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Baby the rooster, upon first inspecting the improvements in the coop, jumped right up on the new perch and eyeballed the fabric barricade. Something seemed to click in his brain, telling him he could no longer jump up there. I think the brightly patterned fabric was a great idea.

Thanks for the info. I must say, though, that we built a perch for the chickens to jump down to from the high shelf, and no one uses it. They always fly over it, so this approach did not work. I had read it elsewhere and assumed it would work, but it has just caused problems, making it...

I think their new roost will be only about 21" - 24" off the floor. Do you think that could cause bumblefoot? I have thick pine shavings on the floor. I've read that 18" - 20" is ideal.

Thank you so much, Centarchid! I really appreciate your help. I can't wait to tell my friends about my new chicken nutritionist buddy!

Correction: Actually, an adult Barred Rock hen is supposed to eat about 2/3 cup of chicken feed a day, not 3/4 cup as I incorrectly stated above. I think the thing to do would be to let her out by herself, maybe early in the morning, while it is still cool, and then encourage her to follow me...

I do know a Barred Rock is supposed to eat about 3/4 cup of chicken feed a day. So I wonder how much sunflower seeds would make a tenth of that? Does anyone have a scale they could weigh 3/4 cup of Nutrena All Flock on for me?

I'm no good at math. I'd be afraid of making a mistake. Maybe I could just give her 5 sunflower seeds each day?

I love to let my chickens free-range, but after close calls with roaming dogs, I am afraid to do so unless I can watch them every instant. And I sure can't let my rooster free-range. He's a bad boy with a wicked beak, but a superb protector of the hens. So I would have to buy a scale? Could...

I sure do appreciate the suggestion and am considering it. It's to be hot today-- 95 F. I decided not to let her have any laying mash for the rest of the summer. She's never had a problem laying eggs, so I think maybe she doesn't need it, as much as she loves it? I think she just picks out...

But sunflower seeds are so fatty. I worry about her getting fatty hemorrhagic liver disease from fatty foods like that.

Check this out. I think flax seed is a good choice. It helps prevent ovarian tumors in hens. I like that it has Omega 3. Sunflower seed has only Omega 6: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100504124740.htm

Thank you, Centrarchid. I had considered sunflower seeds but read something negative about them for chickens. Flax was thought to be superior. However, I bought a bag of flax and put it in the freezer and then forgot about it after feeding it to them a few times. I've thought the little...

That is an idea, but I'm still afraid of them falling off the high roost, getting pushed off, as some have said has happened to their chickens. So now I'm thinking I can just wrap all around the shelf and beams with a heavy duty electrical tape. It will be a lot easier than trying to find a...

Really? I had suspected my handyman didn't know what he was talking about... Why would he be so opposed to the idea? Are they hard to build, or maybe he thought it would block too much of the coop access, since it is a small coop, and the shelf is up high at the back. I will ask him why he is...

Centrarchid, Here is the nutritional info on the Nutrena All Flock they all get: http://www.nutrenaworld.com/nutrena/products/poultry/naturewise-poultry/naturewise-all-flock/index.jsp You can see it is significantly lower in calcium-- only 1.4% - 1.9%, compared to 4.6% calcium in the...

Her laying mash is 16% crude protein, crude fat is 4%, crude fiber is 5%. I don't see any listing for energy? She gets it in the morning before the rooster is let in with them, and in the evening when she is free-ranging apart from him. So do the other girls, all free-choice. During the...

Yes, I'd love to have ramps, but my handyman says they won't work in my coop. Something about the angle being wrong and it would have to go out the front door so the door couldn't be closed. Too steep or something. we are going to have to take down the shelf somehow and build a new shelf only...

My new Avatar picture shows the weird egg this girl's sister laid last summer, after I put her on a diet. And then she died on August 25.

The last time I tried putting her and her sister on a diet, her sister died, at only 17 months old. Shortly after going on the diet she laid an odd egg, with a white ring around the middle. I think it's best to let hens be the judge of how much food they need. Some may need more than others...

Her wings seem fine. She and the rooster are taking a dust bath together right now. Thanks for asking. She's just fat. Always has been, always will be. I fed her too much scratch and rice when she was little. I didn't realize it was bad for chickens. I was new to chicken ownership at the...