New to chickens, have a few questions

[Delani J]

The 20% formula?
How much scratch in a day?

It’s the 18% formula. I usually sprinkle 3/4 cup in the morning and 3/4 cup in the late afternoon. In the evening I feed the food scraps from the day to them. Their food is also always out

 

[Delani J]

You could put ceramic eggs in the nest boxes so they know that's where they should lay their eggs. Also how big is the coop itself? And is there room to add more roosts?

Thank you, I will try that! I could definitely raise the roosts and perhaps add more. I’ll attach some pictures and maybe you guys could get a better idea of the space and maybe have some suggestions.

 

[Delani J]

I know they're new but you really don't want them sleeping in the nest boxes. Yes, photos of the interior will help. My guess is this is a prefab coop with roosts that are just a couple inches off the floor, and perhaps too close together or to a wall, which makes them less appealing to the birds.

Blocking off nest boxes at night can help, but only if there's actually enough usable roost space for all the birds to roost.

The roosts are just a few inches off the ground. I could definitely raise them. I am also very handy and could easily expand the coop itself if needed. I’ll see if I can find something to block off the nesting boxes. Thanks for the advice !!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I’ll see if I can find something to block off the nesting boxes. Thanks for the advice !!

Some plywood or even a sheet of cardboard will do. Once they begin laying, if sleeping in nests is still an issue, block off the nests before dusk, then go back out in the evening and unblock it so they can lay early the next morning if they need to.

 

[aart]

Their food has oyster shells in it.

Actual chucks of Oyster Shell mixed in, or calcium derived from oyster shell.
You could still put out a container of oyster shell.

It’s the 18% formula. I usually sprinkle 3/4 cup in the morning and 3/4 cup in the late afternoon. In the evening I feed the food scraps from the day to them. Their food is also always out

Might want to cut out that second serving of scratch.

I’ll attach some pictures and maybe you guys could get a better idea of the space and maybe have some suggestions.

Excellent, looking forward to seeing them!

 

[Delani J]

Actual chucks of Oyster Shell mixed in, or calcium derived from oyster shell.
You could still put out a container of oyster shell.

Might want to cut out that second serving of scratch.

Excellent, looking forward to seeing them!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hmm going to be a little tricky to get the roost bars higher, due to lack of headroom. And wow there's quite a lot of poop in the nests.

 

[Delani J]

Hmm going to be a little tricky to get the roost bars higher, due to lack of headroom. And wow there's quite a lot of poop in the nests.

Haha yes I cleaned out the coop after i took the pictures. I a container lid that fits perfect for me to block off the nesting boxes. I can maybe only raise it a few inches

 

[aart]

How big is the coop, not including the nests?
I'm guessing maybe 2' x 2'?
Not nearly big enough for 4 full grown birds.

I am also very handy and could easily expand the coop itself if needed.

Get busy then and build a larger coop, save this one for isolation/chicks/etc.