Feeding too many treats??

[caseymgc18]

Hello! I am new to chickens, have had them for under a year. I have four laying out of my 43. They are Barred Rocks, and they lay around 3 every day. The eggs seem to be very strong, deep orange, and taste amazing! But, I have noticed they have barely been touching their Pellet feed. I get Kalmbach Layer feed pellets, and they were eating Poulin Layer feed previously. I have been feeding them a couple of handfuls of meal worms, once in the morning, and once at night. As well as giving them around two cups of Scratch. (Cluck and Co Scratch and Grain). Should I be concerned? Switch back to old feed? Slow down on the treats? Continue to do what I am doing? They always have a free container of Oyster shells, and fresh water. It is Winter, and they have eaten any and all green life in and around the run. So other than what I am feeding them, they are not really getting anything else for food. Below is a picture of my babies!

 

[NatJ]

Yes, the 4 are the oldest, the rest are all under 20 weeks.

In that case, with most of them not laying, I would not be feeding them a "layer" feed. I would try something like chick starter, or flock raiser, or all flock, or something similar.

Chicken feed comes with lots of confusing names, so look at the nutrition panel. You want protein around 20% (anywhere from 18% to 22% would be fine), and calcium around 1% (you can ignore any decimal places in the calcium amount, but you do not want calcium at 3% or 4% or higher.)

I have noticed they have barely been touching their Pellet feed.

That does surprise me. For that many chickens, I would expect them to go through a 50-pound bag every week or so.

I get Kalmbach Layer feed pellets, and they were eating Poulin Layer feed previously. I have been feeding them a couple of handfuls of meal worms, once in the morning, and once at night. As well as giving them around two cups of Scratch. (Cluck and Co Scratch and Grain). Should I be concerned? Switch back to old feed? Slow down on the treats? Continue to do what I am doing? They always have a free container of Oyster shells, and fresh water.

For now, I would probably switch to a non-layer feed, stop the scratch and mealworms, continue leaving the oyster shell and water available.

It sounds like they have gotten in the habit of eating just scratch and mealworms and not much else, but that is not healthy for them. So they need to change their habits. Sometime in the future you will probably be able to restart the scratch and mealworms, but try not to have it be a big portion of their diet.

If you want to give a treat that does not cause problems: put some chicken feed in a dish, add water, and let them have it. Most chickens really love wet mash like that, even when it is just the same food they would usually eat dry. (Adding water does not change the nutrients, it just makes them feel like they are getting a treat, while they are still eating the properly-balanced food.)

 

[NatJ]

To clarify the arrangement of them, I have three separate coops and runs. One for the 4 barred rocks, one for the silkies and my ten cream legbar babies, and the third coop with the rest, which is a mix of breeds. I do feed the silkies a higher protein grower feed, and the chicks get starter crumbles, and the middle aged chickens are on flock maker. I was giving the treats to both the barred rocks and the third coop with the 18-20 week olds. The silkies get sunflower seeds and the chicks just have their feed and water.

Ah, that is different than I thought. Thanks for clearing it up!

In that case, I don't think you need to change the kinds of feed any of them are getting, just the amount of treats. I suggest cutting out all treats for a few weeks, for all the groups, and see how they do at eating their regular food.

A common estimate is that a laying hen eats about 1/4 pound of food each day, which is often about 2/3 of a cup (sometimes as high as 1 cup, depending on the feed. Some are denser than others.)

I would expect the 4 Barred Rocks to eat about 3-4 cups of chicken food each day, if they only have chicken food and water and oyster shells. But if you were giving 2 cups of scratch and 1-2 handfuls of mealworms to the 4 Barred Rocks, that would explain why they were ignoring the normal chicken food: they were already full!

 

[NatJ]

I have four laying out of my 43. They are Barred Rocks, and they lay around 3 every day.

Just to make sure I understand the numbers:
You have 43 chickens.
You are getting about 3 eggs each day, but you think 4 chickens are actually taking turns doing the laying.
So that would mean you have 39 chickens that are not laying.

Is that right?

...around two cups of Scratch...

If you have 43 chickens, and you are giving 2 cups of scratch each day, that works out to less than 1 tablespoon of scratch per chicken per day, which should not be a problem.

If you actually have 4 chickens, and the "43" is a typo, then 2 cups of scratch would be way too much. 1/4 cup of total treats per day would be much more reasonable for 4 chickens.

 

[Brooks_]

If you are asking, you already feel it's too much. Good for you.

Yes, too much. General recommend is 1 tablespoon max (maybe 2) each per day.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I really don't measure it out for my chickens since I have so many. But I would say that is lot of treats. Not saying that your chickens should not have any to barely any treats per day, some treats is a good thing. It can help your chickens to feel more comfortable around you and that you are friend - most of the time the way to a chickens trust and heart is through its stomach or crop that is! I think we will all agree with that!

 

[caseymgc18]

Just to make sure I understand the numbers:
You have 43 chickens.
You are getting about 3 eggs each day, but you think 4 chickens are actually taking turns doing the laying.
So that would mean you have 39 chickens that are not laying.

Is that right?


If you have 43 chickens, and you are giving 2 cups of scratch each day, that works out to less than 1 tablespoon of scratch per chicken per day, which should not be a problem.

If you actually have 4 chickens, and the "43" is a typo, then 2 cups of scratch would be way too much. 1/4 cup of total treats per day would be much more reasonable for 4 chickens.

Yes, the 4 are the oldest, the rest are all under 20 weeks.

 

[Brooks_]

Is that for any treats? Scratch and meal worms included?

Yes. I generally don't include kitchen scraps in it though. Or the weeds and bugs they find themselves.

 

[caseymgc18]

I really don't measure it out for my chickens since I have so many. But I would say that is lot of treats. Not saying that your chickens should not have any to barely any treats per day, some treats is a good thing. It can help your chickens to feel more comfortable around you and that you are friend - most of the time the way to a chickens trust and heart is through its stomach or crop that is! I think we will all agree with that!

Agreed! They do love me, and come running as soon as I am near by. I just want to make sure they are getting the actual nutrients they will need to stay strong and warm through the winter, and to keep their shells strong.

 

[Kiki]

Yes, the 4 are the oldest, the rest are all under 20 weeks.

Stop the meal worms and scratch today.