I need advice, suggestions, and Help

[Redsoxgirl]

There isn't a window, but the vent is in the correct place. I have to keep their food & water in the brood area in the winter right? Also I have fresh ears of corn, do I have to cook it before I give it to the girls? I got it in a supermarket so I'm not sure if it's ok to give it to them raw.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

There isn't a window, but the vent is in the correct place. I have to keep their food & water in the brood area in the winter right? Also I have fresh ears of corn, do I have to cook it before I give it to the girls? I got it in a supermarket so I'm not sure if it's ok to give it to them raw.

raw or cooked, either is fine, but don't get in the habit of giving them a lot. Its ok for them, but not great for them.... Like if we ate Dominos every night. You could argue for the balance of the veggies and meat and bread, but we all know its not that great for us.

 

[Redsoxgirl]

Ok. I want to give them some when they're in my garden, but I have 6 hens so how many slices of corn should I put in there for them?

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Ok. I want to give them some when they're in my garden, but I have 6 hens so how many slices of corn should I put in there for them?

for my 12 girls, when I've thrown whole ears in there, I've thrown in three, so there's less fighting.

 

[Redsoxgirl]

Is 3 whole ears enough? I'd rather cut them so there isn't anyone left out I thought a slice of corn for each would be good.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Is 3 whole ears enough? I'd rather cut them so there isn't anyone left out I thought a slice of corn for each would be good.

are you going to separate them when you feed them?
if not, then just giving them the whole ear, minus the husk, is fine. They'll each take turns at each one, instead of them crowding around one ear. They're more spread out and less fights will ensue.

 

[lazy gardener]

For 6 girls, I'd break 2 ears into 3 pieces each.

 

[Redsoxgirl]

No I'm not separating them, I'll put out 3 ears and that should be good. I have to clean out my coop, so I thought corn in the garden would be great for them.

 

[Redsoxgirl]

For 6 girls, I'd break 2 ears into 3 pieces each.

That's what I was thinking... That way they'll each have a piece of corn. But I also like the whole ear so they'd have to sort of share.

 

[Jenjee]

I'm a new chicken owner also and I bought the exact same coop! We just got them less than a month a go and they just started laying. I'd say they are getting about 12 hours daylight. They were freaked out at first but now are settling in nicely. We let them out for supervised free ranging in the yard 2-3 hours a day and for pretty cheap (under 50 bucks) I got them chicken wire, posts, and 50 ft bird netting to make a portable pen so they can more safely free range in the yard in the daylight while we're inside the house. Mostly worried about hawks in the daytime.

That's cool you're getting a run for them, that should be plenty of room. I, too, felt bad for keeping them in a pretty small coop so I found a 10X6 dog kennel on Craigslist for 50.00 and a 50 ft roll of hardware cloth at Coastal for 80.00 and some 2X4's and made them a secure run last weekend. I am NOT handy at all, and am pretty bruised, scraped and splintered lol.