[tomsbirds]

Fairly new to this so any advice would be welcome! I have 12 hens of my own,they free range during the day and perch in a large shed at night,some are laying,some not they are about 22 weeks and have had them about 6 weeks.We feed them layers pellets in the morning,some scraps in the afternoon/early evening.But they never touch the pellets till they go to bed,happy to scratch around during the day,eat scraps afternoon,then the pellets are gone by morning. Shpuld I leave the layers pellets till bedtime?Would this affect there laying? Thanks Tom

[poultrygeist]

Hi Tom. Welcome to the forum

You should, ideally, leave the pellets for them to eat when they want. That way, if they're not gettign enough to eat outside, they can top up as and when. They also need grit and some oyster shell at all times on a similar basis.

What sort of scraps are you giving them ?  It may be that they're waiting for them rather than the pellets. The pellets contain the correct balance of nutrients so without them, they may possibly become deficient in something, but free-ranging should give them all they need.

I'll move you to the Hen House where you'll get more answers. But we do insist on photos in the Chicken Chat because we're nosy !

Rob

[GrannieAnnie]

As PG said, we give our girls their pellets 24/7.  Perhaps lay off the treats for a while to see what happens?  It may be that they are eating on the range so well they do't need their pellets, then only eat some before bedtime to help keep their tummies warm at night?

[tomsbirds]

Thanks for the replies They have a bucket of grit which they peck at,and the scraps are vegetable scraps and peelings,apple coors etc,I think that they are having too much fun free ranging to eat there pellets till night time!

[Aunt Sally]

I don't let my hens out of their run until about 10 a.m. to make sure that at least have a full up of pellets in the morning.

[Briony]

Mine have home grown corn morning and night, and anything else they can find when roaming around the farm. They also have access to 7 acres of grass to forages about in.

[smiler43]

Mine have pellets in the run all the time, water, 4 grit pots and I hang up cabbage.  I only treat them occasionally to corn or other treat and treat them in the evening before bed

[Planner]

I have a feeder which I fill with pellets and usually lasts about 7 days between refills. I also add a couple of handfuls of mixed grit and oyster shell into the feeder and mix that up so it is evenly distributed through the feed.

My girls are free to roam at the weekends and holidays when we are home, the rest of the time they are in a large enclosed pen. Also the first one home in the afternoon will let them out for an hour or two up until dusk. Just before putting them to bed, we throw in a half cup full of mixed corn and again with about 10% mix of grit/oyster shell.

I also hang a white cabbage suspended from the roof of the run which they peck at. I try to give them 2 per week although these can be expensive. A good subsitute during the winter when the amount of greens outside is limited.
During the spring, grass is good and full of nutrients - let them have good access to grass but not too long as this can cause problems within their crop. Ideally mown lawns are ideal.

I have a grit/oyster shell feeder but they never seem to take any from it, I suppose they are getting enough through their normal diet.

Obviously with pellets make sure they have plenty of fresh clean water - you should change it every couple of days - more so in the summer.

John

[alibean]

Like Aunt Sally, mine stay in the run for the best part of the morning where they have pellets and grit/oyster shell ad lib and are let out later to peck and scratch.  At teatime they have just a little corn or greens (but no more than they can clear in about five minutes). 

So far (fingers crossed) they've kept laying..