Hi ya,
I had 3 chickens until about 6 weeks ago when a visiting dog, let it out of the truck to potty without the owners realizing we free-range when we're home, chased our dominant hen, Miss CluckyButt, down a ravine and presumably into the creek. We looked for hours, but never recovered her. Two weeks later, the remaining two chickens were spooked by a close call with a hawk (unharmed, other than losing a few feathers), but it sent them into a molt.
A bit over a month ago, I was gifted 4 beautiful, healthy, laying hens, and put them in quarantine in the pen in our barn to make sure all was well with them. We integrated them with our other 2 hens this past weekend. There have been typical pecking order squabbles, with the dominant hen of the new flock gently taking charge.
The new chickens' move to a new home seems to have also triggered them into a molt and reduced their egg production. I get 1 to 2 eggs a day out of the 6 hens total though, which is probably a good percentage, considering it's winter.
They're currently eating a commercial layer pellet & crumble, with a cup or two of scratch, a few table scraps, meal worms for treats and whatever bugs/worms they can forage in the yard on weekends. I still feel I need to boost their nutrition to get them through their molt, keep them warm this winter, and encourage egg production (without adding artificial light) through the next couple of months. After reading the recipes for making my own feed, I think I'll try the Cascade Feed from Magill Ranch for now, and tackle my own mix in the summer. Until then, I'm open to all thoughts and suggestions as to what you all do to keep your flock healthy through the winter. I imagine they'll also need to be wormed, but I'm not finding a clear answer on how long to wait to eat eggs after using a medicinal wormer. Thank you for the input.......
Cheers,
Cetera
I had 3 chickens until about 6 weeks ago when a visiting dog, let it out of the truck to potty without the owners realizing we free-range when we're home, chased our dominant hen, Miss CluckyButt, down a ravine and presumably into the creek. We looked for hours, but never recovered her. Two weeks later, the remaining two chickens were spooked by a close call with a hawk (unharmed, other than losing a few feathers), but it sent them into a molt.
A bit over a month ago, I was gifted 4 beautiful, healthy, laying hens, and put them in quarantine in the pen in our barn to make sure all was well with them. We integrated them with our other 2 hens this past weekend. There have been typical pecking order squabbles, with the dominant hen of the new flock gently taking charge.
The new chickens' move to a new home seems to have also triggered them into a molt and reduced their egg production. I get 1 to 2 eggs a day out of the 6 hens total though, which is probably a good percentage, considering it's winter.
They're currently eating a commercial layer pellet & crumble, with a cup or two of scratch, a few table scraps, meal worms for treats and whatever bugs/worms they can forage in the yard on weekends. I still feel I need to boost their nutrition to get them through their molt, keep them warm this winter, and encourage egg production (without adding artificial light) through the next couple of months. After reading the recipes for making my own feed, I think I'll try the Cascade Feed from Magill Ranch for now, and tackle my own mix in the summer. Until then, I'm open to all thoughts and suggestions as to what you all do to keep your flock healthy through the winter. I imagine they'll also need to be wormed, but I'm not finding a clear answer on how long to wait to eat eggs after using a medicinal wormer. Thank you for the input.......
Cheers,
Cetera
and Welcome To BYC! Here is a nice sticky thread on worming 
