New and have tons of questions

[stjemmes]

Ok so I had two Americana chickens but one passed away a few months ago. I rescued the chickens when they were chicks because the flock was trying to kill one of them because she has a broken leg. Mind you I know nothing about chickens but had been discussing getting a few hens for the kids and I. Anyway I ended up getting the two months before we were truly ready. My husband built a 5 x 9 coop and they loved it ( hens ). We just bought a new home with a much bigger yard and a garden area. I bought a new coop this past weekend and moved our girl over to the house. The old coop couldn't be moved. Anyway as it stand we give her chicken feed from the feed store and water. Every so often I give her stale bread and left over veggies but honestly don't know what I can and can't give her. She is a very social girl and acts like a dog in the since that she gets excited when she hears my back door open. She loves attention and to be loved on. I have four children and they are always toting her around the yard. I clipped the first 10 feather to make sure she doesn't get over the fence and what not. Now for all my questions


1. What all can I feed her and what is a big no no on foods

2. We live in the Florida pan handle and its starting to get chilly at night....So is she ok or does she need some sort of heat?

3. We want to get at least two more hens... what is the best way to do that? I was thinking about getting some fertilized eggs in place of her eggs one morning to see if she would just raise them as her own.

4. What all should I know about Americana chicken??

 

[jeepguy982001]

lol i'm new too.But you've def came to the right place.I'm sure you'll get all the answers you need and btw you can click on the raising chickens 101 it reeally helped me.

 

[airmechreed]

I bought the book raising chickens for dummies and building coups for dummies. Both will be a wonderful addition to your chicken raising. I bought them off this site at the store. They have info as to what weeds and foods your chicken should not eat. As far as the heat goes as long as you have a draft free coup with ventalation I would not heat the coup. I live in colorado and my chickens all came with a down coat so they will be fine. It will shock their system more if they have heat then you have a power outage and they don't have heat all of the sudden. Anyway lots of info here just take everything with a grain of salt and do your own research. Enjoy and welcome to BYC!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

First,

Next: Here's a link to the Treats Chart https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart I'm assuming she is also getting chicken feed?

No, she doesn't need heat. Search for the thread called "Think it's too cold for your chickens?"

She won't hatch eggs unless she goes broody (Her hormones take over and she won't leave the nest. She puffs up and growls at you or pecks at you etc.) Don't give her eggs until, or if, this happens.

An "Americana" is probably an Easter Egger. There is a lot of information on here about them. They carry the green egg gene, but might not lay a green egg. Ameracaunas (sp) come from a breeder (not the feed store or a big hatchery), conform to a breed standard and will lay a blue egg. You can also find out a lot more about them on BYC by doing a search.

Hope this helps a little. Check out the Learning Center at the top of the page. A great place to start!