Adding whole oats to feed

windwalkingwolf · Post by **windwalkingwolf** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:21 am

Mine won't eat whole oats either, unless fermented, then they're chicken crack.

Ontario Chick · Post by **Ontario Chick** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:06 am

WLLady wrote:QR_BBPOST Mine are prob spoiled with sunflower seeds. They do eat them if the horse drops them though...lol

I guess thats the trick, as long as they think it's a treat, they eat it, when it's just food not so much

It shouldn't be that difficult to find the right balance Lynners, you wouldn't want to add too much to the detriment of protein and vitamin intake.

G Williams · Post by **G Williams** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:27 am

I agree with OC. Oats have a lot of good properties for laying hens. Just feed a little less than they will clean up. Feed in a separate feeder or they will bill out some feeds to get at the other. I find that I have to feed Oyster Shell if I use scratch grains.

Lynners · Post by **Lynners** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 12:12 pm

Thanks everyone for the responses! Much appreciated. Since there's no harm in trying, I'll give it a go.

Ontario Chick · Post by **Ontario Chick** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:01 pm

One thing to keep in mind, the prepared feed deteriorates when stored too long, the protein level goes down and the vitamins and minerals loose their effectiveness.

Lynners · Post by **Lynners** » Thu May 05, 2016 3:24 pm

Ontario Chick wrote:QR_BBPOST One thing to keep in mind, the prepared feed deteriorates when stored too long, the protein level goes down and the vitamins and minerals loose their effectiveness.

Thanks for the reminder, Ontario Chick. I usually only buy my feed 3 bags at a time because I'm short on storage space so I should be good!