Advice needed please-New at this and loving it!! :)

[JessieSZ]

Hi everyone,
I am new at raising chickens, I have 7 now, 6 hens and one rooster, all different breed, from polish to silky and other mixes.... I got them as babies in July and now they are fully grown and a few are laying eggs
My question is, how much feed should I be giving them? I have been giving them about 12 cups of organic non-laying feed, (that's all the store had) usually I get the egg laying mash (organic). Anyway, is 12 cups a day ok? I give it to them early in the morning. Water they have access to all the time.. If am suppose to give them more food, how can I? I work all day, so do I give them more in the evening when I get home? In the summer they will free range, but it's very cold in winter where we are, so I keep them in an insulated 10X10 coop with access to another 10X10 outdoor covered enclosure. I also feed them fresh veggies and fruit time to time, they love that! I also noticed that lately they don't let one of my polish hens eat with them, so she stays in the coop and scavenges for what she can find.. she has lost a lot of weight, what can I do to help her? she is my friendliest one! loves to stay on me and be petted..I really hope she'll be okay..
so any advice to this newby would be greatly appreciated!! thank you!! : )

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you could join the flock! I would suggest you get feeders for your flock so you can fill them up and they can eat what they want when they want. This should also stop them bolting their feed as this could cause crop issues. I have a feeder like this ~

I can fit 6kg of feed into it and it does them ok for 3 days or do.

Polish in general don't do well in mixed flocks and are usually at the bottom of the pecking order. From what you have described this is what is happening with your polish. Flocks can be ruthless and will try to starve out lower ranking or new birds. You could put extra feeders out so they can't bully her out of food. What I would suggest though is that you seperate her from the flock and feed her up if she has lost weight and is thin. Malnutrition can kill so easily and they can hide the fact they are weak. If this continues with her you may need to think about keeping her totally seperate from your flock but with another polish or even a silkie as company.
Polish are a lovely breed to keep and I really love them but they do come with some downsides I'm afraid.

Good luck with your flock and enjoy BYC

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC- glad you have joined us. "Tyke coop has provided a comprehensive response, so a welcome is all that's needed from my end.

Good luck
Ct

 

[JessieSZ]

Thank you so much for this info!!! this is great!! I went and purchased the feeder online a few minutes ago!! will be much better! I will try to feed my poor little polish on her own for now.. Thanks again!!!

 

[drumstick diva]

If you only have the one polish, have you considered making her a house chicken? She sounds like a great candidate. There is a great thread called "people with house chickens."

My friend has had house birds for over 25 years - mostly silkies and seramas as they take confinement well. Some chickens really bloom with the one on one attention they get as house chickens and they can be just as fun and affectionate (in their own way) as dogs.

 

[JessieSZ]

Hi! thank you for that suggestion, I have considered it, took her in the other day, she did well, but kept escaping her pen.. clever little darling! Ive put her back in the coop, it's not that the others pick on her so much, it's the rooster that seems to push her away from the food, he also prances on the food and makes it go everywhere. not sure why he does this.. she was eating this morning, I now put food in different places so that she can find some without being bothered.. that rooster seems to be a bully..

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!