[falcieri]

Hi everyone,

This probably sounds like a daft question. I have 3 bantam hens which I have had since last August. They were too young  to lay last year but they are all now laying an egg a day and they started laying at the beginning of January.

They are free range, I only lock them in their pen when I go out. My allotment is the garden of an Edwardian terraced suburban town so they are able to roam over anything where I haven't planted. They have already stripped the garden bare of plants so at the moment I regularly get them grass and weeds from a countryside walk just behind my house. They also get bokashi mash, corn, water soaked dog biscuits and meal worms as treats and anything out of  the kitchen I consider suitable for them.

They are always foraging and our garden is laden with bugs.

But whenever I go out in the garden they run at me for food and they come to the back door and yell at me as well when they want more. How can I tell whether they are genuinely hungry or just being greedy?

I can't tell if they've lost weight although they did put on a lot of weight over the winter as I kept them in from the snow a lot of the time and they are leaner now. Their crops generally seem to be fairly full at the end of the day.

With thanks.

[Aunt Sally]

I didn't hear you say layers pellets or mash in that list.  Do they have that available to them all day ?

[Lindeggs]

I'm interested to see that you feed them bokashi mash.  By that do you mean the bran with the micro-organisms in it, used for composting?  I use a bokashi bucket as one of my many composting systems and would be interested to learn more about feeding it to chickens.  I don't even know exactly what the micro-organisms are, let alone their health and safety suitability for chickens!

[falcieri]

I get the bokashi mash here - http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/shop/product.html?product_id=474&s=layers-mash-with-bokashi&-session=shopper:5606ABF809d131B21DnWJ1091DDC

but to be honest the hens aren't particularly bothered by it and never have been and they won't touch it wet.  But I make it available to them every day all day so I presume they must be eating some of it.

[joyfull]

I know omlet sell it (or used to) and they say it helps the chickens gut and gives firmer poohs - not sure if it does as I've never used it 

[Lindeggs]

Well well well!  I will try adding a bit of my bokashi innoculated bran to the chickens' food and see what they think of it.  One of my girls is on antibiotics at the moment and I wonder if this might help as a probiotic once she has finished the meds.  Thanks for the tip!

[Dominic]

As Aunt Sally said
Do they have actual food available at all times?
Grass and bugs and dog biscuits (seriously?) are treats not staple food.
And why wouldnt they harrang you if you give them treats whenever they do?

[falcieri]

What do you mean real food? What else should they be getting apart from live bugs in the garden, plants and the protein mash? Am I missing something here?

[Tigerwren]

Hi Falcieri, I think Dominic may have been referring to something like layers pellets or layers mash as the main staple of a hen's food.  Even when they free range, the layers mash/pellets provide all the nutrients a hen needs to live healthily and lay properly.  Mine also free range, but I have layers pellets available for them all day so that they can 'eat' when hungry, rather than snacking on bugs to try to fill up.  I guess they would have to eat a lot of bugs etc when free ranging in order to get enough to keep them going. 

[cammi]

I have started a post about weight loss so i looked at this one.  I was wondering whether them free ranging more now the weather is nice and eating less pellets is a cause of their weight loss,  is there a Free Ranger pellet to feed them something more concerntrated?

[falcieri]

Ah, well they have the bokashi layers mash available to them 24 hours so they definately have enough of that. I thought there was something else I was supposed to be doing.

[falcieri]

I have started a post about weight loss so i looked at this one.  I was wondering whether them free ranging more now the weather is nice and eating less pellets is a cause of their weight loss,  is there a Free Ranger pellet to feed them something more concerntrated?

I'm not sure. I guess the combination of better weather meaning they are out foraging more burning more energy, laying eggs which I guess makes them burn more energy coupled with their less than enthusiastic interest for the mash and corn are probably all contributory factors. In the winter they just stayed indoors and refused to come out and just ate to stay alive. I guess they moult too so their feathers aren't so thick, though I haven't seen more than a few feathers yet. They don't appear underweight, have loads of energy and never stop. I guess a hen showing signs of starvation would start to show signs?

[Aunt Sally]

I get the bokashi mash here - http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/shop/product.html?product_id=474&s=layers-mash-with-bokashi&-session=shopper:5606ABF809d131B21DnWJ1091DDC

but to be honest the hens aren't particularly bothered by it and never have been and they won't touch it wet.  But I make it available to them every day all day so I presume they must be eating some of it.

It's very expensive for them not to eat.  It's about twice the price of layers mash/pellets.

[Lindeggs]

... I guess a hen showing signs of starvation would start to show signs?

I'm not sure they would.  Feathers hide a lot.  I had one of my Light Sussex pullets weighed recently and she came in at exactly 1kg.  I looked at the other one and thought she was much lighter so weighed her too, and she was 1.2kg. 

People suggest you should pick them up and check for their "keel bone" (under their chest) to get a feel for their condition, but for a newbie like me it can be pretty hard to judge.

[Casey76]

If they don't eat the mash, they may prefer a pellet feed (which is more convenient for us humans, it is also less wasteful).

I'm not sure what the thinking is behind the "friendly bacteria" is for chickens, as their digestive system is quite different from humans.  However if you wanted to keep up with the bacteria, then you could switch to an ordinary layers pellet, and supplement (as directed on the bottle) with Avipro Plus, which is a probiotic specifically for fowl