Hi everyone my name is Bobbi and from the user name you can gather that I know nothing about chickens. My partner thought it would be a great idea to get some though. So I was wondering if you could help me out. He's built a great coop and I picked up the chickens today only three, we thought we'd start small. I don't know what breed they are. They are about 2 years old, we got them from a local egg farm so they were caged chickens, poor things. They've been in their coop for about an hour and I just noticed 2 of the fighting, is this normal? Other than that they look quite happy. LOL. Doin' what chickens do. Roughly how long before they will start laying again? Is there any thing I shouldn't give them to eat, I heard onion is all that good for them but I'm not sure. Any info you could give me would be great. Thanks for the help. Bob.
it will be hard on them at first trying to get their legs going they all disagree when you put them together
Well, your ladies will need some layer feed, oyster shell, grit. Lovely treats are plain yogurt w/active cultures (great probiotic), fruit, veggies. And fresh water at least once a day. You could give them some electrolytes/vitamins in their water to help with the stress of the change in living conditions. And a nest box to lay eggs in. You can put a golf ball in it so they know that is where the eggs go. If they were caged, they probably aren't used to being able to actually touch each other, so just keep an eye out for any serious injuries. As long as they have plenty of space, eventually they will settle down and play nice - or as nice as chickens can be. If you are going to give them a run or let them forage your yard, keep them in the hen house for about a week so they know it is a safe haven. It could take a while for them to settle in and start laying again. Good luck and enjoy your new flock!
If you posted some pictures i'm sure everyone could help you with the breed and tell you a little more about them.
I'm just starting myself... I'm waiting for my 17week old girls to get started laying. You'll find a wealth of information on this site! If you look under the feeding time section, the sticky post at the top has a link to a wonderful treat chart, it also contains posts to potentially harmful foods to be avoided. There are things I never dreamed that chickens would like to eat lol. Well good luck & nice to meet you!
Brace yourself. You start small, a few chickens. Then you get so tickled by them & enjoy them so much that you get a few more here, one or two there... Welcome. There is tons of great reading here and I assure you that anything you ever wanted to know about chickens can be found here. I have only had chickens since March, but I have learned one important thing: The way to a chicken's heart is through her tummy-every time you go see them, take a treat-just a little something. Soon they will come running when you go out to see them! Talk to them gently and once they start acting like chickens, go into the run with them and just stand or sit in a chair & let them get used to you. I got my chickens for the eggs but they give me so much more than that. I can't imagine my life now without my chickaroos.