- Mar 11, 2014
- 7
- 0
- 7
Complete noob here. Just got a house with runs and 4 chickens (two rhode island reds, two barred rocks). I bought pullets that were about 12 weeks old. They are now 16 weeks old. Can't wait to get some eggs!! I know I probably have another 1-2 months though. I have been feeding them organic pellets and then treats probably way more than I should (once maybe twice a week). I just recently pulled some weeds and threw them in there and they seemed to like that. I haven't ventured into letting them out to free range as I am scared they won't come back. I am thinking about getting/building a chicken tractor so I can let them graze in various places during the day.
My grandparents always had chickens growing up but I never had to be responsible for them other than scooping out the pen and carrying the occasional chunk of leftover cornbread out there and throwing it over the fence. So far so good though. I cleaned out the little house last weekend. Still unsure how often I should do that. Right now it's once a month but I wonder if I shouldn't just scoop out the nests once a week when I am out there cleaning/refilling the waterer. Like I said, kind of a noob but seems like this is the right place for asking questions!!
My grandparents always had chickens growing up but I never had to be responsible for them other than scooping out the pen and carrying the occasional chunk of leftover cornbread out there and throwing it over the fence. So far so good though. I cleaned out the little house last weekend. Still unsure how often I should do that. Right now it's once a month but I wonder if I shouldn't just scoop out the nests once a week when I am out there cleaning/refilling the waterer. Like I said, kind of a noob but seems like this is the right place for asking questions!!
and Welcome To BYC! Hope you get eggs soon! Chickens will usually go back to their coop if you let them range, but predators are usually the biggest reason not to, a chicken tractor is a good compromise if you have a lot of space you'd like them to cover. How often coops need cleaned depends on individual coop ... I usually add shavings once a week and clean out the small coops every month or so in the summer, but some need it more often and some need it less, depends on the number of birds and the weather, if the weather is bad they tend to stay in more, so poop more .... With the nesting boxes, I use hay/straw for the base and throw some shavings in when I add some to the coop.
