chicken food

[Zan]

Ages ago there was talk of chook food and some people where chopping up the scraps.
Ever since I've been wondering why? Is it easier for them to eat? Better for them?
I just chuck everything in and they peck at it but wondering if I should be chopping.

[judydawn]

Zan here's a bit of a discussion amongst chook owners that you might be interested in reading.

http://www.joyousbirth.info/forums/archive/index.php/t-18672.html

[achookwoman]

Judy,  thanks for this link on feeding chickens. Had a good laugh.  As I have said before,  my chickens ate very well when I first got my TMX.  Every thing was chopped VERY small.  My chickens have plenty of pellets but much prefer the scraps.   I don't chop them up.    If I sat on the floor of the chook house I think they would eat me.    They love it when the Grand children come to stay as we seem to have more scraps then.  Also the GC talk to them and discuss the size and colour of the eggs ,  with the chooks.  They also tell them how we are going to cook them.  The eggs not the chooks.  We give the chooks green weeds from the garden,  they love these and we then have bright yellow yolks.

[judydawn]

How lovely that your GC interact with the chooks Chookie - mine would never have seen a chookhouse or collected eggs.  I did it as a youngster as a lot of Mum's family were on farms and I loved it.

[Zan]

So think I'll continue as is, there is never anything left and they get anything compostible. Plus a lot of my next door neighbours garden waste (a very big gardener).
We all spend a lot of time talking to them. dd2 talks chicken to them a lot too, lol!!!!

LOL chookie I often wonder what mine would peck at given half the chance. I found it hilarious watching one with a cucumber end the other day - she ran around with it (to stop anyone else getting her find) for about 5 mins, dropping it when able and having a peck, till she got it to what I gather was a manageable (and still large) amount that went straight down so she could run back and get the next thing, lol.

btw any chicken owners found they layed less in the heat wave? Mine went way down but are up again but it's darn hot in Sydney again so worried production will go back down just as we are building up supplies!

[Cornish Cream]

Did your DD's name the hens Zan? A very good friend keeps hens and I'm lucky enough to get the odd 1/2 dozen eggs.We have a covenant on our house deeds and we aren't allowed to keep chickens.

[Zan]

Denise just seen your post. yep the kids have named most of the chickens, at times the adults have been able to name some.
We currently have the Isa's - Lizzie, Chloe and Alice.
The silkies - Chocolate and Smoky (the kids named all these have also had Snowy, Star, Licorice - think you can probably guess the colours of these chickens!)
And Millie.