Why Is My Chicken Not Eating?
A chicken skipping feed for more than a day is a red flag — the usual suspects are crop problems, heat, illness, or a bird being bullied off the feeder.
Most likely causes
Crop blockage or sourness
What points to it: Full, doughy, or balloon-squishy crop first thing in the morning; sour smell on the breath; lethargy.
What to do: See the impacted crop and sour crop guides — the crop is the first checkpoint whenever appetite disappears.
Heat
What points to it: Heat wave, panting flock, feed consumption down across all birds while water use soars.
What to do: Normal-ish physics: eating generates heat. Feed in the cool hours, offer hydrating treats (melon), keep shade and cold water constant. Appetite returns with the cool.
Low in the pecking order
What points to it: One bird hovers at the feeder edge, gets driven off, eats only when others finish — thin but otherwise bright.
What to do: Add a second feeder out of sight of the first. This solves more 'not eating' cases than any medicine.
Illness or parasites
What points to it: Appetite loss with lethargy, weight loss, pale comb, or abnormal droppings.
What to do: Run the lethargic-bird exam and match symptoms to the specific guides; worm and mite checks included.
Feed itself
What points to it: Whole flock suddenly snubs a new bag; feed smells musty or clumped.
What to do: Trust them — moldy or rancid feed is dangerous (mycotoxins). Replace the bag and store feed dry in sealed bins.
Check these first
Morning crop check (should be empty), watch feeder politics for ten minutes, sniff the feed bag, feel her keel for weight loss, and confirm she's drinking — a bird that stops drinking is in more trouble faster than one that stops eating.
When it's probably nothing
A hen too busy free-ranging on bugs to bother with pellets is not 'not eating' — check the crop at bedtime; if it's full and firm, she ate plenty.
This guide is experienced-keeper guidance, not veterinary care. When a bird is crashing or a symptom is spreading, a poultry vet or your state extension lab is the right call — fast.
📄 Free printable: The Chicken Never List
The 15 foods that can hurt your flock, on one page — print it, tape it inside the feed-bin lid.
Harold knows your flock's history
Homestead Paradise keeps your flock's health records, lay records, and feed history — so when something looks off, Harold answers with your birds' actual story, not generic internet advice. Snap a photo with Harold's Eyes and log what you find, so next time you'll know what worked.
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