Supplement question...

[BigWilly]

So I have the 7 week old chicks on starter feed, and all five are in a 8'x6' run most of the week. The run is moved every two or three days to give them fresh grass and bugs. They are free to roam the yard for the weekend. You can get an idea of the vegetation they have below..

My question is, "What other supplements or foods do I need to give them so they stay fat and healthy?"

Thanks in advance !

 

[Den in Penn]

Nothing. The chick starter is complete. With the stuff they find they should be happy. Now if you want to give them more you can. If you plan you moves, leave the grass grow a little where you going to move it to. Longer grass last longer and it harbors more bugs.

 

[BigWilly]

OK, Thats sounds good.
What about crushed shells? Someone said this helps them digest their food...

 

[devora]

OK, Thats sounds good.
What about crushed shells? Someone said this helps them digest their food...

They need two different things that are often confused: grit and calcium.

Grit they will find in your dirt. Tiny tiny rocks they use for digestion. You can also buy grit and give it to them if you like (your gorgeous lawn looks like it was grown on faerie wings so maybe there is no grit in there) (sorry, I have lawn envy).

Many folks use oyster shells as supplement after they start laying. I give it free choice. Some folks use egg shells.

How do you move that wonderful run? It looks like it'd weigh a thousand pounds.

 

[BigWilly]

Lawn envy! LOL. I think it was just a nice sunny day. My lawn is like many, I have good spots and bad.
In the back there are trees and you cant get much to grow in the shade.

My buddy helped me lift the run and move it the first time. It's really not that heavy, but after doing it once I knew I didnt want to wrestle with it very often, so I added wheels to the run. Someone on the site posted a lever type gadget they came up with which looked pretty simple.
The coop and the run are connected with a few latches. To move it now, I disconnet the coop, flip the lever with the wheels forward on the run and lift the one end like a giant wheel barrel. The wheels are placed about 1/3 of the way in so you dont need to carry too much weight. The pic below shows the wheels on the run. I have one on each side. There is also a stop I added to stop the lever from flipping all the way forward. I took this pic before that was on.
It's seemed to work really well so far. I'll take some pics of it in action today or tomorrw. Pretty cool set up.

 

[BigWilly]

Here is a link to the wheel set up on a chicken tractor.
http://avianaquamiser.com/posts/Wheel_lift_for_a_chicken_tractor/

 

[BigWilly]

Below is a link to a thread that gives more detail on the run.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/676018/movable-run