New to this!!!

[Sharon Bush]

Hey Sharon, glad you're enjoying your little flock. general recommendation for back yard flock is 4 s.f. of open space in coop per bird, and 10 s.f. in run per bird. Depending on they layout of your little coop, perhaps you could easily expand the space in there as well. As for treats: many flock owners give too many b/c it's fun to see the birds enjoy them. Too many treats often = low protein diet, high fat diet which can lead to behavioral problems as well as obesity. The bird develops a lot of visceral fat which can lead to reproductive issues. I limit my birds treats to a few extra garden veggies, all the weeds and insects they can glean from my yard. I save scratch for the times i need to call them back into their run. My flock gets fermented feed.

So you think if I let them out ..an I throw them some scratch, they will come back to their home ?

 

[Sharon Bush]

Welcome!
Chickens are fun to have and they pay their rent with eggs! So yea...great to have around. We throw ours about a hand full of scratch a day, outside of that, just layer feed. We let ours out a few hours a day to free range as well. However, we don't let them free range if they are new to us, at least for a few weeks, just to ensure they know and trust their coop.

 

[Sharon Bush]

How old are your girls? I treat my birds every day but I often give scratch and peck feed or pigeon feed. It's just food but different than their regular stuff and they love to scratch around in the yard.
Treats should only be about 10% of their daily feed if I recall correctly.
Shorter days could be affecting production.

They are between 22 and 24 weeks of age ..a couple may be a couple of weeks older, two had a lot of feathers when I bought them ..You know I bought them dried crickets and dried meal worms and they won't touch them, they may eat them when I am not looking, but they go crazy for seeds! I have been giving them treats morning and evening ...like I did when they were babies ..but I think I am giving them too much because they are not eating their layer crumbles like they should

 

[rjohns39]

How old are your girls? I treat my birds every day but I often give scratch and peck feed or pigeon feed. It's just food but different than their regular stuff and they love to scratch around in the yard.
Treats should only be about 10% of their daily feed if I recall correctly.
Shorter days could be affecting production.

Yup, Treats should never be more than 10% of their diet. I personally prefer high protein treats such as meal worms. Occasionally, I'll give them a can of pink salmon or a can of tuna. Shorter days will result in less eggs.

 

[Sharon Bush]

Welcome to BYC!

Unfortunately, commercial coops vastly inflate the number of chickens that a coop/run can comfortably hold. They use crowded commercial chicken numbers for spacing while most hobby chicken owners prefer to provide more space. My 8-chicken coop/run from Tractor Supply is barely okay for three. That, pricing and flimsy construction are why I will never buy another commercial coop again. Fortunately, there is both a forum area and a section of articles specifically covering coops that are excellent resources for building your own.

I know right? This one has wheels and I was so excited because I wanted to move it from area to area, but it cannot be moved ..too flimsy ...now we have built on the new and larger run, so I bring the grass to them LOL ....My husband will build a better house/coop for them when needed. I think he just wanted to make sure this was what I wanted to do and I love them ! I hve been cleaning their poop out of their house every morning ...I can't stand to think they are walking in it ...I want it to always smell as best as it can ...you know ?

 

[rjohns39]

This can give you an idea of the protein in different types of feed ingredients.

 

[Sharon Bush]

Hey Sharon, glad you're enjoying your little flock. general recommendation for back yard flock is 4 s.f. of open space in coop per bird, and 10 s.f. in run per bird. Depending on they layout of your little coop, perhaps you could easily expand the space in there as well. As for treats: many flock owners give too many b/c it's fun to see the birds enjoy them. Too many treats often = low protein diet, high fat diet which can lead to behavioral problems as well as obesity. The bird develops a lot of visceral fat which can lead to reproductive issues. I limit my birds treats to a few extra garden veggies, all the weeds and insects they can glean from my yard. I save scratch for the times i need to call them back into their run. My flock gets fermented feed.

Fermented feed ...where do I find fermented feed ...is that best for them? I do feed them spinach ...they lubs spinach...and popcorn ..no salt...

 

[Sharon Bush]

Yup, Treats should never be more than 10% of their diet. I personally prefer high protein treats such as meal worms. Occasionally, I'll give them a can of pink salmon or a can of tuna. Shorter days will result in less eggs.

Suppose I give them artificial light as the days get shorter, will they help with the egg laying ?

 

[rjohns39]

Suppose I give them artificial light as the days get shorter, will they help with the egg laying ?

Yes. Some folks prefer to go all natural and just live with the seasonality while others ensure they have 14-16 hours light per day. I'm in the former group.

 

[Sharon Bush]

Yes. Some folks prefer to go all natural and just live with the seasonality while others ensure they have 14-16 hours light per day. I'm in the former group.

So you do or do not think it is a good idea ...They just started laying ..I hate for them to stop now ! I like those brown eggs! HawkEye ..that is the 2nd oldest.. named Hawkeye because loves to get in my face with one side of her face ...and she looks just like a hawk when she does that ...hawkeye ..laid 3 eggs with double yolks..only 3...