What should I feed my chickens? And how should I water them?

[FortCluck]

You can make a small coop if you have scrap wood laying around, make it like a square. Not sure if you have a shed but you can make them an area just for them in a shed. There are all kinds of ways you can make one especially if you're creative.

 

[FortCluck]

Thank you! I'll look into all this when I go to the store later. I really want to do my best to keep them comfortable and happy.

If your Walmart sells the chicken feed, they probably have a bunch of other things where the chicken feed is that you can get for them. Walmart definitely saves you money and has basically the same stuff as all the other feed stores.

They may even have a heated dog bowl waterer. You can get a big dog bowl and put their feed in it, you don't have to get fancy for chickens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some people try to make this a lot more complicated than it has to be. The complication is that you have so many options that it can be hard to choose. People think one has to be better than the others but that is not the case. Many different things work fine.

You have one male and one female, thanks for the photos. I don't know if that female is laying or not, the white one looks like a cockerel so she may still be an immature pullet. Females laying eggs need extra calcium to form the eggshells. Cockerels don't. There is a chance in Catawba, North Carolina (thanks for posting your location) that your natural rock is limestone. In that case she may get all the calcium she needs from the rocks she eats for grit. Maybe.

To keep it simple what I'd do is buy a low calcium feed. You have choices depending in what percent protein you want. That's another complication. Some people want to feed a high protein feed, others are happy with a lower percent protein. Since yours probably forage for a lot of their food I don't think it matters if you get a 16% or 20% protein feed. If they forage you've lost control of that anyway. Just get a feed that has around 1% calcium. Layer has around 4% calcium, it shows on the label. Get one closer to 1%.

I'd get a bag of oyster shell in case your rock is not limestone and offer it on the side. If that pullet needs more calcium fro egg shells than she is getting she should eat the oyster shell. If she is getting enough calcium from other sources that one inexpensive bag might last for years. I don't mix things in their feed, I let them make those choices.

This shows what I do for water. If the water freezes I just bang the ice out since it is rubber and refill it. If the sun is shining and it hits the black the water will stay thawed well below freezing. The bowl is available at Tractor Supply. For the frame to keep it from turning over I cut a hole to fit in a piece of plywood then raise it a bit with 2x4's so the bowl settles in. By building a raised platform around it they don't scratch in as much bedding. They'll still poop in it so you need to empty it once a day. If it freezes overnight you have to empty it anyway to refill it. Your climate isn't that bad. I grew up north of Knoxville, across the border. You might consider this low-tech solution. especially as it its temporary.

 

[Rravenrose]

Some people try to make this a lot more complicated than it has to be. The complication is that you have so many options that it can be hard to choose. People think one has to be better than the others but that is not the case. Many different things work fine.

You have one male and one female, thanks for the photos. I don't know if that female is laying or not, the white one looks like a cockerel so she may still be an immature pullet. Females laying eggs need extra calcium to form the eggshells. Cockerels don't. There is a chance in Catawba, North Carolina (thanks for posting your location) that your natural rock is limestone. In that case she may get all the calcium she needs from the rocks she eats for grit. Maybe.

To keep it simple what I'd do is buy a low calcium feed. You have choices depending in what percent protein you want. That's another complication. Some people want to feed a high protein feed, others are happy with a lower percent protein. Since yours probably forage for a lot of their food I don't think it matters if you get a 16% or 20% protein feed. If they forage you've lost control of that anyway. Just get a feed that has around 1% calcium. Layer has around 4% calcium, it shows on the label. Get one closer to 1%.

I'd get a bag of oyster shell in case your rock is not limestone and offer it on the side. If that pullet needs more calcium fro egg shells than she is getting she should eat the oyster shell. If she is getting enough calcium from other sources that one inexpensive bag might last for years. I don't mix things in their feed, I let them make those choices.

This shows what I do for water. If the water freezes I just bang the ice out since it is rubber and refill it. If the sun is shining and it hits the black the water will stay thawed well below freezing. The bowl is available at Tractor Supply. For the frame to keep it from turning over I cut a hole to fit in a piece of plywood then raise it a bit with 2x4's so the bowl settles in. By building a raised platform around it they don't scratch in as much bedding. They'll still poop in it so you need to empty it once a day. If it freezes overnight you have to empty it anyway to refill it. Your climate isn't that bad. I grew up north of Knoxville, across the border. You might consider this low-tech solution. especially as it its temporary.

View attachment 1937903

Thank you so much this is really helpful! They do seem to forage for most of their food so I'll probably do as you suggested. Also it seems like they are molting because they are leaving a lot of feathers around. Is that OK since it's near winter? And is it ok for them to eat almonds? I saw you can feed them cereal as a treat so long as it's low sugar and I do have some but it has almonds in it and I don't know if they can eat those.

 

[Cyprus]

@Rravenrose check if you can keep roosters where you live, because you definitely have a cockerel.

 

[Cyprus]

The male appears to be a Light Brahma x Golden Laced Wyandotte.

 

[Rravenrose]

The male appears to be a Light Brahma x Golden Laced Wyandotte.

Thank you, that's good to know and I'll have to check into if I can even have the chickens I didn't think about that. I'm nowhere near the city but I'm still not sure if I can have them. I hope I can, it would be really sad if I couldn't, I'm already kinda attached to them.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

If you have cold winters where water can freeze, get a heated water dish for them. Otherwise you'll spend all your time changing out frozen water. I would get Flock Raiser or All Flock Feed, chicken grit and oyster shell. My chickens have access to this 24/7.

Do you have a coop yet? Will you be building a coop or buying one? Most prefabs aren't worth the money and will deteriorate in a couple years. However, I have bought one in a pinch to accommodate the need to isolate an injured hen. As predicted, it lasted about 2 years, but took care of my immediate need. If a prefab coop says it's big enough for 4-6 chickens, it will probably accommodate 2 chickens. Think 4 SF per chicken for the coop size. Don't think for a minute you will stick with 2 chickens. I'd be pretty surprised if that happened. So, make your coop much bigger than you think you need. Same thing with the run, where you need at least 10 SF per chicken.

Good luck. Happy you decided to take then in.

Sooo true about buying a coop...if you can, put something together because you’ll spend a ton of money if you buy one

 

[Ridgerunner]

Also it seems like they are molting because they are leaving a lot of feathers around. Is that OK since it's near winter?

They may be older than I thought from the photo but that's what they do. Their feathers get worn out and need to be replaced. In the wild they lay eggs and raise chicks in the spring and summer when food is plentiful. When food supplies drop in the fall they quit laying eggs and raising chicks and replace their feathers. The trigger is the days getting shorter and the nights getting longer. Then when days start getting longer in the spring they start to lay again.

We have domesticated them. They lay a lot more eggs than their wild feral ancestors. They don't go broody nearly as much. But they still follow that basic cycle when it comes to molting. Don't worry about them getting cold during the molt, that is a common concern. But they can handle it, that's the way they evolved.

And is it ok for them to eat almonds?

As long as they are not too salty and they are fed in moderation. I worry more about feeding them excess salt than sugar but either in excess is not good. Chicken feed contains all they need for a balanced diet, including some salt. You can't feed too much chicken feed. But feeding too much of anything else can upset that balance. How much is too much? Depends on what else they are eating. Just don't get ridiculous and they should be fine.

 

[Rravenrose]

Ok good to know, thank you for answering my questions