chickens not eating ground barley

wiseoldelf

Got a four new chickens, my other ones unfortunately got eaten by the fox.. However the new chickens won't eat ground barley, the lad I bought them off was feeding them organic wheat or corn mixed with molasses plus scraps, do you think they will get to like the ground barley, I'm not going to the expense of organic wheat and soaking it in molasses... They're grand with the scraps alright

aonb

You cant expect them to suddenly settle in to a strange place, and eat a strange (to them!) diet.
Ground Barley would not be enough for hens to maintain good egg production - not enough protein.
The best diet you can give them is LAYERS PELLETS. About 8 Euros for a bag at any feed/grain store. Add a bit of free range/grass and any scraps that you have and they will be fine. Plenty of fresh water always available.
If a fox took your last lot, have you done something to improve your security? If the fox got fed last time, he will be back when you have new/more hens!

wiseoldelf

Thanks for that, I've been throwing them lots of veggie scraps (from both neighbours and my own) daily to a supplement the barley, I only got the barley as it was cheaper than the pellets, will get the pellets again soon and mix with the barley.

The fox issue is solved I hope, it was the one night in I got sidetracked (hurling injury) and didn't get to lock them in, fox was later killed on the road nearby, hasn't been a fox around in over 6months since, farmers locally have been using some tricks to keep them away from sheep

marizpan

You should try soaking the barley to make a porridge. They much prefer this.

Water as a supplement fed and with milk as a complete fed. They love it with milk!

aonb

Good idea to make a mash - mix pellets with the barley and add warm water to soak. If they havent been fed a mash before they may not eat it (initially) - make a v.small amount & give to them in the evenings or early mornings for a few days. This is especially good when the weather is cold, but give them their pellets as well until they get used to the 'new' food. Hens are creatures of habit and routine - anything new is never welcome!

Hens are not lactose tolerant, so too much milk can give them diarrhea as they cant digest. Having said that some natural probiotic yogourt is good for a healthy crop - I give mine some a few days a week, they love it!

marizpan

I have fed mine a raw milk/barley mesh for 5+ yrs now. They are very healthy, never sick or have diarrhoea. They lay throughout the winter although at a slower rate and some of them are old now.
They won't eat layer pellets especially if it get wet.
OP, do whatever suits your hens and is easily available to you.

periodictable

Reminds me of a work colleague who once brought 23 tins of cat food to the office, and posted this notice: "Please help yourselves to this food for your kitties. Princess doesn't like it-she prefers "Fancy Feast"."

Some wag replied : "Thanks Dee!
Give Princess to me for a week, I guarantee that she'll eat anything".

wiseoldelf

Thanks again for the replies, thankfully they are starting to eat it now, I soak it first in water, mixed with layer pellets.

Anyway another question: about every other day I've been finding a tiny egg with the normal sized ones, they are less than an inch in length...I've had about 10 or these in a row, what you reckon?

aonb

These are called WIND eggs. They are common when a young hen is starting to lay (or when a hen is old & gets a shock or something - its an indication of stress!) There is no yolk just albumen in Wind Eggs. They can be eaten.

Wind eggs are usually caused when a piece of tissue in the egg production dept breaks off, the 'system' assumes its a yolk, and goes into egg making process. Its usually an unusual occurance, a hen would not normally lay so many in a row.

I know the hen is in a new home, and the food is new, so a lot of stress going on - she should start to lay properly when everything settles down...