Britannia Ovens (esp Range cookers) your experience

[counturchickens]

When we first had chickens we moved them from mash to pellets because they were less messy. However, we got 2 new ex batts yesterday and I spent most of the day watching them and their day was pretty much spent eating their mash which kept them entertained. What does everyone else do?

Incidentally, they are in pretty good nick, apart from being a little pale and thin they are pretty well feathered. Quite feisty too, lots better than previous rescue girls we have had

[Mrs Potts]

Hello.

With our first ex-battery rehousing, July 2010, we did 1 sack of mash then a mix of mash and pellets, increasing to layers pellets over a month. That was because the mash that fell on the floor dampened and started to ferment (very smelly and dried into a concrete like crust that had to be pickaxed off).

We rehoused three ex-barn hens on the 24th March. They are eating at whatever food station Leia is not patrolling, so that's layers pellets at one end and Garvo layers mash at the other, but they prefer eating the pellets. They were more stressed on arrival than the ex-battery hens and are also more ravenous.

They have had grass and greens, mealworms, oat porridge (frost this morning). Didn't mean to introduce them to such a varied diet so quickly, but they are in with Leia, who is sometimes too busy eating to chase them away.

Were yours ex barns? Few more feathers and a lot more attitude?

 

Mrs Potts

[Lavenders_Blue]

I feed my girls mash. It is more messy, but as you say it keeps them occupied for much longer which is why I've never swapped mine onto pellets. I keep my hens in a FR pen and I turn the ground over fairly regularly so it all gets dug in.

[percy049]

We give ours pellets as it doesn't make as much mess as mash. You can also fill up the feeder will several days of pellets in, so you don't have to keep making it up everyday

[jaspersmum]

Mash for our girls too - we've tried them with pellets but they just picked them up and threw them all over the floor; then did 'we're hungry!' faces at us. Mash can be a bit messy but I agree it does seem to keep them 'hentertained' for longer and by the afternoon they're scratching around in what they're thrown on the floor.

[counturchickens]

Mrs Potts, you are right! I checked with fresh start for hens, and they confirmed they have been in a barn system for the last few months and are used to perching. Apart from being pale they are pretty good, and don't seem to stressed. My other ex batts have never shown any interest in getting up high so have given up putting branches in their run, so have been thinking about some more height when they move in together

I have one worry though, up to now my raised veggie planters have been safe, probably not now

Given that I will need several feeding stations might have different food in each!