Have I got something else wrong?

[Margaid]

OK, Cocky and Henny seem well settled, Henny is now laying a beautiful dark egg every other day. Pink hen (she has a pink band on her leg), one of my original hens, has not started laying again yet following the moult and the fox hound attack. She still gets chased off by Henny when I scatter anything in the enclosure. I've found a way round that when I give them the mealworms and sunflower seeds.

What puzzles me is that when I let them out in the morning they aretotally uninterested in their feed but instead spread out in the enclosure pecking at the ground. They eat the "mash" I prepare for their breakfast at some time during the day and someone, probably Cocky, eats the peas out of the grain mix. They don't appear to eat very much of their feed other than that, but Henny's crop always looks full at bedtime. Pink hen's crop isn't as full.

Are they likely to be picking up enough bugs and things in the enclosure, whihc is about 155 sq metres? Up unitl the end of November there were sheep grazing the pasture so their droppings will presumably provide food for lots of bugs. If it were the summer (hah!) I wouldn't be concerned, but it is still minus 3 outside.

Should I be concerned that they aren't eating much of their normal food, or just relieved that the feed bill won't be so big?

 

[Marigold]

Sounds like a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' to me, Margaid. You are so lucky to be able to let them have such a large area to range in, and so long as they are evidently in good health, and at least one is laying, and they have solid food available if they want it, then I can't see there's a problem.
You could try giving their mash mid-afternoon instead of in the morning, so they have the chance to fill up on it before bedtime. I find mine are really hungry for it by then, look for my arrival, cluster round and have a really good feed. There is little point in putting it down at a time of day when they're not interested, as other creatures will get it rather than the chickens. If they are not eager for it, maybe change the recipe?

 

[Bickerton]

I bet there is a gazillion tasty bugs for them in a run of that size! Mine are eating a little less feed in the cold but they're loving their porridgy stuff. I give it them about 2 when I get in from work.

 

[Margaid]

I was followig Lewis Wright's recommendation Marigold, it's also what I remember from one or two chicken keeping relatives - give them the warm mash in the morning to ge them going. Strangely I haven't seen any other birds in the enclosure, but the feed is all in the small field shelter so can't be seen from above. There's also no sign of any rodents eating the feed - they have the feeder but also a flattish tray on the ground and nothing goes from the tray overnight.

It isn't just the mash, they no longer run for the handful of feed I scatter to attratc them to where the feed is. Cocky isn't even bothered about the peas at that point. I've seen comments about the scarcity of food for free ranging hens (which will be the next adventure for them) - maybe I'm just lucky in that respect.

What do you put in their "porridge" Bickerton?

 

[Marigold]

Lewis Wright is not holy scripture, just one man's opinion, from quite a long time ago. There's an equally valid argument for ensuring they have full crops before going to roost through long cold winter nights with no food until morning. Then many people keep their hens in the pen for an hour or two after they get up, to ensure they do eat enough pellets or whatever you give them by way of grain, to satisfy their needs for sufficient calcium etc.
Just do what seems to work for your own birds, if the are healthy and happy then it's OK.

 

[Margaid]

Possibly more important is to get a decent house sorted. I've decided to get a 6' x 4', put it where the Solway is now and put all the birds, including the two on their hols in together.

The Solway house was iced inside the roof, poo was iced to the floor even thought there was 2 inches of Easibed, and also to the external (plastic) nest box (I think Pink hen started out sleeping in there) - I'll put the perch up tonight if she's in there again when I shut them up.

 

[chrismahon]

We very quickly stopped ours free-ranging in the Orchard in the mornings Margaid because they did just what Marigold says -they filled up on rubbish. We kept them in the run until lunchtime and let them out with full crops. They ran it off and filled up with rubbish and were then tempted in with the evening grain, which has to be kept to a minimum in warmer months as it has a heating effect. Filling up on rubbish keeps them lean but egg laying dropped. As we only had 4 hens at the time it was a big issue. They all have the same routine now that we have an enclosure, but as before free-ranging is time-shared and partitioned to avoid a clash of cockerels. Except Sundays -don't want to tempt the Chasse dogs into testing the fences.

 

[Chuck]

For whatever reason they aren't keen on the mash, there's not a lot of point in giving it to them. I like mine to have corn in the evening so the crops are full with something to work on and keep them warm in the night. A 6 x 4 will get just as cold as any other accommodation - is it worth saying again that cold won't harm them.

 

[Bickerton]

What do you put in their "porridge" Bickerton?

I use corn, pellets or mash, oats or bread, mealworm if I have any, bit of banana then use hot tap water give it a good stir and leave it a min to thicken a bit, still a bit sloppy as it'll keep thickening.

Have actually stater popping a little vinegar in it as doesn't bother them atall, they yam down the lot.

 

[Marigold]

I use about 90% pellets, plus a small handful of corn, a sprinkle of sunflower seeds, maybe some bits of chopped up cabbage stalks (they like the stalks if chopped up, even if they can't manage to peck the m to bits if given whole.) I give a good handful per bird plus one spare, ie 5 handfuls for my 4 hens. This is around half the daily amount of pellets they consume, it works out at about 70 grams per bird. I think they would eat all their food like that if I let them. They really seem to like the warmth and i expect it tastes better when softer. Do chickens have a sense of smell? If so, it certainly smells more than dry food.

 

[Margaid]

They eat the "mash" during the day, it seems in preference to the hard food, as the dish is always empty when I take their mealworms out late aftenoon, they just don't rush to get it. Both girls seemed to have full crops tonight as far as I could see - they were already on the perch as I was a bit late and it had turned really cold again. It only got up to 0.6 today. Pink hen does well when they have gone to roost as she will happily peck the mealworms out of the small tub if I put it close to her. The "mash" is about 150grams dry weight of mixed wheat and maize (2:1) soaked then cooked until it's soft. A small handful of micronised peas and a sprinkling of wheat bran to mop up any excess liquid - plus a tiny bit of poultry spice. It smells quite nice. I was working on the same basis Chuck - that they need a crop full of slow digestible food to keep them going overnight which was why I give them the mash in the morning.

I can't easily make a smaller enclosure Chris, partly because the ground is waterlogged. The way it is arranged there are always a couple of areas which are relatively dry underfoot. I haven't let them out to free range yet. I know my friend leaves the hens in her (same size) enclosure for a while if she can - depends on who's around to let them out after she's gone to work. If they're let out straight away they leg it to the orchard and the garden. Her enclosure has been in use for over a year so maybe there aren't as many bugs left. I've assumed that my birds are finding bugs and probably some grit although I have seen all three peck at the mixed grit pot (flint and oystershell) which is pegged down near the hen house. They seem to wander about quite happily pecking and scratching during the day.

I'm not worried about cold air; it was the fact that some poo was frozen to the floor - the plastic isn't very thick. Wooden buildings tend to be warmer for a reason I can't remember and I need the space of the 6' x 4' as I'd prefer the birds to be altogether - 4 hens and the cockerel. Neither the Solway nor the little wooden coop will accomodate them all although 4 could probably squeeze in to the Solway. That would potentially leave one on it's own, or if they all squeezed in I don't think there would be enough ventilation - the ice on the inside of the roof would indicate that. I want to add a couple of Cream Legbars as soon as I can, and also a couple of Leghorns - which would probably mean using one of the smaller coops for them for a couple of weeks before I add them to the main house. I'm going to order the new house tomorrow.