I'm another newb

iamgranny

Songster
6 Years
Jul 20, 2015
17
34
104
Marion Ohio
Hello everyone! I'm another beginner to the backyard chickens phenomenon. I started 2 months ago with 8 chicks , I don't even know what kind they are lol. All were supposed to be hens but one is unmistakable for a rooster at this point
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My question is why am I seeing so much running and chest bumping out of the chickens and am I feeding them adequately? I have a feeder with scratch grains always available to them and chick starter (medicated) always available to them. They love treats of dried mealworms, fresh cut grass clippings and dandelion leaves, won't touch a left over toss salad from the dinner table lol. I am pretty sure I made their run large enough , the coop I bought said it was large enough to house 6-8 chickens. Does anyone know if the girls are happy or is this chest bumping and chasing normal
 
They are establishing the pecking order. You could post pictures on the what breed and gender forum to see if they are mostly hens. Scratch shouldn't be available all the time. I throw out a handful or so in the morning and late afternoon for them to scratch and peck for. Too much scratch can interfere with nutrition.

How big is your coop? Many smaller coops overstate the amount of birds they are adequate for, it's a sore spot for me, they are taking advantage of folks.

It sounds like your chick are healthy and happy by all the activity. Welcome to the site and to the wonderful hobby of poultry keeping, beware it is addictive.
 
I just posted some pictures of their coop and run and a few pictures of the chickens, I couldn't resist sharing my girls. I'm not sure what breed they are but each one has their own personality and the ones with feathers on their feet especially love being held and petted lol. I will change the scratch feeding to once daily. Thanks for answering and the advice
 

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