water and food, newbie question

[19maycraft]

So I have had 3 silkie hens for about 5 days....They seem to be doing great...still not set on a routine yet....I have to guide them into the house at night time or they just huddle up outside in the run....its been in the 20's the last few nights..The seem to be pretty cold tolerant...I have a really nice waterer that I never seem to see them drinking from..I guess they are drinking when I am not looking...And I have food always available in nice feeders that they never seem to eat..However, if I dump the food out on the ground they go to town eating it....Does all of this stuff seem normal....I got some oyster shell as well...They are about 4 months old so not sure when I should begin to feed it to them...I guess that egg laying is a few weeks away...Sorry so many questions, thanks for all the insight..

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

Ask as many questions as you like. We will try to answer them. For the feed maybe they always been free range birds? If they eat it that way then what you need to do is sprinkle it next to the feeder and the waterer. It might help

 

[okiechick57]

Oh they are eating........some take a while to adjust ........the oyster shell can be fed AFTER they start to lay...... you only have 3 so watching water levels is tough.they don't drink much in winter ,well not as much as in summer. They love to scratch for their food.thats why you notice the difference.........I say put a bit on ground for fun if you want......and leave the rest in feeder since you will have less loss that way.......good luck.they sound like they are on their way to being spoiled rotten little chickies

 

[silkhope]

Hi Todd - I'm glad to hear they're doing great! Mine always have access to feeders but I grab a handful and throw it everyday when I went in their run just so I could hear the rooster call his ladies over, hehe, but they all went crazy over it. I'm sure they enjoy it more then just picking it out of a feeder. That may be it? But I'm sure they're eating and drinking and you just don't see them.

Ashley