She's perkier this morning. I'm still going to try both the better food and more entertainment lines, though. It would be great to be able to put her back with her chums.
One of the others has been broody three times since March (having five weeks off from laying each time) but she sat rather grumpily in the nest area most of the day (though I took to posting her out through the pop-hole from time to time). The vicious hen comes out of her house but just stands...
Having looked at that thread I suspect our accommodation may be too tidy. There's lots of loose rocky earth to scratch in and I give them vegetation to scuffle plus I visit them several times a day with small snacks which I throw round the run to give them the fun of retrieval. But when it's a...
I've ordered some ground feed (from Germany) which does list its contents and is high in protein. I might try soaking the "muesli" they have at the moment until the new stuff arrives.
Thank you - I've ordered some ground feed which claims to be high in protein and other good things. I can see the sense of giving them food which they can't eat selectively. And I agree that animals can't know best when we're keeping them in artificial circumstances.
Their shed is probably 4 square metres in area with three perches and a high roof, and the run is 24 square metres (now divided 8/12). It's too dark to take a photo!
The diet is what was recommended by the shop who sold us the hens; I am a novice. We're in France. What is chick starter feed? There may be a local equivalent.
They all have special poultry mixed grains which include wheat, maize, dried peas and linseed in their feeder, plus lots of greenery, and wheat and mealworms as an afternoon snack, plus occasional scraps of cheese, pasta, rice, couscous and squash seeds. Their shed is probably 4 square metres in...
We've had three hens since March. All was harmonious until a few weeks ago when one started plucking feathers off another one's back. The victim was moulting so I thought that was the problem, separated them for a couple of days (they could still see each other) then put them back and all was...