I have a few questions....8 week old Pullets

[famousgrouse]

Ok. I am brand new here. Just built a nice coop, attached to a 10x10' dog kennel with a kennel cover. I also built a 5 gallon water bucket with horizontal nipples and a 5 gallon no-mess feeder for the run. Inside the coop I have a small plastic waterer (purchased today because I panicked a bit). So, today I brought home five 8 week old pullets. One of each (Amber link, Black Sex Link, Welsummer, Barred Rock and Australorp).

I have been reading this site for weeks trying to prepare myself for the arrival of the birds. I still have some questions.

1) What should I be feeding these 8 week olds? Starter? Grower? Layer? I am looking for an Organic Feed and it seem the only one I can find locally is "Graham's Organics". Anyone familiar with this feed? I think it is made here in MI.

2) When is "Scratch" and "Oyster shells" necessary?

3) Should I provide feed and water in the coop or in the run only? When I picked the birds up they seemed a little freaked out. They were panting and seemed very scared. I immediately went out and bought a red/white plastic water fount for the inside of the coop because I was sure I wouldn't be able to teach them to drink from the nipples. Should I take the small waterer out of the coop and just use the outdoor 5 gallon bucket for a water source? I plan to have the coop open to the run during the day. I will lock them up in the coop at night.

4) At such a young age, will they eat from the 5 gallon feeder that I made or should I get a smaller poultry feeder until they are a bit older?

Thanks in advance for the help. *****Am I missing anything?? If you have an opinion or some tricks/info to share please let me know.

Jeff

 

[Percheron chick]

They can be eating starter or grower. If they are out scratching in the dirt in the run you don't need to be adding grit to the mix. They are picking up pebbles and sand that will do the job. Hold off on the layer and oyster shells until they get to POL (20+ weeks) You will probably just go through 1 bag of grower than switch. Do they make only organic layer? I wouldn't really worry about having them on non organic at this point. They aren't technically organic pullets (must start on organic from day 1) but if you just change over when they start to lay, the eggs are mostly organic. Are your treats organic? You can be adding some treats at this point. Fruit, bread, kitchen scraps... Dog runs are good and safe. At 8 weeks, the chicks can get out around the door so add some wire until they are too big to squeeze through.

Feed inside or outside is up to you. I like the food inside because the magpies and pigeons will raid it. I like the water outside because I run a hose to it and it makes a bit of a mess. In the winter, everything is inside.

 

[famousgrouse]

Thanks Percheron chick. I appreciate it. Right I am feeding both inside and outside the coop. The 8 week olds are still getting used to things. I actually have to move them, by hand, from the coop to the run. They are not used to going down the ramp from the coop to the run just yet. They have never been outside so it is a new experience for them.

Yesterday evening, just before I put them up for the night, I looked out the window and saw two of them on the outside of the run. I do hope to free range them, just not yet. A bit darker and I am sure i would have lost two chicks. I think they squeezed through the chain link fence panels at the door. So, today I headed up to the farm store and bought some welded wire. I wrapped the entire kennel in 2"x3" welded wire. No escapees today!! I was planning on doing this anyway so better sooner than later I guess. We have Skunks, Opossums, Raccoon, Fox, weasels, Owls and Hawks. Pretty much every chicken predator you can think of. The run is only used during daylight hours. At night the brids are locked in the coop with hardware cloth securely fastened over the windows.

Regarding organic feed. Yeah... As you mentioned I guess it really doesn't matter. I did just buy a 50 lb bag of organic starter today (they didn't have grower). All treats will be from my Organic garden.

Thanks again.
Jeff

 

[nurse1]

Hi, I just baught my first chicks too, about 6 weeks old. All these questions and answered were very helpful.
What is the reasone for scratch? Is the layer and oyster shells all they need to be healthy?

 

[Percheron chick]

They don't "need" scratch just like I don't "need" ice cream but life is better with it. Scratch can be used as either a treat, something to top them off with as they go to bed, entertainment, a training tool... It does have it's place but only use it in a limited source of food. If your chickens are slow to return to the coop at night, a few handfulls of scratch (any mixture of dried grains and seeds) will get them running. If you need your litter stirred up in the winter, throw some scratch on top and let them do the work. It is also a good exercise to keep them busy if they are locked up for extended periods because of bad weather. If you want to coax your chicks out of the coop, a trail of scratch will pique their interest and conquer their fears of stepping outside.

If you are feeding a complete layer feed, that should be all they really need. It has higher levels of Ca that will meet their egg shell needs. Some hens do need extra Ca if they free range or you feed lots of treats and fresh vegetable, than some oyster shell might be needed. You can also feed back all your egg shells for free. I think for them to be healthy, they do need more variety than just layer. Eating is what chickens do. Scratching is part of being a chicken. If all their food comes out of a feeder, they are missing out on variety, stimulation and entertainment. If you can't let them free range, than give them all your lawn clipping, kitchen waste, a wheel barrow of horse poop, a shovel of dirt... If you start a compost pile in the corner of their run, they will have it worked over and reduced in a matter of weeks instead of months.

 

[nurse1]

Thanks Percheron chick.
Do u know if there is anything other then green potato peels that you should never chickens ?

Here's my fleet

 

[Percheron chick]

This is a good list. Spicy, greasy, fatty, strong flavors, spoiled are on the list too.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

That BR already is looking like a roo.