Cluckadudealoo
In the Brooder
- Mar 4, 2025
- 5
- 21
- 26
Fairly new to chicken raising but the crew is growing nicely, now 14 weeks old. Here's what I've learned:
I bought a bag of layer feed (50lbs), added water for a mash and started the flock on it, not realizing at the time it wasn't the right feed for their age (even though they LOVED it). So I bought a bag of grower feed, which the crew seemed less enthused about. Tried adding water to it and they didn't touch it. So, I went back to the dry and they seemed to settle in to the new food, but not with their same gusto. I started adding scraps (chopped lettuce, a bit of fruit, some meal worms) as a sometime treat. I then allowed them to start free ranging (I've got a decent sized back yard) and they really enjoy scratching and pecking and are usually at the door first thing in the morning waiting to get out. I spent a LOT of money on feed over the past couple of months.
I've removed food from the coop at night as not to entice rodents, even though I've caught a couple on camera scurrying around. Squirrels are also an issue.
I now avoid the majority of nightmare Facebook groups that post pictures of horror shows of what happens to some people's chickens. Flystrike, bumblefoot, respiratory illnesses, Mareks disease, vitamin deficiencies, poopybutt, the list goes on and on. Predator attacks, raccoons, hawks, coyotes, bears, wolves, minks, dogs, etc and graphic photos ... some people seem to delight in posting these images.
I check my chickens poop frequently... when I started I never thought this was a task I would undertake, but here I am.
My chickens are happy, healthy and continue to thrive. I give them new things to do, areas to explore and things to jump on. I realize I don't need the wide variety of items people tell me I must have for my to chickens to grow and lay more eggs. I use sand in my coop and after using pine shavings for a short time, realize that the chickens don't care what I use. In the wild, chickens didn't have special sand, or chicken safe pine shavings, or lime dusting to protect them. The sand is easy to sift and clean and drains well after a good rain.
I bought a bag of layer feed (50lbs), added water for a mash and started the flock on it, not realizing at the time it wasn't the right feed for their age (even though they LOVED it). So I bought a bag of grower feed, which the crew seemed less enthused about. Tried adding water to it and they didn't touch it. So, I went back to the dry and they seemed to settle in to the new food, but not with their same gusto. I started adding scraps (chopped lettuce, a bit of fruit, some meal worms) as a sometime treat. I then allowed them to start free ranging (I've got a decent sized back yard) and they really enjoy scratching and pecking and are usually at the door first thing in the morning waiting to get out. I spent a LOT of money on feed over the past couple of months.
I've removed food from the coop at night as not to entice rodents, even though I've caught a couple on camera scurrying around. Squirrels are also an issue.
I now avoid the majority of nightmare Facebook groups that post pictures of horror shows of what happens to some people's chickens. Flystrike, bumblefoot, respiratory illnesses, Mareks disease, vitamin deficiencies, poopybutt, the list goes on and on. Predator attacks, raccoons, hawks, coyotes, bears, wolves, minks, dogs, etc and graphic photos ... some people seem to delight in posting these images.
I check my chickens poop frequently... when I started I never thought this was a task I would undertake, but here I am.
My chickens are happy, healthy and continue to thrive. I give them new things to do, areas to explore and things to jump on. I realize I don't need the wide variety of items people tell me I must have for my to chickens to grow and lay more eggs. I use sand in my coop and after using pine shavings for a short time, realize that the chickens don't care what I use. In the wild, chickens didn't have special sand, or chicken safe pine shavings, or lime dusting to protect them. The sand is easy to sift and clean and drains well after a good rain.