Greenbean with a question about 2 new chickens

[Yamahauler]

Just got 2 Road Island reds, that had the tail feathers plucked off. I initially put them together, but they got repeatedly attacked. A little reading said separate them from the old chickens( Red Stars) to keep from being attacked. So, they're in separate yards, divided by chain link. They came from a pretty abusive environment and are still very scared of my presence. So far, about two weeks and no eggs in a nest box, inside of the coop that I got them to accept. Any suggestions to get them over their fears and start laying eggs. Feed is organic pellets, oyster shells, and bird feed. See any problems, don't be bashful, let me know.

 

[Free Feather]

They might just take a break from laying until Spring. How old are they?
What was it like at their last home?

 

[aart]

Just got 2 Road Island reds, that had the tail feathers plucked off. I initially put them together, but they got repeatedly attacked. A little reading said separate them from the old chickens( Red Stars) to keep from being attacked. So, they're in separate yards, divided by chain link. They came from a pretty abusive environment and are still very scared of my presence. So far, about two weeks and no eggs in a nest box, inside of the coop that I got them to accept. Any suggestions to get them over their fears and start laying eggs. Feed is organic pellets, oyster shells, and bird feed. See any problems, don't be bashful, let me know.

Were the 2 new birds attacking each other.....or just your older birds attacking the new ones?

Could be the missing tail feathers are because they are molting, do you know how old they are?
Molting birds usually don't lay eggs.....and could use some extra protein to grow out new feathers.

2 weeks is not long for birds to settle into a new place, it's very stressful so give them time to adjust.

What is the protein level of the 'organic pellets'?
Is the oyster shell given in a separate dish? I should not be mixed into feed.
What is the 'bird feed'...wild bird food? Not really great for chickens except maybe as an occasional 'treat'.

 

[Yamahauler]

Ans: 2 old, attacking new chickens, that I was told are about 1 yr. old & getting along with each other, with old getting along with each other. The previous residence had several roosters with owner saying she saw some roosters mating with a chicken and kept it up, even after they had killed the chicken. So, the environment for these chickens was pretty rough with the roosters being the logical culprits. The pen only about 20 sq ft with about 20 chickens in it, and wall to wall chick poop coating everything, and no food to be seen. I've thrown down pellets, but they acted like they didn't know what to do with them until this morning, when I saw them eating where I had thrown down some pellets. Still trying to get them to connect me with a food source.
Org. pellets protein level = 16%
O. shells mixed with food
Bird food = "Classic Mix" wild bird food. Bought it when a cust. suggested it, because she uses it.
If bad, I'll just put it in the bird feeder for the wild birds for their morning breakfast.
Understand 2 wks. They're used to being kept in a cage, and now have a 6ft fenced in yard, about 300 x 300 ft, with only a bee hive and a little garden, and tons of sand spurs, that I'm busting my butt to keep to a minimum.

 

[aart]

Just give them time to acclimate and recover.
Stop putting oyster shell in feed, keep it in a separate container that is always available if they need it.
They need more protein, 16% is minimum for laying and molters need more.
I'll bet they may be molting....only time will tell.

Hard to say if the bird feed is 'bad',
but it may be diluting the nutrients in a balanced chicken ration,
and you're trying to get some poorly chickens back to optimal health so I'd cut out anything else.

In a situation like yours, I suggest to keep things simple...good balanced ration and lots of fresh water.



My Feeding Notes: I like to feed a 'flock raiser' 20% protein crumble to all ages and genders, as non-layers(chicks, males and molting birds) do not need the extra calcium that is in layer feed and chicks and molters can use the extra protein. Makes life much simpler to store and distribute one type of chow that everyone can eat.

The higher protein crumble also offsets the 8% protein scratch grains and other kitchen/garden scraps I like to offer. I adjust the amounts of other feeds to get the protein levels desired with varying situations.

Calcium should be available at all times for the layers, I use oyster shell mixed with rinsed, dried, crushed chicken egg shells in a separate container.

Animal protein (mealworms, a little cheese - beware the salt content, meat scraps) is provided during molting and if I see any feather eating.

 

[Yamahauler]

Been looking around for organic layer pellets without soy. Can only find it in a small store about 100 miles away. Tractor supply and one other store in St. Aug. only carry org layer pellets with soy in them, and the protein is only 16 to 17%. Where do I get this "flock raiser' 20% protein crumble", and what else can I feed them to get the protein levels up? Stores around here just get the bland generic quick to sell organic stuff that just barely does the job. And now, all I get from Tractor Supply is out of stock, don't know when, if ever. And they let me know they're not interested in special ordering anything for me. So for chicken raisers around here, there's no source of real organic food. Just synthetic junk with soy in it.
Will do on the "cut out".

 

[aart]

Well, I don't do the whole organic, non soy, non gmo, non any(every)thing else......except I never use a medicated feed.

I use a Prince brand 20% crumble that my local mill orders in for me, I like it because it's got animal proteins in it.

Used to get Purina 'Flock Raiser' at TSC, which is also 20% protein until I found they had a grain mite infestation and were using pesticides to control it.

 

[Free Feather]

Well, I don't do the whole organic, non soy, non gmo, non any(every)thing else......except I never use a medicated feed.

I use a Prince brand 20% crumble that my local mill orders in for me, I like it because it's got animal proteins in it.

Used to get Purina 'Flock Raiser' at TSC, which is also 20% protein until I found they had a grain mite infestation and were using pesticides to control it.

When was that?? I have only ever used it once, might not use it again now...
I use a grower feed that my neighbor makes for me from very local grains, non gmo, but it does have soy in it unfortunately. It is the best feed I can find around here.

 

[aart]

Quote: Not sure if the grain mites were a Purina problem or a local TSC problem....but it was only only the chicken feed that I could see in the store.
Here's the story.

 

[eleaserek]

If you are really wanting an organic and/or soy free food, Amazon sells a couple varieties. Scratch and peck is organic and soy free and H&H naturals has a non-gmo feed. Both include animal protein. Price may determine what you get, ordering online can get pricey because of shipping...
i personally ferment my feed to get the most out of it, and add high protein "snacks" like black oil sunflower seeds and left over meat scraps.