AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hi all,
I'm really sorry that I have asked this question before but I'm not sure on what to do.
I have 3 Isa brown chooks

My problem is the chooks seem to only eat the sunflower seeds and they just toss everything else onto the ground. The ground has loads of wheat etc on it and they don't eat it even if I don't feed them.
I only put about 6 cup fulls every second day.
I also let them out for a few hours most days. They eat lots of grass and maybe some bugs.

I changed my feed to Red Hen.
I also brought some a 3 Kg bag of a product called egg boost.
I was told that the chooks will love this egg boost stuff as it was mostly protein.
I was told to mix it with their food. And they will love it Yea!! right
"They don't eat it at all" It's like a brown powder I also put some in a small bowl they don't even look at it.
I brought these chooks on 8Th Jan and it seems that only one lays.
I was told (Buy the fodder shop that if they are not getting enough food they won't lay.

I thought that having chooks was not going to be ROCKET SCIENCE.

I hope that make sense and I would love to hear how you are meant to feed and keep these birds, as I have had pigeons and budgies before with no problem at all.

Thanks to all
Gilbert.....

I fear your chickens are holding out for the food they love best and the only thing to do is re-train them. They absolutely LOVE sunflower seeds. Mine will do absolutely anything to get some. However, they are very high in fat and they should have no more than 6 or so each per day. Lots of it will make them fat, and fat chooks lay less frequently.

If I were you, I would completely stop any sunflower seeds for a while. Give them the layer food you have, mixed with the supplement, if you wish. And leave them locked up for a long enough time to eat some. Then they can free range, and back into the coop for a final feed before going to roost. They will not starve themselves. They may hold out for sunflower seeds for a while and might make a fuss and pester you for it. Tell yourself you are doing the right thing - it is important for their long-term health and for egg-laying that they get the right balance in their food.

Let us know how it goes!

You should try to introduce layer pellets as they are a complete diet especially for the larger breed like Isa. I agree with bobkat take the sunflower away all together and give them a mix of scratch and layer pellets they will eat when they get hungry enough



LooLoo

just having a chuckle LooLoo = Isa Browns = small compared to my Orpingtons

but I agree with all above
these birds need to be re-trained
and give them pellets as normal food and grains etc as extras

and = Bobkat is right = a bird that is carrying fat will not lay as well as one that is the correct weight some overweight hens dont lay at all !

side bar = if chooks are carrying fat going into the heat of summer they have a whole lot of problems there too = it is well documented on the forum

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24753&start=20&hilit=liquefaction

^ this link will take you to the page that liquefaction is mentioned on

liquefaction is the process of when a chook that is carrying fat gets too hot for too long


NOW = back to the topic of this thread = feeding problems

They will work you HARD to get their own way and we humans are basically

Well lets just say =

‘not as smart as a chook’ (as they tend to get their own way indicating they are smarter!)

I say this as chooks get their own way when it comes to humans = they carry on like they are dying from utter devastation as we are not feeding them their ‘chook lollies’ = sunflower seeds

Just remember they will carry on and carry on and squawk and jump up at you to get attention and be - - - well - - - foolishly stubborn

It takes a chook 3 weeks (with no food at all) to starve to death so don’t worry that they will do that as they will not! When they are hungry enough they WILL eat the pellets and grains you provide (probably just the grains actually as they will eat these in preference to pellets). And as Bobkat said if they are freeranging they are eating – and there is no way they will starve as they are foraging all day.

STAND FIRM Gilbert

Hi Joe,
I have had this problem too, so you're not alone!
I was feeding mine Red Hen Layer (the blue bag) in three different feeders - 2 x PVC pipe feeders (royal rooster & dineachook) and a standard cheap green/opaque plastic job. My little witch (boss chook) started emptying all the feed onto the ground to find the sunflower seeds, and the other girls followed her lead. During the heat wave in Jan/Feb, I cracked the sads at all the waste (even my poor worms couldn't get through the grain before it went mouldy) and I stopped buying the Red Hen.
All they got for three weeks was Vella Poultry Supreme (an organic crumble). I didn't give them scraps, treats or scratch.

They were peeved at me (big time), but around week three, they got stuck into the Vella feed. I then started introducing Lauke / Red Hen Showbird Breeder micropellets with their Vella. Around week 5, after most had gone into a hideous early moult, I started giving them a handful or two of scratch feed. This is a special treat now, the way it's supposed to be. They are getting through a decent amount of the micropellets, though occasionally they tip a heap on the ground. I refrain from topping up their feeder until it's all eaten (unless it rains).

I hope this helps. Naughty chookies!

very good that you have posted this firsthand experience Blak1
it always helps when someone that has gone thru this gives such well explained input – thank you

and yes

Naughty chookies

Thanks HEAPS to everyone For all the replies. I loved reading them made me smile lots of funny bits.
OK I will take out the sun flower seeds and just give them normal seed/layers mash or pellets.
So should I still allow them the normal 2 hours a day free range?????
I will also have to CUT out the house scraps ( They won't like that )
When I walk out the door with scraps they just about attack me.
They have heaps of grain on the floor in the coop.

Thanks............

Yes still let them out to free range thats important for a graze on the grass they get allot out of that and I would cut the house scraps down but not out all together twice a week is enough as long as they can graze.




I bet they are the orpingtons are huge



LooLoo

Mine have grazing frames in their enclosure (50m2 area - around the size of a 4 car garage) so they have access to greens all the time. I like to let them out into the rest of the garden, but I banned them from that until they started behaving! They 'yelled' at me every time they saw me, demanding to be let out, cheeky buggers.

If your pen is small, like LooLoo said, you'll need to let them out for a while for exercise and sanity - just hold off the treats! You might be depressed for a couple of days as they continue to pick through their feed hoping for the sunflower seeds, tipping everything on the ground.

Good luck with it - short term pain for long term gain

^ just added a bit I think was left out = it is us that go thru the pain not the birds