Newbie to chickens

[kmcook2014]

So my mother-in-law decided to give my daughter some chickens for her birthday this past week. My mother-in-law raises chickens so no big deal normally, but unfortunately, she lives about 8 hours away in the middle of nowhere Michigan with no cell service and I missed the quick intro to chickens she had with my husband( who doesn't remember everything she said).
With that, she gave us 3 buff orphington hens that aren't quite the egg laying age yet. She said something about calcium( not sure what kind or anything like that), and to change the bedding once a week, besides the obvious food and water, i'm clueless. My husband works all day, so this falls to mainly me since my daughter is 4.

any help and advice would be great!

 

[PD-Riverman]

So many options. How are you housing them??

If they are eating factory layer feed they usually do not need anything else, but some choose to put some ground oyster shells in a pan so the can get some if they want---I don't unless the egg shells get soft----which rarely happens if you are feeding factory layer.

Most all My coops do not use bedding---only one I use pine shavings on the floor and change it every few months or more if needed.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC. PD answered your specific question. More generally, you'll find lots of info in the Learning Centre - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/learning-center.11/ and if you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread#post_3239224

All the best

Pork Pie