[taz4711]

Newbie here and this is my 2nd question but by no means my last......what a fab site 
Reading some of the posts has made me ask this question cos I think I have been over spoiling my ex batts in the past! My routine for feeding has been constant access to layers mash and then before I go to work on a morning I have left some wholemeal bread, bit of pasta, some porridge, lettuce and any left over veggie takeaway that I might have. Now...reading the posts here...would this be the reason why the egg laying has reduced fairly soon after me getting them. I just thought that they had given up on the idea of passing an egg each day...which let's face it you can't blame them! 
Should I just be feeding a small amount of treats early evening and nothing but layers mash otherwise?

[lightyears]

Hi, im quite new to the chicken business to, as far as i can tell a little treat corn is good in the afternoon. yours sound they are living at the ritz lol  . im sure someone will be alone to correct me soon

[Julie in Somerset]

Hi, I got 4 ex batts last September and fed them too many leftovers. After one died I sought advice and was told to reduce them and stick to mash, pellets and greens. I now grow red chard and spinach for them (and the slugs!). I give them a small amount of treats, bread or stale cake but always add veg or fruit to it and it only amounts to about a dessert spoon each per day.

I only have 1 ex batt left now so I'm not sure if it was too late for them but I am sticking to this regime for my 2 new POL and 3 ex free range Black Rocks.

[iwantanallotment]

The bulk of their diet should be layers pellets/mash.

Treats (ie corn) are best given at teatime, to fill them up before bed. Offer too much posh nosh in the daytime and they won't eat the layers mash/pellets, which is what they need to lay  

Mine do get some boiled greens around 2pm - if I'm satisfied that they've given the pellets a good hammering first

[bee]

If they're not free ranging and dependent on the greens you give them - cabbage, cucumber etc - do they have to wait for their greens till the afternoon as well? I thought it didn't matter but a few posts I've read have made me wonder and thought I'd better ask - as I get all the answers I need here, some to questions I didn't know I had yet! Thanks in advance for any advice!

[grumpydad]

ours have layers until mid afternoon, except what they find in the garden.
late afternoon they have a treat, which may be a handful of mixed corn, the one with maize and other bits in it, not just wheat. when we bought it from a local mill, the ex owner who bred chucks said it was better than just corn, and the chucks ate more maize in the winter, and more wheat in the summer, after 60 years of keeping and breeding, i took his advice.
mine loved cooked vegetables, sometimes with crushed eggshell added, not everyday, maybe a couple of times a week.
maybe a probiotic yogurt, which they love, strawberry of course.
whatever you do, only small treats late afternoon
enjoy your chucks

martyn

[iwantanallotment]

They're not "dependent" upon the greens we give them Bee, whether free-ranging or not.

The pellets are an all-round complete food and contain greens & everything they need.

The only thing lacking, if they're not free-ranging, is oyster shell (calcium for egg shells) and grit (to aid digestion) 

[Foxy]

pellets should have the correct levels of calcium, oyster shell adlib is purely a "back up". If the chooks are kept in a run with no access to grazing, then some veggies in the afternoon would be useful as well as grit for their gizzards. Regarding mixed corn I tend  only to give a little daily in the winter (evening times) as helps keep them warm overnight and a balance of minerals isn't quite as critical as laying has usually dropped of by then Saying a tiny bit of wholemeal seeded bread is quite useful when making friends!

[taz4711]

Thanks VERY much for all your replies. Mine HAVE been living at the Ritz but with very few eggs in exchange  Well, no longer! The good thing is that I have only just got these ex batts and as they know no difference i.e they've only had layers mash it'll be very easy to restrict small treats to late afternoon....and obviously they have the one difference of being able to wander around and enjoy the sunshine.....beats a bowl of porridge any day 

[CattinJ]

Any idea how to get them to enjoy their greens? My ex bats dont seem to understand it's food!  They seem to love the odd plum/blackberry/chopped dates  so hope my small fruit treats each night arent too sweet for them!

[taz4711]

Not sure really. I left a small amount of treats out for mine when I got back from work and they weren't interested. I'm hoping it's just going to take time for them to realise it is food!