- Aug 9, 2012
- 2
- 0
- 7
We have 7 hens right now, and most of them have begun laying just over a week ago. I'm not sure the breeds per se, but I would say 3 RIR cross breeds and 4 Cornish X-ish hens. Nothing special, just our first hens from our local Tractor Supply and our first flock, we're so excited! Right now I'm getting about 4-5 eggs a day so apparently not all the girls are firing on all cylinders yet, lol.
I'm a SAHM so I get to check up on them pretty often which is fun but that also means I have 7 hens running full steam at me if I even just walk by the back door, looking for treats. Right now they have full access to lots of water, grit and their crumble feed (and oyster shell) in the coop all day but they free range in our small backyard for about 10-12 hours a day. I will toss out scraps to them 2-3 times a day and I'm just wondering if it is too much? I make sure it is some sort of fruit or veggie so it is pretty "healthy" not really given them bread, rice or other starchy/carby stuff but should I stop? A "serving" for them in a day would be one or two apple cores, a handful of collard green leaves, other vegetable "trimmings" and a handful or two of birdseed to get them back in their pen at night since we close them in the pen around 7pm or so.
All seem fat (not the bad kind, just not too skinny) and healthy. The egg shells are really strong and thick, eggs have good flavor, all of them actively "scritchy-scratch" all over the yard and just generally entertain with their chicken antics. Is there anything I should worry about as far as over feeding goes? I try not to indulge them too much but sometimes, you can't help it, you know? Thank you!
I'm a SAHM so I get to check up on them pretty often which is fun but that also means I have 7 hens running full steam at me if I even just walk by the back door, looking for treats. Right now they have full access to lots of water, grit and their crumble feed (and oyster shell) in the coop all day but they free range in our small backyard for about 10-12 hours a day. I will toss out scraps to them 2-3 times a day and I'm just wondering if it is too much? I make sure it is some sort of fruit or veggie so it is pretty "healthy" not really given them bread, rice or other starchy/carby stuff but should I stop? A "serving" for them in a day would be one or two apple cores, a handful of collard green leaves, other vegetable "trimmings" and a handful or two of birdseed to get them back in their pen at night since we close them in the pen around 7pm or so.
All seem fat (not the bad kind, just not too skinny) and healthy. The egg shells are really strong and thick, eggs have good flavor, all of them actively "scritchy-scratch" all over the yard and just generally entertain with their chicken antics. Is there anything I should worry about as far as over feeding goes? I try not to indulge them too much but sometimes, you can't help it, you know? Thank you!
