Prepare/New black Jersey Giant hens

[Parentwarrior2]

Hi from Gilbert Arizona! I just picked up 2 black Jersey giant hens. Looking for some tips on how to prep for them, for the future. I have bought extra dog food for my dogs as a precaution but what do I do for my chickens? I want to prepare/stock up on food but can I do that? Will the food be good? I only have one bag of starter food and that makes me a little nervous considering the time we live in. Any tips for medications I should have on hand?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Feed starts to lose nutritional value over time so it's not generally recommended to "stock up." If you do want to stock up a bit, then freezing the excess would be recommended.

I really doubt that chicken feed will suddenly become unavailable, but certainly the prices are in flux and will probably continue to rise in the near future.

As far as medication, just as with feed most medications have expiration dates, so as a general rule I only get what I need when I need it. Corid for coccidiosis would probably be the only exception I'd make but if these are adult birds or older pullets, they're less likely to suddenly go down to coccidiosis like a chick would.

Stuff you can keep around without issue would be things that don't expire like vetwrap, or items that both you and your flock could use (Neosporin w/o pain relief, Vetricyn can be used by people and animals, etc.)

 

[AGeese]

I've got a few trash cans for feed, one for the geese, one for the chickens, and one for storage as I add birds.