Acting 'hot' on the roost?

[justplainbatty]

Yeah I-- have no idea why he sold me this. I bought my chickens from him and bought feed at the same time, he knew I wanted feed for them. I'm just utterly baffled, embarrassed that I didn't check sooner, and so sorry for my poor girls. I just trusted that he knew better than I do what chickens need as it's his business... and as I'd never kept them before why would I know better than him? I just got a new bag, too. I haven't opened it yet so maybe I can return it...?
Ugh. I've totally failed my girls

I did not mean to sound as if I was scolding you! I meant the guy at the store! How could you have known? It's not your fault at all! Especially if you are trying to translate and stuff. I feel bad for you but hopefully they will exchange the new bag for the right kind.

 

[KayTee]

The more ventilation you can give them the better, especially in a hot climate. Just make certain that you don't leave access for predators or vermin to get in.

 

[kurui]

I'm in the middle of nowhere! The nearest town is Huercal-Overa, and the nearest city is either Almeria or Murcia.
It is weird, isn't it! I wonder if he made a simple mistake. The bag looks like the manufacturers probably use the same generic one for all the different feeds they make, and there's only a paper label with very small type on that tells you what kind it is stuck onto that. Maybe at a glance the different feeds all look the same?

 

[kurui]

I did not mean to sound as if I was scolding you! I meant the guy at the store! How could you have known? It's not your fault at all! Especially if you are trying to translate and stuff. I feel bad for you but hopefully they will exchange the new bag for the right kind.

Oh, don't worry, I'm very good at scolding myself without needing to feel like anyone else is doing it at me! I didn't think you were, no problem.

Yeah I hope so too. My theory is he mistook one kind of feed for another...

 

[kurui]

The more ventilation you can give them the better, especially in a hot climate. Just make certain that you don't leave access for predators or vermin to get in.

Yeah, the size of hole I have a drill bit for is probably too small for most predators- I don't think I have anything bigger than 3/4inch. I did find a gecko IN the coop today, but I think he probably got in while the door was open rather than anything else....

 

[justplainbatty]

Oh, don't worry, I'm very good at scolding myself without needing to feel like anyone else is doing it at me! I didn't think you were, no problem.

Yeah I hope so too. My theory is he mistook one kind of feed for another...

Wheew! Thanks. I hope that's all it is and you can get actual chicken feed. At least you know that the chick mash will do fine for now.

You're doing fine btw, geting bugs under control, keeping them away from long grass, cooling down the coop, adding ventilation and dealing with crop issues. Look how much you have learned in the past week or so!

 

[kurui]

Haha my stepdad thinks I'm insane. Every day I have something new I need to do for my girls and he rolls his eyes... he took the fan out the other day because he thought it was overkill and I honestly would have exploded at him if we hadn't had houseguests. I had to get mum to explain to him that overheating is dangerous for chickens because I'm pretty sure if I'd tried to have that conversation with him it would have ended very badly. He's a bit of a control-freak. I figure seeming as I am actually an adult, I bought the chickens AND he enjoys eating their eggs, he should just leave us be!

 

[KayTee]

You really are in the middle of nowhere! I was also in Andalucia, but much further south, not far from Nerja.

If there are several different feeds all in the same style bag then it could easily simply be a mistake - try asking him to change the unopened bag for a higher protein chicken or chick feed. And don't worry - you are doing great. The fact that you are asking yourself the right questions and looking for answers is the most important thing to keep your girls as happy and safe as possible.

 

[KayTee]

Haha my stepdad thinks I'm insane. Every day I have something new I need to do for my girls and he rolls his eyes... he took the fan out the other day because he thought it was overkill and I honestly would have exploded at him if we hadn't had houseguests. I had to get mum to explain to him that overheating is dangerous for chickens because I'm pretty sure if I'd tried to have that conversation with him it would have ended very badly. He's a bit of a control-freak. I figure seeming as I am actually an adult, I bought the chickens AND he enjoys eating their eggs, he should just leave us be!

That's one of the things they forget to tell you before you get chickens - that everyone else will think you have lost your mind! Checking out chicken poop, giving them powder-puff dust baths, worrying yourself silly over the tiniest thing... I can actually see why people think we are mad

 

[kurui]

Oh, I love Nerja! What a beautiful little town. Property there is so expensive, or I'd have my own little place in the campo in that area.

Thanks for the encouragement. It's a bit embarrassing to find out all the things I've been doing wrong, but I'd rather be embarrassed than have sick or dead chickens, that's for sure! The funniest thing to come out of all this is how much tamer my big girls have become. I've been spending so much time checking on them that they seem to be taking a lot more of an interest in what I'm doing, and after her brief all expenses paid all-you-can-eat yoghurt buffet hotel stay in my room Cordelia just wants to clamber into my lap all the time!