Need some advice on getting my chickens to eat greens.

Discussion in 'Breeding, Raising, Feeding and Caring for Animals' started by orion, Sep 12, 2012.

  1. orion

    orion Junior Member

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    G'day friends,

    I have 2 chickens who are refusing to eat greens all of a sudden.
    Even with premium greens like butter lettuce, silverbeet etc. They tend to peck at it and then walk off.
    Could this be because they have attacked all the new weeds around my place?
    I'm guessing they regulate how much greens are enough.
    They are also eating grain with a little wild bird seed in it, along with powdered egg shells (served separately) and all the bugs etc. they get whilst free ranging around the yard.
    cheers,
    Ryan.
     
  2. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Sounds like they are pretty well fed orion. I wouldn't worry. If they are hungry they'll eat it.
     
  3. briansworms

    briansworms Junior Member

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    On the turtle forum I tell people that hunger is a great motivator when introducing new food. Remove the seed for a couple of days and only offer the greens, then slowly bring back the seed.
     
  4. orion

    orion Junior Member

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    Thanks! I was planning to take that approach pretty soon. Whilst i have your ear, I'm assuming with a name like 'Briansworms' you would be just the person to ask. Are the tiny white worms or any other inhabitants from worm farms harmful to my chickens or dog?...anyone else feel free to chime in as well.
    Why I ask is because I often remove scraps that the worms don't process and put them in the compost pile where they are accessible to both. I'm guessing that they would be alright as any parasites wouldn't survive if ingested, plus the compost pile already has it's own inhabitants. My dog is wormed monthly but my chooks have only been treated when they were chicks.
    I thought I better check with people more in tune with the science than myself.
    Cheers,
    Ryan.
     
  5. briansworms

    briansworms Junior Member

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    Worm farms are home to a large number of creatures none of which have killed my dog. Yes she is a bugger after I feed the worms or add cow manure. She gets into them. The small white worm would be a yeast worm. They can often appear. Most bugs are attracted to a food source so if you are having a problem don't feed for a while or change the food.

    If you are having excess scraps then you could be feeding too much too fast for your worms to eat. There may just not be enough worms in the bed and you might need to build them up to more suitable numbers.. One tip too is to freeze your scraps before feeding, especially potato peels. You could also just leave them in a plastic bag for 3 to 4 days out in the sun to rot down then feed. You could also look at the Black Soldier Fly thread as these can work with your worms and are good for chooks. Feeding worms to chooks will produce bigger eggs.
     
  6. orion

    orion Junior Member

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    Thanks...knew I could count on you!
     

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