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Chicken keepers

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Original poster

my free ranging chickens dont seem to like their pellets much

24 replies

NappiesGalore · 07/05/2008 21:14

i have 6 of them. they are laying now, but consumption of the pellets doesnt seem to have risen much.
theyre out and about all day pretty much. d'you think they get much to eat out there? they always seem to be biting at grass or scratching away at stuff

i use mixed corn to get them back to the run in the evening... and they wolf it down. should i do less of this to encourage them to eat the pellets? they need the balanced diet, right?

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tortoiseSHELL · 07/05/2008 22:38

I don't think they do like the pellets as much tbh! Certainly not as much as corn! I give mine layers mash which is MUCH messier than pellets but they do enjoy it.

Original poster

NappiesGalore · 08/05/2008 11:37

oh really? they enjoy the mash do they?

tbh ive mixed in a bit of bokashi layers mash, poultry spice, mixed corn and oyster grit, but only a wee bit of each, just to make it more attractive. now they just seem to scoop the lot out of the feeder and onto the ground looking for the good bits!

was reading about their breeds yesterday and it seemed to suggest they were all good foragers... so maybe theyre getting enough from the wild and i should stop worrying?

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Original poster

NappiesGalore · 08/05/2008 11:38

sorry, lost my point. mine are messy with the pellets anyway, so maybe i dont have anything to lose by switching to mash...

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tortoiseSHELL · 08/05/2008 15:17

You could try it, or you could try making the pellets into a mash for them, but tbh that is a complete faff!

They may well be getting enough by foraging, but might be worth trying the mash! Just for your peace of mind!

redwino · 08/05/2008 19:55

My four didn't eat many pellets to start with. These were quite cheap pellets in plain bags from local pet shop. We tried a different brand and they eat loads now. Mine like Marriages pellets which I have to say look much nicer than the first ones I bought. I never expected hens to be fussy eaters!

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 08/05/2008 20:17

When we had free-range hens I only fed them mixed corn & grit. They didn't like pellets either so I didn't bother. They were perfectly healthy and laid good, well-shelled eggs almost daily until they were nearly 5yo (fox ate them) so I don't think a corn diet did them any harm.

I started the new flock, who are confined to barracks, on mixed corn but recently bought a sack of layers pellets and mixed the lot together. Now they prefer the pellets and the corn is left at the bottom of the hopper (they'll eat it when nothing else is forthcoming though).

I guess they know what they need!

Original poster

NappiesGalore · 08/05/2008 21:30

oh ok

was going to use some veg oil to bind the powdery elements of the feed to the pellets, see if that made them more palatable. i will do that and see how it goes but i wont be too fussed now if they dont eat much of it. been watching them today and they really do seem to forage all day. and then i give them a fair size 'treat' of the corn grain mix in early evening to get them back in the run. sounds like this is well sufficient.

(the pellets i have are the organic whatnots from omlet and look pretty much like pellets, but sound like good quality redwino, but maybe they just dont like em... so when i buy again i will try a small bag of another kind, thx)

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Callisto · 09/05/2008 09:56

Like Duchess, my chooks won't look at pellets and only eat corn. They are free range and I feed as much corn as they will eat (loads atm as they are all laying). Personally I prefer just to feed corn as I know exactly what they are eating plus it give the egg yolks that lovely orangey colour.

oggsfrog · 09/05/2008 10:58

Mine have always turned their noses beaks up at pellets. They are totally free range, and get a handful of mixed corn morning and late afternoon. Tbh they leave most of this and pick out the corn, so most of it goes to feed the wild birds .
Their yolks are almost orange from the amount of grass and greenery they eat.
They do love treats of grated cheese and egg, grapes and other soft fruit (they eat the raspberries off the bushes), and prawns(only very occasionally when I have a freezer clear out) .
We also chuck all kitchen waste in a heap and they go through that.

Original poster

NappiesGalore · 09/05/2008 13:17

can you actually get a big bag of just the corn? like you oggsfrog, i find that the rest of the mix is pretty much ignored - its the corn they want!

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TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 09/05/2008 13:47

The definition of 'mixed corn' varies between suppliers. The mixed sack I get from the local pet shop or the feed merchants (£6) all looks like corn and then hens eat the lot. But I've had a sack of 'mixed corn' from somewhere else which looked more like a chunky version of wild bird seed - and they left a lot of that.

Flame · 09/05/2008 13:50

How they doing with the free range ness now?

Original poster

NappiesGalore · 09/05/2008 15:07

oh ok. i got a bag of mixed corn from scats. and its mostly grain of some kind.

going well flame, i guess. no complaints yet anyway how are tots negotiations going?

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Flame · 09/05/2008 15:20

Lol @ "negotiations" - I ranted at everyone under the sun... they called me for my payment details and I meekly gave them over

oggsfrog · 10/05/2008 07:12

Duchess, could you tell me what make your corn is to see if it's available up here?

The only ones I seem to be able to get are either one which has the odd bit of corn amongst barley, or a mixed corn which is barley, split peas, whole peas, and the occasional bit of corn.

I feel like I'm throwing money down the drain .

Original poster

NappiesGalore · 10/05/2008 08:18

ditto oggs

so norky, what is this corn of which you speak??

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TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 10/05/2008 09:50

I'll report back when I've been to the feed merchants (I can't remember the name on the sack, which I empty into a storage bin and I will have burnt or composted the empty sack by now). And the pet shop sack doesn't have a name on it but I can ask them what it is/where it's from.

Original poster

NappiesGalore · 10/05/2008 12:07

ooh marvellous, ta duchess.

have just rung wylye valley chickens (rare breeders) with hopes of going to see and buy some beautiful new chooks... but the womans away till monday. poo.

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Original poster

NappiesGalore · 12/05/2008 15:08

oggsfrog - have just gotten a big bag (20kg) of Spillers premier Cut Maize from a local feed merchant. was about 7 quid.

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Original poster

NappiesGalore · 12/05/2008 21:33

hmmm, i am slightly underwhelmed by their reaction to it tho

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Original poster

NappiesGalore · 14/05/2008 12:56

nope, they dont like it at all.

have to go and buy more of the mixed corn from scats now.

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TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 14/05/2008 21:19

They're a very fussy bunch your hens!

I have just bought a sack of Wrenns layers pellets and Wrenns mixed corn from the feed merchants. I'm not entirely sure that I've had this make before and I haven't opened them yet, they are languishing in the boot, so I don't know what they look like yet. I'll open them tomorrow.

oggsfrog · 14/05/2008 21:29

The sack I last bought had whole dried peas, split peas, lentils, a smattering of barley, a thimbleful of wheat and one...no I beg your pardon, two niblets of corn .
The bag has no details on it whatsoever.

Original poster

NappiesGalore · 14/05/2008 21:58

am impressed you could identify all those ingredients with such surety without it being written on the bag

yes norks, they are a fussy bunch. got a bit annoyed with them tonight as i went out, duly with the old corn mix as i went to scats to buy more today, and only 4 of them reluctantly and with a bit of herding went into the run. had to pick the other two up and chuck em in. i mean seriously, this is not what i need to be doing at the dc's bathtime [grump, whinge].

they, and our evening routine, was perfectly flaming alright before i went and got them the pure corn! buggers.

oh, and we had a soft shell egg today, and the runt of the gang's weirdy bits have finally gone red, so im guessing its hers. shes such a weed! gets pushed about by the others (in the run that is, dont see it out in the orchard much - they free range in the orchard) and is way too timid to be picked up or even stroked. dopey dora. hope she gets a grip now shes a 'woman'

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