From 3 to 2 hens - Enough company?

[Bonniebooboo]

Please don't put oyster shell IN their food. It should be offered free choice. You could even give them a small hand full of kitty kibble to up their protein. Kitty kibble has animal protein in it.

My silly chickens follow me around evenings at chore time and want dog/cat food even with full crop. They love me then.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Layer feed versus grower feed shouldn't change egg production, as noted just offer oyster shell on the side.

I would not feed iceberg lettuce at all as it's a nutritional black hole. Some treats are fine but you do want to keep it to a minimum.

As far as your original issue, yes the coop is small - the measurements you gave are the coop AND the run. A larger run that they can use during daylight house should help a lot, especially if you can provide them some different things to do, like a dust bath, some roost bars, some bedding to dig through, etc.

 

[lissalischicks]

I think the coop is too small. That is one of the reasons I ended up building my own. The space with the one you have doesn't allow for the girl being bullied to get away in my opinion I also think once they know what free ranging is like they don't like to be cooped up that much. At least that was my experience.

 

[Cl2Abbeyrd]

yep they will still lay eggs My layers are on all flock pellets and my banties eat chick starter crumbles. I toss a handful of oyster shell on the ground in each pen, gives them something to run around and get. I’ve never used layer feed but the protein level could be too low for what your bird breeds need.

Thank you!! I will try that. They are EE’s but each is half something else - 1 salmon faverolle, 1 Houdan, and one Americauna (the one being bullied). I did put some Pick no More on her bottom and they seem to HATE it. The saddle has been protecting her back quite well.

 

[Cl2Abbeyrd]

Giving them lettuce is actually counter to what their nutritional needs are. (IMO) Very little nutrition in it. They are better off with some sprouted grains, or some weeds/grass from your yard. It looks like you have bare ground there now???

Yes, I am in Wisconsin and we have a foot of snow currently, but the ground outside the sand run is wood chips and dirt since they destroyed the grass. We dump all our grass clipping in for them, and also have a summer garden with herbs, spinach, all the good stuff for them and now they love it. I’ve been giving them our green scraps this winter and the lettuce is more of a treat/toy than anything. I didn’t know the oyster shell cant be in the food! I think it was somewhere on the forum that I read it’s okay to do that. I’ll get them a special dish.

 

[lazy gardener]

In the mean time, you can just throw the oyster shell on the ground. By far, the best greens I have for my girls during snow season is sprouted grains/seeds. I give them about a qt of sprouts/day. They are easy, cheap, and keep those yolks nice and orange and huge all winter long.

 

[Cl2Abbeyrd]

In the mean time, you can just throw the oyster shell on the ground. By far, the best greens I have for my girls during snow season is sprouted grains/seeds. I give them about a qt of sprouts/day. They are easy, cheap, and keep those yolks nice and orange and huge all winter long.

Thanks for the advice! Maybe I’ll save the lettuce for me then and get some sprouts tomorrow. So, change the food, separate the oyster shells (some on the ground), sprouts and vitamin rich veggies, and they get just a palmful of boss/mealworm/scratch mix - not too much. Then when it gets nicer out I can add an extension that should give them another 10-12 sq feet. That’s the most extra space I can make, I think. And I can add a swing or an extra roost easily. If all that fails, I’ll think about rehoming the one. I do like that I get 3 colors of eggs right now. Brown, pinkish cream, and aqua green.

 

[lazy gardener]

I do hope you are not going to be buying sprouts at the store? that would break my grocery budget. Simply buy some whole grains and sprout those. Or you can sprout some lentils from the grocer.