New-What am I doing wrong with my feeding

[kim10261]

I'm new to raising chickens but what I have done for mine after I put them on layer feed was cook old fashion oatmeal,for their breakfast. Every morning they get cooked oatmeal, raw baby spinach torn into smaller peices, a fruit in season or another veggie,i have always put ACV in their water and once a week I will chop up a clove of garlic and mix it in their oatmeal,i have not yet had any issues with my birds and everyone tells me how beautiful brown my eggs are and that they taste so good, now that winter is coming and the bugs are not so easy for them to find I sprinkle mealworm or cook scrambled hamburger over their breakfast and before putting them to bed they get a couple handfuls of scratch,my chickens are spoiled and I like it like that,i am going to pick up some mackerel and see if they like that.they went crazy over watermelon,cucumbers,squash,grapes,cantaloupe...they love love tomatoes...most of all these were fresh from my garden,they liked yogurt and now that pumpkins are here I am going to feed them the seeds and chop up the pumpkin and see how they like that

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm new to raising chickens but what I have done for mine after I put them on layer feed was cook old fashion oatmeal,for their breakfast. Every morning they get cooked oatmeal, raw baby spinach torn into smaller peices, a fruit in season or another veggie,i have always put ACV in their water and once a week I will chop up a clove of garlic and mix it in their oatmeal,i have not yet had any issues with my birds and everyone tells me how beautiful brown my eggs are and that they taste so good, now that winter is coming and the bugs are not so easy for them to find I sprinkle mealworm or cook scrambled hamburger over their breakfast and before putting them to bed they get a couple handfuls of scratch,my chickens are spoiled and I like it like that,i am going to pick up some mackerel and see if they like that.they went crazy over watermelon,cucumbers,squash,grapes,cantaloupe...they love love tomatoes...most of all these were fresh from my garden,they liked yogurt and now that pumpkins are here I am going to feed them the seeds and chop up the pumpkin and see how they like that

You do like to spoil.

Can I be one of your pets?

 

[kim10261]

LOL ChickenCanoe...I was telling my husband that now that we have added 15 more females I need to start growing my own oats...we are adding on to their enclosed run and what I am going to do is frame the bottom in and cover it in hardware cloth so I can plant my own seeds and on the days they are only able to forage for a few hours they can get fresh greens and an occasional bug that crosses their path,and to clean just take the water hose and spray it down of course I will be sprinkling the DE to keep the flies and odor down

 

[Toddrick]

When you worm your hens their eggs need to be thrown away during the withdrawal period. Residue from the wormer is in the eggs.

Yea, but I'm not worried about that residue being potent enough to worry about feeding them back. Nor was I worried about using the eggs for hatching. That's just me though.

 

[kim10261]

ok so today i gave them some mackerel...WOW they went crazy over it.looks like this winter they will be getting mackerel for their meat thanks for that little tip

 

[pdirt]

You mentioned protiens. What kind of protiens are good? Please give detailed examples. When you say broth do you mean just a simple beef broth made from bullion or boiled bones? I have read a list of kitchen scraps that I can feed them they were all vegetables.

Animal proteins are best, because as already mentioned, they are complete proteins. The dog usually gets any leftover animal proteins, but we do feed our extra tempeh (fermented soybeans, decent protein) to the chickens and they love it. I think the poster you refer to who spoke of broth was suggesting just using the water leftover from steaming or boiling vegetables...there are a lot of vitamins in that broth. Me, I usually drink the broth! Boiled bones would be really good, too, but I usually drink that as well! Don't use bullion, though, it's got WAY too much salt for chickens.

ok so today i gave them some mackerel...WOW they went crazy over it.looks like this winter they will be getting mackerel for their meat thanks for that little tip

Thanks @ChickenCanoe for the tip, I will have to seek out mackerel, sounds like a great idea.

 

[Heni Penny]

I too just started with chickens 2 weeks ago. Received an established flock. Also in Mi. We are feeding layer crumbles (kalmbach feed co). And I have been giving them various safe veggies/fruits daily. We use a hanging gravity feeder and a heated waterer. My questions are:
What is ACV?
Is there more I should be doing?

I bought spouting mix to start a rotation of sprout jars tomorrow.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

ACV=apple cider vinegar. To be of benefit, it needs to be raw not pasteurized. It doesn't have to be organic but most raw ACV sold in stores is organic.
Sprouts and short fodder are good choices for winter when there's no green growth.

Since you're just starting, try not to overcomplicate it. Like most animals, the 3 most important things in order - fresh air, clean water, nutritious food.
That's accomplished with big ventilation, a heated waterer or multiple fresh water deliveries a day and a complete chicken feed. They really don't need anything else other than dry bedding in a predator proof building.

Are your birds laying eggs?

 

[Heni Penny]

They are not yet laying. They are on average 1.5 years old and were laying (minus one who hasn't started yet) before they moved here. We got them almost 2 weeks ago. 4/5 were from an established flock and one was from a friends friend. They all moved here together. They were anxious around me for about 1 week. Now they are hanging out in the coop a lot.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

OK. They're probably stressed a bit from the move. At this time of year with declining day length and at 1.5 years, they're either beginning or coming out of molt and it may be a while before they start to lay again.
I'm going to throw you another curve.
Layer feed is 4% calcium and should only be given to birds actively laying and need the extra calcium to build egg shells. Birds not laying, (growing birds, roosters, molters, etc.) Should be getting more in line with 1% calcium so I recommend switching to a grower or all flock type of feed. You can mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with your layer feed to use up the layer. If you start getting eggs, provide oyster shell in a separate container so those laying can pick it up when they feel the need, usually when the egg enters the shell gland.