Chicken bald back

[emmalou]

Should I be giving my chickens just layer pellets in their feeder, and/or throwing some down on the ground? I do not see them using the feeder much for the pellets. I do throw some down in the morning, with some cabbage around lunchtime and some cereal mix in the afternoon as some of you do, but want them to be eating the layer pellets more. The feeder seems to be if they are still hungry bit does not go down much.

[Cat tails]

If you want them to eat more layer pellets, give them less of the other stuff. Cabage and cereal mix are nice, but not necessary. Once they are hungry enough they will start eating more pellets.

[emmalou]

Cool Ok. I presume the layer pellets are more important and maybe the cereal mix more for the Winter? Thank you

[Cat tails]

Cereal mix is like you eating cake. It's a really nice treat, but really nothing more. It certainly won't make them as fat as when you or I would only eat cake and their is nutritional value, but a treat non the less. Mine get corn mix in the morning to shut them up, but only a hand or so on 4 chickens. The rest they need to get from their layer pellets.

[sjp]

layers all the time just in the feeder no real need to scatter plus you don't want a lot of damp/wet food lying around they run . cabbage left whole and hanging up is a good boredom buster in the winter this time of year if they get to free range then it's a waste of money really if your having to buy it as they'll be getting enough extra greens and insect life cereal mix if you don't need to bribe them back into the run again leave it out till winter but for now no treats until they have learned to eat the layers

[emmalou]

Strange but the egg production has dropped off in the last 3 days. Some days we have 3/5, some just one. We have changed them to mainky layer pellets in the last 4 or 5 days and they do not really have the cereal mix now. Do they get any goodness from the cereal mix?

[sjp]

Strange but the egg production has dropped off in the last 3 days. Some days we have 3/5, some just one. We have changed them to mainky layer pellets in the last 4 or 5 days and they do not really have the cereal mix now. Do they get any goodness from the cereal mix?

it's can be a high protein feed but it can be high in fat it depends on the make up really if it's like we get in the UK as mix corn then the main part of it is wheat ( it's normally cheap) isn't supposed to be fattening it's the maize and sunflower seeds that are the high fat content but both are expensive so the lower end of the market tend to not use them or not put a lot in, then the rest of the mix it's grass seeds barley oats and other seeds plus some put peas in as well

egg production can drop off when a food source is changed but young birds can be erratic for the first few weeks anyway and they can sulk for a few days when the treats are reduced like kids having their sweets taken off them give it a week and see what happens. but above all enjoy having chickens running around