Hey folks, I'm trying to work out a diet to get some hens healthier. Sadly a lot of my research online is contradictory, so I'd appreciate some experienced chicken people to check over my plans. I have 10+ years of experience with chickens, but there is always more to learn and I've never dealt with this situation.
In 2018 we bought and raised three chicks(one brahma and two americauna). They did well, so in the spring of 2020, we bought some more of a variety of breeds. Once those birds were about four months old, we tried to introduce them to our existing trio. We used separate pens, supervised neutral territory introduction, time, the whole bit. They only kind of integrated. Pen had about 13+sqft outside per bird, and about 4sqft inside the house per bird, several egg boxes and three tiered wide bar roosting bars. I've never had so much trouble getting chickens to integrate in my life. We tried separate resources. We tried blinders on aggressors. We tried chicken jail for the meanest offender. Nothing worked. The mild mannered birds were being bullied mercilessly. Some had decided to live off eggs in the egg box instead of going outside and being harassed. The aggressors even tried to kill the meekest of the birds, attempting to sever her spine at the neck. Thankfully she survived and was isolated to her own makeshift house. Once she healed, we started moving meek birds in with her until there were three.
After much deliberation, we decided to rehome the "normal", if a bit dominant, birds. Our thought process was that they would have the best chance of being accepted in a flock, unlike our mild mannered birds. We lacked resourced to build an entire additional chicken enclosure for two groups long term. We found a neighbor with an elaborate, massive free range setup. They were delighted to accept our sassy layers and invited us to visit and have since sent photos and updates.
So we now have three hens(two buff orps and a barred rock) that have been picked on most of their adult lives, at a year and a half. They get along beautifully, with a healthy but very mild pecking order. They share better than most bird trios I've seen. They are healthy enough to lay, but they look a bit thin and scruffy. I've seen no sign of parasites in feces or on feathers. Nostrils are good and breathing sounds clear, and they are extremely friendly. They are a bit derpy, which may be why they were beat up. Gia, now the leader, was so shy she had been living in the egg boxes off if eggs to avoid bullying. Becky seems to have anxiety after having some kind of seizure on the way home as a chick(on her back, tongue out, etc. We thought she had died. We were literally pulling back into the store lot to return a dead chick when she revived. We realized returning her then would likely be a death sentence and kept her). She has anxiety bocks and used to slow "braaaaaaaaaaaaw" all the time in the large group. Now she's quiet most of the time and seems relaxed. Lucia is...special. She has a crooked toe and her feathers stick out funny. She acts a bit differently. She is EXTREMELY people friendly and loves to stare at human faces. And most "normal" chickens want to kill her.
My goal is as these girls go into a molt in a healthy environment, I'd like to give them what they need to be plump, well feathered ladies. My only requirement is organic feed, as I eat the eggs. They are currently on Purina organic layer unlimited with a handful of scratch a day, plus free access oyster shells and grit. In the past few months they don't physically look a lot better, but they've not molted yet. I've noticed some feather eating. I ordered roll away egg boxes to finish breaking Gia of egg eating. I know it was for survival then, but she doesn't need to keep eating eggs.
My ideas:
Would switching them to grower feed with 18% protein help with their molt and reduce feather and possibly egg eating?
Should I add tuna to their diet? How much is healthy without mercury being an issue?
I ordered a bag of dried black soldier fly larvae. How much per day?
I was considering trying to have a grain ferment for them, which I've tried in the past with other birds. How much unsoaked grain per bird per day as a supplement feed?
Black oil sunflower seeds. Too much fat for benefit? Shelled or unshelled? Any benefit of trying to serve the girls sprouts?
I'd love some input on how to enrich their diet so this sweet trio can blossom, but I'll admit I've never had to supplement quite like this.
Edit: sorry for the massive backstory. I wasn't sure how much was relevant.
In 2018 we bought and raised three chicks(one brahma and two americauna). They did well, so in the spring of 2020, we bought some more of a variety of breeds. Once those birds were about four months old, we tried to introduce them to our existing trio. We used separate pens, supervised neutral territory introduction, time, the whole bit. They only kind of integrated. Pen had about 13+sqft outside per bird, and about 4sqft inside the house per bird, several egg boxes and three tiered wide bar roosting bars. I've never had so much trouble getting chickens to integrate in my life. We tried separate resources. We tried blinders on aggressors. We tried chicken jail for the meanest offender. Nothing worked. The mild mannered birds were being bullied mercilessly. Some had decided to live off eggs in the egg box instead of going outside and being harassed. The aggressors even tried to kill the meekest of the birds, attempting to sever her spine at the neck. Thankfully she survived and was isolated to her own makeshift house. Once she healed, we started moving meek birds in with her until there were three.
After much deliberation, we decided to rehome the "normal", if a bit dominant, birds. Our thought process was that they would have the best chance of being accepted in a flock, unlike our mild mannered birds. We lacked resourced to build an entire additional chicken enclosure for two groups long term. We found a neighbor with an elaborate, massive free range setup. They were delighted to accept our sassy layers and invited us to visit and have since sent photos and updates.
So we now have three hens(two buff orps and a barred rock) that have been picked on most of their adult lives, at a year and a half. They get along beautifully, with a healthy but very mild pecking order. They share better than most bird trios I've seen. They are healthy enough to lay, but they look a bit thin and scruffy. I've seen no sign of parasites in feces or on feathers. Nostrils are good and breathing sounds clear, and they are extremely friendly. They are a bit derpy, which may be why they were beat up. Gia, now the leader, was so shy she had been living in the egg boxes off if eggs to avoid bullying. Becky seems to have anxiety after having some kind of seizure on the way home as a chick(on her back, tongue out, etc. We thought she had died. We were literally pulling back into the store lot to return a dead chick when she revived. We realized returning her then would likely be a death sentence and kept her). She has anxiety bocks and used to slow "braaaaaaaaaaaaw" all the time in the large group. Now she's quiet most of the time and seems relaxed. Lucia is...special. She has a crooked toe and her feathers stick out funny. She acts a bit differently. She is EXTREMELY people friendly and loves to stare at human faces. And most "normal" chickens want to kill her.
My goal is as these girls go into a molt in a healthy environment, I'd like to give them what they need to be plump, well feathered ladies. My only requirement is organic feed, as I eat the eggs. They are currently on Purina organic layer unlimited with a handful of scratch a day, plus free access oyster shells and grit. In the past few months they don't physically look a lot better, but they've not molted yet. I've noticed some feather eating. I ordered roll away egg boxes to finish breaking Gia of egg eating. I know it was for survival then, but she doesn't need to keep eating eggs.
My ideas:
Would switching them to grower feed with 18% protein help with their molt and reduce feather and possibly egg eating?
Should I add tuna to their diet? How much is healthy without mercury being an issue?
I ordered a bag of dried black soldier fly larvae. How much per day?
I was considering trying to have a grain ferment for them, which I've tried in the past with other birds. How much unsoaked grain per bird per day as a supplement feed?
Black oil sunflower seeds. Too much fat for benefit? Shelled or unshelled? Any benefit of trying to serve the girls sprouts?
I'd love some input on how to enrich their diet so this sweet trio can blossom, but I'll admit I've never had to supplement quite like this.
Edit: sorry for the massive backstory. I wasn't sure how much was relevant.