Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[mortie]

Snazzy!

 

[chickenraiser24]

Another question, how many treats should I give my pullets? I only give them a little treat every 2 days; is that too little or too much? I know for a fact the chickens certainly wouldn't mind getting more, but I don't want to over feed them ( I'm guessing my chickens eat a lot when I'm not here, so it's hard to make sure I don't give them too much).

 

[mortie]

Well...you can't give them too few treats as long as their regular feed gives them everything they need.

If you want them to lay lots of good eggs for you, you want their feed to be the majority of their diet. I can't give you a hard number on that. Also depends on what you mean by "treats".

Mine get some leftovers most days. I haven't had problems with overfeeding them, mine stop eating when they're full (leaving the dog to finish up).

So I guess it depends on what you mean when you say "treats" but I'd say you're pretty safe if you keep it to 5% of their daily intake of food.

 

[chickenraiser24]

By treats, I mean lettuce, chicken scratch, or some bread

 

[BullChick]

Less scratch, more vegetables. The scratch is great in the winter. It is a boredom buster by day, and the calories burn away slowly, so it keeps them warm overnight.

 

[chickenraiser24]

I only gave them the scratch once, they prefer lettuce.

 

[mortie]

The bees are holding the wasps at bay this morning...good bees.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Get 'em, bees!!

 

[grandma7]

look inside winterized chicken run

 

[mortie]

Pic from today. These bees are trying to guard the entrance from some yellowjackets that are trying to be jerks.

This is a pic from earlier this summer. This is a full frame of capped honey. They weigh almost nothing when they're empty but full like this they push 5 lbs or so.

This is a pic I took on quite a hot day. Notice the bees that are hanging out on the side of the hive. It's too hot for them all to be inside.

Here I had propped the top up to increase the ventilation and notice there are fewer bees outside.

These ladies are cleaning up some wax for me.