Newly acquired 4 hens on 9/3/12

[Big A Chickens]

Hi

So glad you joined us!!!!

 

[aoxa]

Oh my!  I didn't know that I was a minuit away to receive valuable and educational information.  Thank you very much.  I am glad I joined BYC.

I only know about dogs so raising chickens is a very new thing for me.  Any information is helpful.  It has been in 50s in the morning but during the day, the temp goes up to 90s, so must be drinking lots of water then.  4 hens were raised since they were day-old chicks by a friend of mine who were living in the mountain, always cool and at 9000" high.  It was much cooler, so they must need some adjustment to make.

I have 2 Longhorn, 1 Barred Rock, and 1 Rhode Island.  Longhorns and Barred Rock have some bald patches, but my Rhode Island is the baldest.  I heard giving them protein would prevent pecking, so I have been giving them dried mealworms.  It looks like my Rhode Island is growing her feathers back, but still less feathers than others.  I just got Blue Kote in the mail so I plan to use it on her.  She may be just moulting but I also witnessed her being pecked by others, so I'd better use it them.

Other people suggested to use "pinless peepers", so I got them but I am afraid of putting them onto each.  My husband and I look at each other and wonder which one of us holds a chicken and who is going to force putting it on...  We got chickened and haven't used them yet at this point.

The coop is brand new so for now we don't have to worry about much sanitation problems and it is going to be cooler, but I hope to be able to keep the coop clean.

Thank you so much!  Love your Silkies.  One day we wish to move to the mountain side where we are allowed to have roosters, so I can purchase day-old chicks like Silkies.  Right now, I cannot afford to have chicks only to find out they start crowing a few months later.

Chickens are easy compared to dogs! Don't stress too much Sounds like they are molting to me. Try to avoid scratch - that there is the chicken junk food. Any fresh veggie is good. Raw spinach is fine. I have never had any problems. Actually, chicken is very good for them during a molt. It may sound barbaric, but chickens will eat chicken lol. They will love it too.

Pinless peepers would help stop picking, but I would try other things before. Lots of space is a good key to picking.

Thanks I just can't imagine a flock without roosters. My boy you see there is a wonderful father and is nicer to the babies than the hens are.

 

[aoxa]

My husband and I didn't know anything about how much to feed them (was told to give them scratch and lay pelletts) so we were giving them half/half of scratch and pellettes.  I am going to change that to 25%/75% ratio then.

What are junk food to chickens?  I work for a community college culinary arts department, and I have access to scrap veggies.  So far, chickens seem to like carrots, apples, celery, bell peppers, and lettuce.  I heard potatos and raw spinach are not good for them so I remind students not to put any potato and spinach scrap into my bucket.  Would veggies are ok?  Perhaps not so much fruit like apples and pineapples?  They seem to like lettuce more than strawberries though.

Potatoes are fine if cooked. All veggies are fine. What is good for you is good for them. Just make sure they still eat their regular food as well.

Stay away from citrus and Avocado.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

 

[CayugaLover]

 

[weimarmama]

& from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. Good advice given. Just remember to wear gloves when using Blute Kote. It will stain anything.

 

[Nathan Sampson]

Welcome to the forum from South East Missouri.

 

[Tomomi M]

I am hoping that the Rhode Island (her name is Honey) is molting and not suffering from the pecking. Heard about chickens eat chickens. Yikes! I even stopped eating chickens since we got them feeling guilty.



They were kept in a temporary cage of 4’ x 6’ x 4’ tall for 3 weeks and we moved them to a much larger space of 6’ x 8’ by 6’ tall. We have not completed the coop portion yet, but it’s much larger than before and I hope they like the new place.

And thank you for the list of treats. I have 2 suet cages so I am going to use them for lettuce and broccoli. Surprising to learn about cat food. I gave them live crickets yesterday. The color of bugs were the same with the ground, I couldn’t see any of them but chickens seemed excited. I tried to hand feed yogurt and they didn’t like it. They might like yogurt, just didn’t like spoon I pushed to their faces, I guess. I am going to find a container and give some one day.

Thank you again! I really appreciate your time.

 

[Tomomi M]

I was looking for Blue Kote information and found this article says "A warning about Blue Kote", so I thought using Blue Kote turned bad or something and then saw a picture of a lady who had blue spots all over her face because her chicken shook after she applied Blue Kote on the chicken. I have been warned, I will wear facial protection, gloves, apron, and anything to protect myself.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

Hello and greetings from Kentucky!