Single hen

[Leicester_H]

We have a standard eglu with grub & glug and bark chippings.

My 2 seem to dash out in the morning, eat from grub as if they are starving.

But they also scoup pellets out onto bark and then rumage around for them.

It seems that the pellets are much tastier from any location other than the grub (ie spilt, from the main container if they get a chance when I'm filling up the grub etc. - like dirty puddle water is better than nice clean water in the glug !!)

 

Anyway, I was considering just thowing all their food onto the floor - this would keep them more occupied than at present as they would have to spend more time scratching around for it - more natural. As long as I threw in their standard amount each day, I'd know there was enough in there - but I'm hesitating - would it be cruel ?? bad idea ??

 

Any comments, thanks, H

[ted]

I think putting food on the floor may give more health issues. If food is getting mixed in with anything else that may be on the floor it doesnt sound good!! Have you tried putting the grub a bit higher up?

 

Cheers

[Leicester_H]

I think putting food on the floor may give more health issues. If food is getting mixed in with anything else that may be on the floor it doesnt sound good!! Have you tried putting the grub a bit higher up?

Thanks - but they would eat off the ground in 'the wild'.

Traditional picture of Farmers wife throwing corn.....

I think the ymust have pretty incedible immune systems !!

H

[C&T]

Rodents spring to mind as well...

 

I used to scatter a small handful of corn into the run (when they used to like corn ) and they seemed to enjoy finding it - but so would other things...?

 

Would also have thought would be a health issue, if your run stays in the same place all the time? The food they didn't find / want would rot on the damp ground? Depends on set up I guess. If you were on Concrete, you would be able to sweep it out regularly so keep it clean...

[Hendy]

Mine FAR prefer to eat off the ground. They have a feeder which they only eat from if they're really hungry, otherwise they prefer to 'hunt' their own food from the ground. I sometimes chuck the food from the feeder on the ground and they love scratching around for it.

[HENthusiastic]

I wouldn't do it personally. Mine chuck it about a bit as well and I find that it does build up ina funny mud/pellet concoction underneath their feeder. I find that every now and then I dig this bit out, as it is the only part that really starts to smell.

 

I agree about food on the ground is okay in the open and large spaces because what the chooks dont eat wild birds will, or other animals, but within their coop it would either rot, or attrach rats.

 

That said, I do chuck their corn on the ground, but theres less of that, and as its a favourite, it all gets gobbled up!

[Happy chickens!]

Mine did that too, but it's definitely easier to keep them a bit cleaner and tidyer with feeders off the ground that you can wash! I bought some extra feeders - little clip on cups from flyte so fancy which were inexpensive and they don't seem to throw so much out either! Don't think it's cruel to put their food on the ground - as you say that is what is natural - but messy!

 

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Plastic_Galley_Pots__3_.html

[Phoebe]

mine are currently emptying only one side of the grub at a time. Odd (or oerhaps too much garlic in the full side )

[Egluntyne]

Whilst it is true that they eat of the floor in the wild, they won't eat of the same small area.

 

The advice about not putting food on the floor of runs is for two main reasons....it encourages vermin, and the hens run the risk of re ingesting any expelled worm eggs and increasing any parasite burden.

[Kittycat]

I don't see the harm in scattering some of their food on the floor of a wood chipped run. It is natural behaviour for them to dig and scratch and if they are in the run for any length of time, this helps to keep them busy and content - and gives them a bit of exercise.

 

I have a permanent wood chipped run and one chook that likes to gorge out of the Grub and two that prefer to scratch. I scatter at least 4 handfuls of their daily ration on the run floor every day and have not noticed lots of it left lying around. That said, I don't let them out of their run until later in the day so that they have plenty of time to find and feed on the pellets before enjoying free ranging around the garden. I also rake over the run at least once a week and, when the weather gets warmer, plan to give it a good hose down from time to time too (our wood chips are on top of soil). And I add a scattering of Diatom powder every so often too. I think provided you maintain the run in this way, food scattering is physically and mentally good for them.

 

As for rats, we had them under our decking before we even had chickens and have, ever since, had rat bait traps set up around the garden. I think the rats are just as likely to be attracted to the food that we put out for the wild birds as for the chickens.

[laurmurf]

In a recent Practical Poultry there was an article about a British chook keeper visiting some American ones - he noted that the american chap he visited 'scatter fed' his chooks in their runs twice a day. His view was it encouraged activity, offered distraction, and fed them all at the same time. I liked the idea but haven't tried it yet as mine have access to their run and grubs all day but also free range.

 

Perhaps his living in a much drier climate might make a big difference into the potential for pellets to get damp and rot/go off when scatter feeding?