbs.

 

I also give them a special mash mixture (which I found on the forum) which is mash, some garlic powder, poultry spice and a tiny amount of marmite. Mix with hot water to make a porridge like consistancy. Serve cool.

 

Hope this helps a bit

[sheik]

They won't have eaten grapes before, so will be suspicious of them. As someone says, cut them up or squish them. If you feed them by hand they will soon learn that you bring them delicacies and will be more friendly!

 

Ours love boiled rice - it lasts several days in the fridge so is a good "leftover" treat.

 

To keep them amused in the run, millet sprays can work well (we can buy a big bag for £1 in one of our local shops)

 

/\dam

[smanners]

The first few days they looked at anything other than layers mash as if it was from another planet including dried mealworms and grapes

It didn't take them long though to discover the taste of sweetcorn, grapes, pasta and their absolute favourite is spinach leaves hanging in a metal feeder.

 

Not too entaining for them though as it's gone in minutes

[blackgold]

when you say millet sprays do you mean the stuff you give budgies? We really do need a page for all the different things we feed our chooks. We should grade them on how much the hens like them....... i tried mine on human porridge, they didnt like it but Belle my naughty Border Collie younster went in the run and ate it. Sue xxx

[Henhathnofury]

They love corn actually on the cob if they can get it, those bird bells and sometimes a bit of spaghetti.

 

They hate carrots!

[blackgold]

Mine arent too keen on carrots either. Someone said grate it so i did, They picked out all the bits of carrot and threw them all over the pen...lol They love whole green cabbage. They play football with it. The first time i gave them one they were terriied of it. Now anything new is introduced form my fingers then they know it is safe to eat and if they like it will eat it out of their bowls...

[BarbaraJ]

try cooked veg, mine love cooked brocolli, carrots, potato peelings/peas

 

not too kean on raw veg yet mine didn't eat corn on the cob, expensive waste too

[blackgold]

tried cooked veg peelings the first week i had them, they only ate a tiny bit. Might have another try now but they like raw stuff so I let them have that. Anymore ideas anyone

[sheik]

when you say millet sprays do you mean the stuff you give budgies?

 

Yes, like this:

 

 

We really do need a page for all the different things we feed our chooks.

 

Have you seen the Wiki page on this site? : http://wiki.omlet.co.uk/index.php/Things_your_chickens_might_like_to_eat

 

/\dam

[Egluntyne]

Don't forget that the more alternative food they are given, the fewer pellets they will eat and this can impact on their laying, bone density and feather growth.

 

Pellets and mash are designed to give them the optimum diet.

 

Just one treat a day is plenty.

[buffie]

If you want to reduce laying due to egg/reproductive probs and give your girls a rest you can offer less/no mash and more corn. I had a poorly hen who needed to have a break from laying so she was on a corn and poultry spice diet with warm porridge.

 

If all is well and you want eggs, then as Egluntine says, you need to make sure they have access to mash or pellets only 'am' and then give a few treats later in the afternoon.

 

On cold days corn before bed will warm them up.

 

Buffie x

[dancing cloud]

I intially gave my ex-batts mash, as directed, and mixed in a few pellets to get them used to it. The little monsters immediately went for the pellets and chucked out all the mash to get to them . Plan B worked - just give them pellets and forget them mash.

 

They ignored all greens for the first week until a friend brought round some huge leafy cabbage stalks, which I thought would terrify them, but no, they attacked them with vigour . Corn was ignored when scattered on the floor, but guzzled if fed by hand .

 

Inital grapes were ignored until I peeled one to show them there was something inside. Dandelion grabbed one and waddled off with it, so of course all the others then wanted one. Now I cut them up just to make the treat last a little longer .

 

Cabbages are cut in half and hung in string bags for them to help themselves, sometimes with the occasional apple.

 

As others have said, after a while anything you have in your hand will be wanted. When they're out in the garden, my little monsters now come running when the door opens just to see if I've got anything in my hands and complain when I've not

 

Ex-batts soon get their humans trained .

 

PS did I mention they've also got me making pellet porridge for them?

[blackgold]

on one of the posts from 2005 somebody said chickens can eat rhubarb leaves I thought they were poisonous?