We recently went on a three-day trip, and set the chickens up so they could be on their own while we were gone. Well, I noticed the day before we left that they had not been accessing their food in their feeder. Not sure if the cold metal was too much for their feet, or if there was something else going on with the feeder, I set up a supplement hanging feeder for while we were gone. I layered grubblies (since they usually get some daily when I go out), scratch (since it was going to be cold), and their usual organic chicken feed.

The hens had nearly emptied the hanging feeder after three days.

You may notice in the picture above that not only are the detested seeds from the scratch on the ground (see yesterday’s post), but so is a significant amount of pelleted food. Hm. I think my hens have been surviving on dried grubs and cracked corn, enough so that they prefer not to access their regular feed. Busted.

I give my hens scratch grains in the winter to help them maintain body heat, since the whole grains are harder to digest. The chickens love the mix, except for one kind. I’m not sure if the offending seed is oats or barley (or both since they look similar), but they certainly don’t care for them. Maybe they will sprout in the spring?