Shoutout to my neighbor for finally telling me I was feeding my hens wrong

I had been tossing my girls a mix of scratch grains and layer pellets for almost 8 months, thinking they needed both every day. Then my neighbor, Betty, a retired 4-H leader, saw me dumping a bucket of scratch and said 'you're giving them candy, not dinner.' Turns out scratch is basically junk food for chickens, not a main meal. Took me until last Tuesday to switch to just pellets and veggie scraps, and now my girls actually eat their feed instead of picking through it. Anyone else get a rude awakening from a chicken-savvy neighbor?

2 comments

2 Comments

bell.emma1mo ago

Wow, that's rough. I've been feeding my dogs table scraps for years and my vet just told me the same thing basically. She said I was giving them fast food every night and causing all sorts of issues. I felt like a total idiot. At least your neighbor was nice enough to tell you straight up instead of letting you keep doing it wrong. Now your hens are probably healthier and happier. I bet my dogs would eat their regular food a lot better if I stopped sneaking them pizza crusts too.

umamurphy1mo ago

Figured out my neighbor was right after my chickens started turning into little food critics too.