Confused

[mommarx]

i was given 4 chickens back in early april. i have no idea how old they are exactly, i'm figuring about 16 weeks. they are road island reds ( i think). i have been reading posts about how folks are giving their chickens veggies and other stuff for a treat. i have given mine lettuce, green beans, cucumbers ( fresh out of my garden), also cracked corn and sunflower seeds. they are not interested it seems in any of it. i do however have a bale of hay in their enclosure that i turn over every few days and they have a party eating the bugs that gather under it. do some chickens only like insects? if so what can i give them besides mealy worms which seem a bit on the costly side ( $40.00 per 1000). also should i be changing them over to layena at this point? also even though i have 3 different perches for them in the enclosure they always go into the "egg house" ( i don't know the technical term for it lol) to sleep at night. i thought i read somewhere that they shouldn't sleep where they are going to lay. i am excited about starting this adventure but i am worried i am not doing things correctly. any answers would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Traphill]

I throw scratch in my chickens runs in the morning and then give them any leftovers we have and I always chop some spinach and toss that out as well. I shop at Costco so I get the big bags.... Mine love everything they are pigs with wings

 

[tridentk9]

I throw scratch in my chickens runs in the morning and then give them any leftovers we have and I always chop some spinach and toss that out as well.  I shop at Costco so I get the big bags.... Mine love everything they are pigs with wings   

Spinach should be an occasional treat if they're laying. It binds with the calcium so it's not absorbed by the body. Or give the spinach several hours apart from eating their normal diet.

 

[aart]

i was given 4 chickens back in early april. i have no idea how old they are exactly, i'm figuring about 16 weeks. they are road island reds ( i think). i have been reading posts about how folks are giving their chickens veggies and other stuff for a treat. i have given mine lettuce, green beans, cucumbers ( fresh out of my garden), also cracked corn and sunflower seeds. they are not interested it seems in any of it. i do however have a bale of hay in their enclosure that i turn over every few days and they have a party eating the bugs that gather under it. do some chickens only like insects? if so what can i give them besides mealy worms which seem a bit on the costly side ( $40.00 per 1000). also should i be changing them over to layena at this point? also even though i have 3 different perches for them in the enclosure they always go into the "egg house" ( i don't know the technical term for it lol) to sleep at night. i thought i read somewhere that they shouldn't sleep where they are going to lay. i am excited about starting this adventure but i am worried i am not doing things correctly. any answers would be greatly appreciated.

By enclosure you probably mean 'run' and by egg house you probably mean 'coop'.
Coop and Run are the most commonly used terms.

A coop is an enclosed weather proof 'building with roosts, nests and lots of ventilation where they can be locked in at night to protect them from predators. They like to sleep on the roosts which should be higher than the nests to prevent them from sleeping in the nests because they poop a lot at night and you want to keep the nests clean.

A run is a fenced area to contain the chickens during the day if you don't free range, usually with either a solid or mesh roof and protect them from aerial predators. The run is usually attached to the coop and accessible thru a small chicken sized door called a pop door.

There are lots of ways to build/configure coops and runs depending on your climate, site and resources.

Try cutting the veggies into small pieces to get them to try them, maybe mix them in with some of their regular feed in a small bowl or tray.

Hope that helps.