[Carrie99]

Hello - I took three ex-bats around September and experienced non stop laying up until about Feb this year. I had an egg a day from all three girls and they quickly regained their feathers and generally appeared quite healthy. From February however they have gradually taken to eating more and more food, especially of late! Their laying has almost stopped completely too. Does anyone know if the two are connected? Or if perhaps for some reason their appetites have increased due to the warmer weather? I am assuming that it's perfectly normal for them to go off lay for a while but I'm not sure how long this should last?

Any info would be much appreciated :-)

Thanks!

[helens-hens]

Hi there

Its is possible that they have naturally come to the end of their laying life but I have also been told that overweight hens won't lay. Have they put on weight? If you handle them you should find that the breast bone is fairly prominent.

Hens are naturally greedy (while mine certainly are  ) and given the opportunity will stuff themselves. Are they being given treats as well as layers pellets?

[GrannieAnnie]

And are you sure it is the hens eating more?  We have a pair of pigeons nesting high up in our conifers, and they have taken to flying down and going into the chicken house to eat the food, and its disappearing at a faster rate than usual.

[splash101]

GA, we too have a couple of wood pigeons really trying their luck. A couple of weeks ago i noticed our food going down rapidly and then caught the pigeons. I've put the feeder on an upturned bucket so the chooks can get at the food but the pigeons cant reach it and there's nowhere for them to perch.
I caught them this afternoon going into the coop , and my daft lot sit and watch them 

Mine also eat more in winter when theres less to forage.

Have they been wormed recently with flubenet?

[GrannieAnnie]

As we have less chickens now, I've just bought 2 new feeders which are wall mounted.  They have a rain cover so they can go outside on the coop wall, but Brian wants to put them on the inside of the door so the chooks can eat if they have to stay inside due to the weather, or outside when the door is open.

They are supposed to be fox, vermin and bird proof, so we will see!!!! 

[yacks]

I have been looking for wall mounted feeders with covers would you mind letting meknow where you got them pls x

[GrannieAnnie]

I don't know if these are readily available yet.  I got a flyer from the manufacturers, because we bought a lot of poultry feeders and drinkers from them when we raised chicks to sell.

I am in no way connected with this company, but here is their website address.  Give them a call and see if they can tell you who is selling the feeders.

They are called Wise Feeders.  They are not cheap, but the wall mounted ones I got take 10kgs, but look really slim, and if you want a bigger one, you buy an extension that fits on the top.

http://www.bec.uk.com/products/feeders

It doesn't appear on their website yet, but if you call them, they can perhaps tell you who sells them retail.

[joyfull]

found a 5kg wise feeder here, are these a smaller version that you have Ann?

[GrannieAnnie]

Oh that's weird Joy.  I looked on there but couldn't see it.  But I just looked in 'Feeders' but didn't type in the name.

That version is the wired mounted one.  Takes 5kgs.  The wall mounted one has a white bit on top that takes another 5kgs, and you can add them up to 20kgs.

Thanks for that!

[yacks]

That is what I have been looking for thank you x

[Carrie99]

Hey, thanks for the info...im going to do some detective work this weekend and try to see if any creatures might be stealing their food! I've not seen any indication of this (other than the rate at which the food is eaten anyway ;-)).
They get veg and boiled potato peelings about twice a week, on top of their normal pellets...then any greenery they munch in the garden too. I'll try to see if I think they could be on the heavy side...it's not something that's very obvious if they are but then now they're feathered I guess it could be easier to realise any weight gain?

On the plus side, they do all seem quite content, despite my confusion :-)

[GrannieAnnie]

If they are hybrids Carrie, they should weigh between 1.5 and 2kgs each.  If you have probs weighing them, you can stand on your bathroom scales, then stand on them again holding a chicken!  

I know those feeders are expensive, but they are sturdy, British made and should last you a long time if looked after.  The colours do fade a bit in time, but so do all the others. 

If you ever have any problems with them, get back to the manufacturers, they are very good and don't want bad publicity.

[Carrie99]

I'm going to weigh them tomorrow. I done this when I first got them but not since and after some coaxing they eventually did stand on the scales long enough to take a reading :-)

Being a chicken owner is a lot like being a detective for a lot of the time isn't it! Not that I'm complaining of course.

[joyfull]

legally (if you are in the UK) you cannot feed them kitchen scraps - which includes boiled potato peelings.

[Carrie99]

Hi All, bit of an update - I've discovered one of my girls has a slightly yellow tinge to her face. I've attached a pic as after reading lots of posts I'm quite concerned but equally I'm not sure how concerned to be. I have ordered some Flubenvet worming stuff which should arrive tomorrow as I've only ever used herbal stuff and I'm aware that doesn't necessarily prevent against all worms. I also think that when following her around the garden today I could hear perhaps a slight change in her breathing...again though, could be my imagination after reading posts about such things...?

Carrie