New and excited.

[donnamay]

Hi there.

I have just got my first 3 isa brown chickens at 15 weeks. They settled in really well and at 18 weeks one started laying daily. The other two have been a bit slack. I have been feeding them 2 slices of bread a day as they love this and I am a bit worried that this is affecting them. What do other people think.
They are my pets as well and I love to handle them. When I come near they will often sit down and drum their little feet. Is this normal or am I scaring them. They seem happy and love their treats twice daily. Whenever I leave the back door they all run to the fence and start clucking for treats. I find them so loving and am enjoying my backyard chickens.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! Happy you joined!

 

[AK Baha]

Hello and welcome.

Not sure if bread is really good for them.Here is a link to the treat chart. Lots of good stuff for them.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

 

[Fierlin1182]

Hi and

We sometimes feed our chickens bread. As long as they eat they proper nutritious feed I don't think the treats should be too much of a problem. Maybe give them the bread after they've eaten their pellets/mash.

As for the "sitting down" thing, do they sit all the way down or just squat? What you're describing sounds a bit like what young hens do when they think a rooster is coming to... do his thing, lol. They squat down and stamp their feet.
My hens used to do it when we bent down to stroke them.

Good luck and enjoy the site

 

[aliciasimon]

I give my girls uncooked oatmeal and chicken scratch as treats. They absolutely love this and it's fun to watch them. However, I try to keep it minimal as I don't want problems like egg-binding (if I'm saying that right). Mainly I want them to eat their laying feed so they get the proper nutrition. I've also noticed that giving them treats makes them bossy. I get lots of baaaaaaaaawk baaaaaaawk baaaaaaawk when I go visit them empty handed

 

[drumstick diva]

think of chickens as perpetual kids, give them candy and they won't eat supper. Maybe give as dessert every now and then so they don't demand/expect it. Make them love you because you are a wonderful person instead of a treat dispenser

. Lets see how long that lasts.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

Glad you joined us! Mine gets bread too, though not daily, as well as other treats. As long as the treats is no more than 10% of their daily food intake and they get proper formulated feed as well, they'll be fine.

 

[All Henned Up]

I have learned a lot from BYC. The greatest chicken site ever !

Mine also get bread as a treat. We only feed about 3-4 slices per 8 birds though, too many in my flock

to give a lot to. Also we feed scratch grains as a treat , but only small amount no more than they can consume in 5 minutes
Welcome and enjoy.

Steve.

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC!