Grinning at the OP and replies.
Myself, I'm blessed with a BH who just has a different way of doing things and is aware of it. Yes, I can still roll my eyes now and then, but if she tries to help out by, say, picking up a bag of feed because her travels will take her past the feed store, she takes great care to take my note with her. 50# NON-medicated Starter/Grower CRUMBLES (yellow bag, not brown . . . ). She always brings home what's needed. Because she's aware of her propensities and plans around them. It's an endearing quality as far as I can tell.
I'm back raising chickens after a hiatus. This is her first experience with them and the only challenge has been reining in her enthusiasm, if only just a tad. It took a while to share the hang of it with her but we've found the balance that allows her to take treats out to the ladies without throwing them off their formulated feed. She gets to enjoy her small handful of scratch for them each day and will make the occasional stop at the pet store to bring them a couple dozen crickets. I have the advantage (given our disparate schedules) of an extra eye on the girls to report any thing different or amiss, and she's gotten right into it. She was the first one to fnd the cross beak I had been watching closely when it first went down. That I had to cull it hasn't deterred her one bit.
On the upside, she was also the one who came flying through the back door this past Saturday morning to report that there were five, count 'em five, eggs laying about the litter in the Pullet Palace. The first from this flock and also in her experience. There hadn't been any the day before, so I'm guessing I may have three started laying. She left a note before she left for work that she had only found one this morning, but then she leaves at 6:30. I found two more when I checked before I left at ten. I'm not going to discourage her from checking, but I did take the time tonight to explain that they tend to lay in the morning and, where we're finally starting to get into freezing night temps, It'll be a good idea that we both check, so as not to leave any out to freeze. She, in turn allowed at how smart they must be, since they are consistently using the nest boxes since I opened them up Saturday afternoon.
What's not to be happy about? Miss Karee. I think I'll keep her.
Only thoughts I have on the layer feed . . . I'm with the crowd that seems to be emerging that wold be okay with cutting it into a starter feed. They are a little young yet, but they will be putting on a lot of bone. That said, if you decide otherwise, you can make the second trip. If the budget permits, rather than swap feed (Did I read right, it's opened and dumped so that's likely not an option), just buy what you would have two weeks from now and you can cut the layer feed in later or in smaller measure. Form the ditance you describe, I don't doubt you tie other errands in with your feed runs . . . so it might not be saving you a thing. Just a thought if you think it's warranted.
I love it! Sounds so much nicer than what I did
