The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: egbert on May 09, 2011, 09:04:03 pm
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I was just reading up on chickens with dirty bums, as my ex-bat is a bit dirty round her 'knickers' although otherwise healthy . . .
Anyway, someone commented that they found too much fresh greens and veg could cause diarrhoea ??? Has anyone else seen this - is fresh veg every day actually bad for the chooks? :o
Although I would be surprised if this was the case, I would quite like the chance to tell my MIL that she is actually over feeding the chooks when she is telling me all the time they need more fresh food every day to keep them entertained. ;D ;D ;D
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Free range hens eat as much vegetation as they want, without scouring. However, they choose for themselves what they eat, so if for example you are feeding lots of brassicas to your hens I can see that that might make them scour, as they wouldn't be choosing a balanced range of greenery. Another point is that for your ex-bat, used to dry food for all her previous sad life, suddenly having all the greens she can manage could cause her some digestive problems. Every now and then one of our hens will get a dirty bum so we dag it as we would a sheep - hens can get fly strike too. You could try cutting down her greens by half and see if that clears her up. If it does, gradually increase the amount and see how much she can take before she scours again.
The scouring could also be something else altogether - people who know more than I do should have suggestions.
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We have had the Ex-bat for a year now, so its not a sudden change of diet, however definitely worth a try. I will inform the MIL she needs to vary their diet more ;D ;)