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

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

The coup is clean, they were wormed a month before Christmas on flubenvet, no sign of red mite, still interested and chatting and wandering around and laying four good eggs a day (there are four of them), no obvious external signs of ill health that I can see, but for the past five or so days, they're just not eating their pellets.

 

I normally give them a full fruitbowl's worth a day, and sometimes in cold weather, they need an extra quarter of that. I last filled up fully on Friday, they had had some on Saturday but there were still a lot left. Sunday, I still didn't need to top them up, and today I didn't either.

 

It's deep snow out. Inside the coup is warm. They're drinking water from what I can see. But they're not eating.

 

Any ideas why?

[Guest]

well, the obvious question is, are you giving them lots of treats?

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

No. Hardly anything. I'm quite tight on treats so they stay healthy. A small handful of mealworms a couple of times a week.

[Egluntyne]

Odd. Is someone topping up the pellets when you aren't looking?

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

No. It's just me and my dog. And my OH. He does the dog, I do the chickens. It IS odd though isn't it? They don't look manky or ill or off-colour, they're just having a bit of a supermodel diet time. Because there's not a lot of weight to a chicken, I'm a little concerned in case they start wasting away.

[Guest]

do the pellets smell musty or 'off'?

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

No. They're so fresh I could eat them. Brand new sack from the ever reliable Ben in Teston. I store my pellets indoors in a bin. They're not exposed to anything funny. Their water is plain tap water with a dash (1-2 tablespoons?) of cider vinegar to a 3-4 litre drinker.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

When mine went off the pellets, I gave them some warm pellet mash (does that make sense?!) & they wolfed it back. I've stuck with that as the winter has progressed, a bowl at breakfast & a bowl for tea with a few sultanas & a sprinkling of corn in. And if it's particularly cold, like it has been over the last week or so (have you noticed ) they get a small bowl at lunchtime too. They always have a part grub of pellets in the run too, and they do nibble on them, especially if they can't free-range.

 

Hope this helps, it is a worry when they don't appear to eat isn't it? Worse than children

 

Sha x

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

I take it they know what they're doing, but being chickens, they can be dim, so I'm a little worried. I don't know where to get mash locally. It's a pellet area. Anyone know anywhere in Kent for mash?

[Chook n Boo Mum]

If you can't get mash, just soak some pellets, it all ends up the same soggy mess!

 

Pellets & mash are apparently the same stuff, just the mash isn't formed into pellets.

 

Sha x

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

A ha. Cunning. I will give it a go Sha. Thanks for that.

 

A xx