[lucyeff]

Sorry folks! Our chickens don't seem to be eating their pellets I give them in the morning or all the mixed corn in the afternoon. The choickens have the run all over the back (full of snails and random creepies) and I'm not giving em much inbetween in the way of scraps, etc. But I'm not sure whether to sling the old grub and put fresh in every day or if I can leave it a few days?  :?:

Their eggs are getting smaller - is this the lessening light or is it food related dya know anyone?

Our tiler (subsidised by mother in law  :roll: supposed to have done bathroom 12 months ago n she's been 'asking' about it) said he felt sorry for our chickens because they were begging at the kitchen door and made me feel guilty - but I don't want to top them up with stuff if they're not eating their dinner. He suggested maggots from fishing tackle shop, but again, if their not eating their pellets..  :?

[muntjac]

starve them the morows n just make sure they have water .. wont hurt them they probably are foraging to well lol ,or try soaking the pellets in water overnight   and cut out the treats  :roll:

[lucyeff]

Cheers Munty.   I don't honestly give em treats much with them turning their beaks up at the pellets, so I guess they must be loving the snails they're finding. I wouldn't mind but they've nadged me hostas AND eaten the snails, so it's not as if it's done me any favours getting rid of the slimies!  :roll:

[Fat Hen]

I stopped buying pellets because they weren't eating them.  They love the mixed corn though.  I also give them a cabbage a day.  I don't have a lawn left (i'm thinking of replacing it with bark chippings),  my chooks also get maggots, mealworms & other treats such as porridge oats, pinhead barley, rice when I do a curry, lately pumpkin.

When I got the battery hens I bought some layers mash, the only way I can get any of them to eat it is to mix it with the corn, my "old" fancy hens were a bit picky but the ex bats will eat anything and this is rubbing off on my original hens who are getting less choosy  

[muntjac]

just a point whendid you last worm them lucy?

[lucyeff]

The lady who gave us the chickens said they'd need worming in December, so I guess she did it herself. I didn't think to ask when she had done it  :oops: . Cos she was giving them to us from freecycle, I just sort of thanked her a lot and bowed out  :roll: But they have been vaccinated.

Do you think I should worm them now just in case? We're still getting 2/3 eggs a day (we have 3 chickens) and the woman said they'll stop laying so that's the best time to worm so we don't have to throw eggs away. What do you think?

I'll try soaking the layers pellets, I had wondered whether they imght prefer mash. I bought mixed corn too but they even turn their noses up at that a bit  :?

[muntjac]

look at the pooop for werm ,,, try the mash feed ,worm in december .if they have werm now ,, werm em .. thhey ,may be just being awkward  females is like that  :roll:

 are you over feeding them by any chance?
 

[lucyeff]

look at the pooop for werm ,,, try the mash feed ,worm in december .if they have werm now ,, werm em .. thhey ,may be just being awkward  females is like that  :roll:

 are you over feeding them by any chance?
 

I'm not sure if I'm overfeeding - they get a couple of handfuls of pellets in the morning and a handful of mixed corn in the afternoon between 3 of them. There's no worms in their poo thankfully - I shift it every day from their coop so I'm quite familiar with it now. I suppose that has its benefits!  

I've tried shifting their feeding trough but they just prefer eating stuff off the floor I suppose  :?  

Will the shrinking eggs be food/day light related or is it just one of those things?

[muntjac]

its down to winter with eggs ,, there are other things that affect them but i just go for the winter reason  until another symptom appears