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

[SeasideChick]

Hi,

My 3 chickens have always laid well, but for the past 6 weeks they just won't eat their layers pellets! The chickens will be 2 years old in December.

 

They come out of their large "indoor" run to go into their outside pen every day, but there are just shrubs and mud, so not a lot of food there apart from the greens or s"Ooops, word censored!"s we give them.

 

they appear to be starving all the time but just won't touch their pellets at all. i changed them from Allen&Page organic to Allen&Page smallholder ... taken then out of their bowl, scattered them on the floor, outside etc. etc., but they still won't eat them.

 

I have wormed them.

 

they are still laying, but not very well - only 1, sometimes 2 a day.

 

Any ideas anyone?????

 

Thanks a lot!

[Chucky Mama]

I recently bought some new pellets for mine and they just throw them around looking for something better The do eat them quite happily when they are soaked though and seem to slowly be coming around to eating them when they are dry.

[abwsco]

Could well be worth checking the date on the pellets.

[Space Chick]

Mine have been the same recently (since they discovered the ex batts mash )

 

So they are now having a pellet/mash combo which is going down well at the moment amongst all girls

[Chucky Mama]

Could well be worth checking the date on the pellets.

 

Hadn't thought of that, will check mine to morrow.

[katieD]

swopped mine from pellets to mash as they didnt seem to be eating much and their eggs were going soft etc- they love the mash and eat loads more

[sjp]

I've had the same problem twice now when i get down to the last 2 or 3 weeks of pellets in the old bag it hapened with the first bag now with this current bag 2 different brands the first bag was nearly out of date. can't check this last one. it'll be mid week before mine get on to the one only mixed the bags today

[SeasideChick]

Hi, thanks for replies. The pellets are definitely well within date.

 

If I soak them through ... not wishing to be thick here, but do I just add cold water to them???? And then leave it for a while????

 

 

Never done that before so not quite sure what exactly to do!! Sorreeeee!!!

 

Thanks again for your help and I'll look into the "mash".

[Chucky Mama]

I put hot water on and wait for them to plump up.

[abwsco]

If you can get hold of poultry wheat, rolled barley and cut maize I'd recommend mixing up your own feed. I started doing this at the beginning of August and am not going back to pellets.

[SeasideChick]

OK - will try all suggestions! Thank you soooo much for your help.

 

Hey, whatever happened to the "oh chickens will eat anything" theory!!!!

[Gelbel]

I put hot water on and wait for them to plump up.

Go careful on the quantities - I made a mash for the first time for mine yesterday - got it wrong and had cement. A few pellets go a long way in a cupful of hot water.

 

My girls could not get enough - made a rod for my own back.

[coco]

After 2 months of my girls not eating pellets or eating them under sufferance and throwing more on the floor than they eat I got them some layers mash yesterday. They were free ranging but came into the run to eat it. The feed container was empty when I came in from work today and the food wasn't on the floor which makes a change. They are now on a mix of mash and pellets until all the pellets have gone then I think I will keep them on the mash.

[stoice]

Mine did exactly the same coco, after I'd had them well over a year, it was the start of spring this year in fact that all the pellets would be flung about until i got mash - then they scoffed the mash. I gave up mixing pellets with mash though as they'd fling out the pellets to get to the mash. I now have a grub of each for them choose. Like a chicken buffet!

 

Interestingly the lady where i got some mash from had said the same about her girls too!

 

Fuss pots!

[SeasideChick]

How amazing these chickens are!

 

Well, here's an update!!!! I mixed THE layers pellets with some hot water, until it was all nice and sloppy, and then gave it to them. They absolutely wolfed it all down ... so I then did a second bowlful and they gobbled that all up too!!! I am totally amazed!!!!!

 

So, looks like I've made a rod for my own back, and will be forever making sloppy layers pellet "porridge" for them! Still, if they eat and lay well .. I'm not complaining!!

[Chucky Mama]

Well done! They should eat them dry but they might not like that particular brand. The new ones that I have that mine didn't like had to be soaked for a week and then they accepted them but they obviously don't like them as much as the old ones. These are a very pale green and the ones they liked were dark green and not a hard. What a fussy bunch!

[Sarahsausage]

You could do what my friend did and blitz them in a blender to make 'mash', then gradually decrease the blending until they end up with full pellets?

 

Mine don't eat pellets either and I just feed them co"Ooops, word censored!" mash, as long as they're happy and eating that's all that matters!

 

You could also add some limestone flour for extra calcium

[SeasideChick]

Thanks guys for all your advice/help! I'm just amazed that they are so fussy!!!!

 

Still, as long as they're eating, I guess that's the most important thing!