Ammonia smell in coop-first time owner

[Brooster]

Hi. I'm a new chicken owner and first time forum user. My new hens (3 wks) settled well and have been eating and laying regularly, but suddenly won't eat from the Grub or drink from the Glug anymore. Have given both a good wash out but it's made no difference - so they are currently using take-away containers which they inevitably tip everywhere! Any ideas? One hen, Pearl, has been a bit poorly with diarrhoea, so don't know if this is related??

[Egluntyne]

Have they been placed too high?

[Brooster]

The grub and glug are where they have been from the start so don't think that's the problem as they were initially very happy with them. As an aside - should you tip out the previous days leftover food before adding the new days or just top up? I've been topping up and mixing it a bit, then completely refreshing once a week). They never eat anywhere near all the food so would seem a terrible waste to chuck it every day.

[chicken bark]

Only my younger girls are feeding from the grub and they tend to pretty much empty the feeder out now before I add more. In the past I would top it up as you do.

You could put less in the grub so that they always empty it.

 

Have you started free ranging your hens or giving them extra treats?

 

The diarrhoea could be due to something she's eaten? (Lettuce is good at giving them that)

[MarkBevBen]

Hiya Brooster

 

We're also new to chicken ownership and got our girls and Eglu from Omlet a wee bit before you on the 1st September. I haven't noticed ours refusing to eat/drink out of their Grub or Glug so I'm not sure what's happened with your girls.

 

Sorry to hear that Pearl has been a bit poorly too - have you tried to contact Barbara from Omlet? She's their chicken expert and is extremely helpful, knowledgeable and friendly.

 

Sadly one of our girls got very poorly and passed away on the 18th September after she caught a bacterial infection from somewhere. The other two, so far, are fine touch wood

[Egluntyne]

I don't tip food away, unless it is damp. I try to time it so that they empty it by evening time, and then I refill it.

 

Have you checked the sell by date of the food? If it is a bit older than you realised, it might have gone off a bit.

[daxigirl]

Mine wouldn't use the grub initially and I used a large dog bowl which as you say they chuck everywhere. Have tried again and they will now happily eat out of it (I thought they perhaps didn't like it touching their heads) I think that I have changed the angle it sits at now that they have grown a bit. They prefer the pink one to the green one. It's a lot less messy now as they can't get bark or poo in it or dig in it.