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mgarifo87

mgarifo87

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5 Years
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Nov 15, 2014
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Hello, my name is Megan and I am new to the chicken world! My boyfriend of 7 years has had chickens before but not me and we have never had Silkies before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I have done lots of reading but sometimes you have to talk to others instead of just read
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I currently have a question about chicken scratch, does it have any other purpose than just giving them something to do? I mean I know it's corn n grains n what not but someone told me that it has to do with energy or warmth or something I'm not sure but I got some today to lightly sprinkle around in their outside fenced in space to peck around at and maybe get them interested in stepping outside their coop! Some are brave and others are a little apprehensive lol they stand on the edge of the door and lean down to peck but won't step out lol. Thank you!
 
Hi and welcome! A lot of folks give chickens scratch for a treat and to make sure they go to roost with a full crop in the winter.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! X2, Scratch is a good treat and fine for chickens, it mostly just does not have as much protein as their regular food so you don't want to over feed it (limit to around 10-15% of diet), some people like to give it before bed time since the whole grains take longer to digest.
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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Yes, scratch is just a treat. I like to take scratch and mix it with other wild bird seeds to make a fun little treat at bedtime and first thing in the morning. Helps get them started for the day.

Are these new chickens? They will be a bit apprehensive to come out of the coop at first until they feel it is safe to come out. Don't rush them. They will come out when they are comfortable doing so. Pretty soon they will come out and they won't want to go back in! LOL

And on this note, scratch and other grains are a good way to lure them back into the coop at night. Food is a huge motivator to get them to go places they don't want to go.

Enjoy your new flock and welcome to our roost!
 
Wow thank you all so much! What a warm welcome
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I was wondering why they said night time! I plan on only giving them a handful every few days just for stimulation which is something I learned a lot about with my quail
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I have gone from terrified of birds to owning almost 100 quail and 30 Silkie chickens all since this spring, nothing like jumping in with both feet lol my boyfriend has owned several birds in the past but this is definitely a first for me and it's been a long time for him so we need all the help we can get! Thank you all so much!
 
mgarifo87 said:
Wow thank you all so much! What a warm welcome
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I was wondering why they said night time! I plan on only giving them a handful every few days just for stimulation which is something I learned a lot about with my quail
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I have gone from terrified of birds to owning almost 100 quail and 30 Silkie chickens all since this spring, nothing like jumping in with both feet lol my boyfriend has owned several birds in the past but this is definitely a first for me and it's been a long time for him so we need all the help we can get! Thank you all so much!
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I don't know about quail as I have never owned any, but chickens are terribly addictive. Just ask anybody at BYC! You guys feel free to ask any questions you might have and we will try to help.
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Ok next question
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how do you keep the waterers thawed out? My chickens waterer is in the coop so it stays thawed but my quail waterers keep freezing and I have to de-ice them every morning and night! We would rather not use electricity if we don't have to.
 

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