I got my first 4 hens recently. 3 of them are 21 weeks old now, and one ( buff orpington) is younger, perhaps 17weeks but im not sure. I got them when the weather here just got very cold and snowy. Its been no warmer than -4ºc since they have been here. They havent layed anything yet, im guessing this is because they are not only fairly young but also because of a new home and cold weather. When I got them I thought they were laying age and that they would lay, so I bought a big sack of layers pellets as their feed. But im now thinking this may have been a poor decision. I cant imagine them laying anything for a while, at least not till it gets warmer. And the little buff orpington has plenty of growing to do. Is all the extra calcium added to the layer pellets doing them harm or stopping them from eating enough? Feed is only available here in 45lb/20kg bags, should I buy some even though it might not be needed for long? Or is there something else I could supplement them with? I can buy bags of mixed bird seed at the pet store. I tried feeding the birds treats like yoghurt, cabbages, grated carrot, apples and more. But they only eat pellet feed, bird seed and bread. There is deep snow everywhere so they are not getting any grass at the moment, so I worry about their nutrition during the harsh cold when they have important maturing to do.
Since you already have the feed I'd go ahead and use it. If it's cold a handful of bird seed on the side can help supply them with extra calories. Except for green feed I wouldn't give them anything else.
