Total newbie needs feeding advice.

[Grandma 333]

Pictures! Post pictures!
Mary

 

[Grandma 333]

This is wee Missy. She is the smallest and her head is bald. She took ill with a respiratory infection and is now recovered and back with her little flock after 4 days isolation. She has had to have 2 anti biotic injections. She spent her nights in the living room and her days in the summerhouse. Poor wee soul. She was accepted back into the fold with no problems at all and on peeking in at them tonight, she is in the middle of the row of 4 being kept warm on both sides. I'm so glad she's well, she's the hen that my granddaughter Mary chose! ….Alison.

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

Awwwwww, what a sweet girl! Oh, and when I upload a photo, I always click full image instead of thumbnail.

 

[ChickenWaterer]

Wow thanks..that's really useful info. Do I go to a farm shop? On-line pet store?....is there a way to ensure each girl gets her fair share?....grateful.

Yes, make sure the food dish is large enough so that everyone can feed at the same time. However, you should be aware that chickens establish a pecking order and that the birds themselves are going to enforce who gets to eat first. That said, as long as there's enough food for everyone, you should be OK. By the way, the same pecking order applies to water and treats like mealworms etc.

 

[Grandma 333]

Ground up dry cat food makes a healthy treat as it typically has 30% protein and many of the same amino acids (even though the percentages aren't high enough for chickens). Feeding one tinned sardine (or tuna) with the oil (or water), either alone or mixed with whatever new feed you're looking to move them into will provide high protein, high omega3's and amino acids, and if you serve it with the oil, will give them some much needed extra calories to recover from their 'just enough to keep them laying' rations from their previous life. You can also drizzle some unsweetened yogurt over the feed that you're moving them into to promote good crop and gut health (lots of probiotics), but use yogurt sparingly as chickens don't digest it well, and too much will give them the 'runs'.

Thankyou for this info. I'm having a bit of bother with the feeding. I put them onto the crumb and while they are eating it, I notice they have lost weight. I tried them with some cooked greens and they scoffed this. I tried them with uncooked oats and they like this but now I've been told that this is very unhealthy for them! I got some pellets, they are the small kind but I was assured they would be ok for ALL types of chicken. Well, they're not interested in the pellets. I had given them a small amount of berries from the garden. Raspberries and brambles, they loved these but the garden birds have finished off all the fruit bushes. I didn't know if commercial berries were ok (pesticides), so they've had no more. I'm thinking I should just leave them with a mix of pellets and crumb? Cut out anything else? Are they taking advantage of me? I'd be happy to try them with cat biscuits, I am over worrying about feeding I know. Still, I want them to be healthy and happy. So one sardine or other oily fish like mackerel mixed in with their pellets sounds quite good. Would this be a daily thing? Any advice is welcome......thankyou, Alison.

 

[Folly's place]

It's likely that they are waiting to eat the tastiest stuff, and not going for the balanced diet you are offering.
Chickens hate change, and that's part of it too. Offer something and stick to it.
Mary