Poorly chicken

[Gertie]

Hello Experts (again!!)

 

I have been trying to get my hens to eat layers pellets as I am fed up with the mash getting wasted all over the floor (even though they love it!). After mixing pellets with the dry layers mash for a week I happened to find lice in my chickens feed bin so I ditched the rest of the mash and changed them onto pellets completely. I had a small amount of the 'test' pellets left which were cheap ones - they were kind of eating these. I then went and bought what I thought was a very palatable sack of organic pellets. These appear to be completely unacceptable to the chickens and they wont touch them! They are in the run during the day and have eaten few if any. I let them out in the evening and they can find bugs, eat fallen apples and greens etc. I have tried mixing the pellets with warm water, oats, seeds and bokashi but they just pick those bits out.

 

Can anyone suggest anything else I can do to persuade them to eat these pellets? I have read some other posts on the forum that say just wait it out. Im worried though - how long should I wait and do you think they would starve themselves?

 

Many thanks

 

Erika

[Plum]

I find mine attack them more if I mix powdered garlic in which also has the advantage of making their droppings smell less

[abwsco]

Are they laying yet as if not they don't really seem to eat a lot until then.

[stoice]

I feed mine garvo mash now but when they were on pellets I tried some organic brand and they turned their beaks up, they certainly preferred the cheap stuff. Cheeky madams but fine by me. Anyway, they had to finish the sack of organic pellets I'd bought so I stopped all FR for a while. Your girls won't go hungry and will eventually eat the pellets, especially if they are laying. You could add some warm water and make a porridge with a few handfuls of pellets and see if they'l like it that way?

[Gertie]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for your help.

I will try garlic powder, I never thought of that. Yes they are laying, at least one lays daily but the other hasn't due to medical complications. They are around 10 months. The laying one did eat a huge amount of mash. I think I'll try a few things til the weekend then get some standby mash!!

 

I have tried making a mash with various additions to try to temp them but they just picked out the nice bits!!! I'll have another go for a few days with less evening greenery & FR.

 

Thanks for the tips.

Erika

[mafia princess]

When I changed to pellets one of my chooks had a stand off with me for two weeks; she stopped laying and had me worried sick that something terrible was wrong with her before she backed down, started eating and laying again . I also add garlic powder and Poultry Spice and both are happily producing lovely eggs . Stick it out and they will eat!

[Gertie]

Well, it's been a week and they haven't starved so far I have supplemented their diet with very little extra for the last few days apart from a few greens in the evening and a pecka block thingy. The pellets don't seem to have gone down any but the laying hen is still laying daily so they must be eating something!! I'm heading to the farm shop at the weekend for some more poultry spice and garlic powder though.

 

Thanks for your help

 

Erika

[The Dogmother]

Stick to the pellets, they won't starve themselves, keep all treats to an absolute minimum.

 

If they tend to rake their food out of the feeder, then it might be too low; hang it so that it's level with their backs and use the gravity feeders with fins in

 

[Egluntyne]

I agree, they won't starve. I'd confine them to the run for 2 or 3 days, with nothing but the new pellets and water. They'll soon get the idea.

[Gertie]

Thanks very much Claret and Egluntyne

 

I added some garlic powder today and one hen had a few mouthfuls immediately. I just needed some reassurance that they wouldn't starve themselves completely. I have a hanging feeder with fins in but somehow they still seemed to get the layers meal everywhere. So far there are no pellets on the floor - but that might be because they are hardly eating any!!

 

Well, off to close them in for the night. I am thinking of adding 2 or 3 more hens when my cube arrives on 25th October...so my next questions will be about introductions

 

Erika

[The Dogmother]

If they are still scattering it on the floor, you might need to raise the height you have the feeder hanging at; it needs to be with the green base at the same height as the hen's backs, that will lessen any food flicking that's going on. If mine scatter their food around, I just remove their feeder until they've cleared up the mess from the floor.

[Gertie]

Hi Claret

 

Happy to say I checked the feeder today and I am sure that it is going down...slowly. I like the smell of the garlic powder myself.

 

I do have my feeder at about chicken back height. I think they maybe made a mess because of the meal being so powdery. No mess with the pellets yet, but a good idea to take the feeder away until they have cleared up after themselves! I will raise it up if they make a mess again.

 

Whilst I am writing this, I may as well ask...I am planning to increase the number of hens I have. I only have 2 currently but want to add another two, but I was told it was easier to add 3 more as it would dilute the pecking. I think I could fit 5 in a cube with 3 metre run. They will also get evenings and weekends ranging. Do you think it would make much difference adding 3 or is 2 ok?

 

Best wishes

 

Erika

[The Dogmother]

If they still make a mess, then you can pop a melamine tray underneath - I do this with the chicks, who are messy eaters. I usually mix a drizzle of cod liver oil in with the feed - that stops any powdery elements dropping to the bottom of the feeder and being flicked out

[Gertie]

Hello All

 

My hens are definitely eating a few pellets (I have seen it happen!), I guess enough to sustain them, but they still don't seem to be eating a lot. I am waiting it out, but now the colder and damper weather is setting in, I'm worried that they might be more succeptible to illness if they are not eating properly. I will start putting citricidal in their water. I have poultry spice, ACV and garlic powder too (but I won't use it all at the same time!). They were a bit soggy when I put them to bed tonight and as they were wet I could see that they have lost weight. Am I just worrying about nothing?

 

Thanks again

 

Erika

[chicken bark]

I wouldn't worry. One of my hens was soaked to the bone tonight - she looked about a third of her normal size. I was quite shocked.

 

As for getting 2 or 3 more hens - I don't think it would make much difference. Personally I like to give my hens as much space as possible and I think with the seasonal limited free ranging 5 in a 3 metre run may be pushing it. But that is just my opinion others will probably disagree.

[milly3]

i had problems with my girls eating their pellets about a month ago, i changed the brand of the pellets and now can't get enough of them.

Now they are all happy in their little and their are eggcellent!!!!!

[Plum]

It's easiest to tell by holding them and feeling their chest. I weigh mine occasionally so I've got a bit of an idea what is happening if they are unwell.

[Gertie]

Ooh thanks. I'm probably just worrying as I am relatively new to chicken keeping. They definitely had food in their crops. I guess any wet pet looks scrawnier than when dry

 

Thanks Chicken Bark for the opinion about 5 in the 3 metre run. My original plan was to have 4 and I think I will stick with that as I too would rather they had more space. I just hope that they don't get picked on too much. I have read all the posts about introduction so hopefully it will go smoothly. I have a week off work so I can monitor the situation.

 

This is such a helpful forum!

 

Regards

Erika

[The Dogmother]

They always seem to eat less at this time of year anyway - egg yield goes down due to the decrease in daylight hours so they don't need so much grub.

 

As someone pointed out, they do get bored with feed. I alternate between different feeds when i get a new sack, or get mash instead of pellets; it keeps them interested.

 

A wee bit of cod liver oil drizzled onto the pellets and mixed in will add flavour and is really good for them.

[Texas chickens]

Just switched over to the pellets and my chickens wanted nothing to do with it. I had it sitting out in a 3 lb feeder and ran to the store. While I was gone it rained and now they are eating it, mushy. I’m guessing this is just an easier way to eat it.