advice on my two new free rangers

[bturbo87]

ok so i finally got the coop and run rebuilt and chased down the two free rangers that came with our new house from the old tennent. did some looking around and im pretty sure ive ended up with a leghorn and a RIR any tips or advice on what i should feed them besides layer feed grit and sell, to get them good and healthy and start laying again
?

 

[digitS']

You are off to a good start, bturbo87!

Just make sure that they have plenty of water and realize that you have made a big change in their diet from scavenging stuff on their own. They will probably go a little nutz with confinement but maybe you can give them some treats (from the treats chart, linked at the top of the page) for some amusement. Try to keep those foods down below about 15% of their diet, however, if you want productive layers.

I once looked at a home and property for sale. In an outbuilding was 3 dead chickens - obviously abandoned in their coop. I didn't buy the property and wondered later how much loss of value someone created by leaving those birds to die. Also, I don't like to think of the cruelty it takes to have done something like that.

Someone once said that chickens are the only domestic animals that have made a choice to live with us. That is only partly true but certainly, there are feral flocks of chickens all over the world. They have reverted back to their wild ways. However, it is really asking too much of a Leghorn and a Rhode Island Red to live as a feral chicken. They have been developed as breeds with greater needs than can be met "out there" on their own.
You have done a good thing. Come back here often, BYC appreciates people like you

.

Steve

 

[patman75]

depending on their age they might only lay a few eggs or none at all.

leave the feeder out side of the coop, once they find the feed move the feeder every day closer to the coop and then inside. Once they get used to going inside the coop they might choice to roost in there and you can lock them up.

 

[Imp]

Very good of you to help those chickens.
Are you sure they are hens?
Sounds like digitS' answered your questions.
You may want to keep a close eye on them for parasites or disease.
Good luck with them

Imp