The Poultry Keeper

ZacB · Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 57 Location: Suffolk

After reading another post, had to ask...

When we first bought our chicks & mums we started on chick crumb & layers plus mixed corn. 12 months on, ours now only get a scoop of mixed corn in the morning which lasts them all day, not interested in layers at all.

With the latest additions, at the grand old age of a day, mum was breaking up mixed corn & feeding to chicks, ignoring newly purchased chick crumb.

I must say at this point, they are let out first thing in the morning & roam to their hearts content until they go to bed & are always scratching away at something so I presume this makes up their balanced diet as we have never had problems with egg laying (usually 1 a day/hen when laying & not broody/molting) or runny eggs and they all look in good health.

I suppose all situations are different & it's what ever works for you / your hens, but had to ask are we being really bad parents ??? Shame on you

NannyP · Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:39 am Post subject:

Mixed Corn is like feeding chocolate....so hens will go for it first, rather than the basic food.
When I used/buy corn, it was only for a treat last thing at night...it stays in the crop for longer and helps sustain over night, especially the longer nights over winter.

Layers Pellets are a complete food which should be available at all times....this should keep your hens is best health. Of course, your hens will not like it when you change to layers, but it is better for them, and corn should be used sparingly and as a treat.
Very Happy

CP · Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:37 am Post subject:

We don't put the corn in with the layers pellets because as NannyP says they will go for it first & chuck out the pellets!

Ours get a little corn morning & evening as a scratch feed - we scatter it in their run so they have to work a little harder to eat it. Wink

Clarea1 · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 13 Location: North Lincs

I give mine mixed corn about 5pm when i get home, I like to sit out with them for a bit with a cuppa!

During the day they have pellets available and that's all.

I'm not a very experienced pk but I would suggest only crumb/pellets until evening so they eat the good stuff!

CA

kated · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 1845 Location: norfolk

As you can see ZacB, there is a lot of controversy about whether to feed corn or not. NannyP is dead right about it of course, but if your chickens are doing well on what they are having, let them get on with it. My 2 egg-laying machines, Bertha and Boadicea, RIR's, get a mixture of mixed corn and layers pellets and scoff the lot quite happily. They are unimpressed with just pellets or just corn. They are not fat and not thin and look a picture of health. I have a trio of Jap bantams which refused to eat pellets at all for weeks after I got them, but I kept trying and now they do eat them. But if I put just pellets out they won't even look at them. Go with what suits you and them.

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3229 Location: Monmouthshire

This is a long running debate which always amuses me. Layers pellets are formulated as a complete feed for birds which have no access to any other food. Ergo, a free ranging bird will have access to the sort of food chicken really like and will ignore the pellets unless hungry. Chicken are grain eaters - pellets are crushed grains with additives - and prefer it in its natural form. If they have enough ranging space with plenty of weed variety, are fit and laying, continue to give some grain morning and evening so you can run your eye over them, leave pellets on offer for a bit, and if they're ignored, don't waste money on the pellets. Pellet consumption increases here in the winter when there's less greenery, but I scatter feed wheat morning and evening, which they love,
and offer pellets ad lib.

ZacB · Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 57 Location: Suffolk

Adding to the on going debate, this is exactly what happens with our birds Henwife. Have been out this evening & there is still corn in the hopper (small hopper). They have been out all day chasing grasshoppers & daddy long legs, much better. Pellets for us were a waste of time, they just went mouldy. But must stress, ours do free range in hedges, fields, next door neighbor's & anywhere else they feel like so i would say on the whole do end up with a balanced diet.

debcat · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject:

mine get layers pellets in the morning, then whole wheat at teatime
the rest of the day they have 5 acres to roam in as well as nextdoors garden and field plus the verges and ditches that surround my field
they seem to do really well, apart from all deciding to moult at the same time

ChuckChuck · Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 48

Mine wouldn't touch pellets when we first got them. Now they have a feeder of corn, a feeder of pellets and free range off the garden and field next door. They enjoy catching grass hoppers and picking their own blackberries from next door and the kids tomatoes lol

Twigs · Joined: 10 Sep 2007 Posts: 98

I agee with almost everyone! all mine have pellets ad lib, which they all eat, my chicks are hatched with everyone else so when they are small there is ad lib chick crumbs which everyone also likes. They have a small amount of mixed corn late afternoon, as said the pellets are a complete balance of everything and are a boon to those of use not lucky enough to have the space for free ranging our birds, however I have had birds who despise them, and getting enough protein into them has been tricky.

When I first kept hens, they were fed corn as that was what they liked, the became fat and egg production dropped as it is all carbs so I changed to pellets, they halved their body size and laid like troopers!

I think it is a protein thing I worry about, feather and egg production takes a lot of protein, if they don't get enough one of these will suffer

Tony Sirett · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:39 am Post subject:

we have a galvanised dustbin that we keep our feed in i mix 1 bag mixed corn to 2 bags layer pellet then we just fill the hopper / feeder up and let them fed from it plus they are out all day so they get what ever they need there as well