Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Gigervamp

Bettlemama,If the chick was under Phantom, maybe she'll take over the mum role. Does she make a kind of purring noise, or a low bokbokbok sound? That's the sound my broodies make to their chicks. It's different to the sound they make when they're sitting on eggs and get disturbed.

I've noticed that chicks are still wobbly on their feet for the first couple of days or so.

I think I'd get a brooder box ready just in case and just keep a very close eye on them. If it looks like going pear shaped with the broodies, whip the chick out.

Don't forget you'll need chick crumbs for feeding and pop some marbles or clean pebbles in the water so that the chick doesn't drown itself.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

metherer

Hi hi

We're washing it, putting on a little surgical spirit, and then finishing off with a coating of mineral oil to smother everything.

She's walking on it a lot better now, it definitely seems to be helping.

Shortie

Evening all

I checked on the chooks when I got home tonight and the poorly footed one does thankfully seem better. Not perfect, but better. The poorly foot is still swollen but it's now an equal swelling rather than bulbous so I'm hoping it's the fluid draining / moving out into the tissues to go away?

She was walking on it much better when I popped over, and was being her usual social self with the other chooks. She was even darting around like a nutter for the dried meal worms which was good to see. i suspect she over did it though as after the feeding frenzie she was limping again.

As I'm sure chooks don't think like my cats do, and won't be cheeky with the limping for sympathy, I guess it was just over exercised? Which means it is healing - yay!

Thanks you for asking

Shortie

Oh and, what dpes everyone feed their chooks?

I have been giving them layers pellets (as they are ex-batts so believe this is what they need), crushed baked egg shells mixed in, and a seperate bowl of oyster shell. They have dirt etc to scratch around in so doen't seem to have had digestive issues yet to need grit too..

But well, I hear conflicting advice for stepping outside of this. I hear some places say that pellets is the best all round thing to give chooks, but then a friend of my sister who doesn't have ex-batts but some huge birds (I've not seen them, they're in S.Ireland) feeds hers mostly kitchen scraps and they are really healthy chooks and lay beautiful eggs...

So, if you feed alternatives to pellets, how do you know what the right nutritional mix is for them and how do you get cheap protein etc for the chooks (my girls don't have any reign of my flowered garden to get the bugs - they have a mainly concrete based with a mix of earth and strayed-from-run straw covering it.)

I'm starting to try the girls on alternative things for late afternoon treats - they get a spinkling of corn or dried meal worm (gosh they are expensive!!), or crumbled home made sponge cake which they seem to love. They enjoyed themselves some bubble & squeak mix the other day (post roart dinner but pre next day frying). Other than that I'm still fairly unsure to to feed them

HeatherintheHills

Uuuuuhhhh, just finished a late shift. Not sure if I should go to bed or stay up and see the dawn in with the chooks :rotfl:

Spirit thanks for reminding me of dtl, some of their setups are amazing!

Giger sorry about the lost chick, sounds like the rest are doing great though :j

Shortie, in the morning I feed mine on layers mash, which is a real pain as it clogs in the gravity feeders. When I've tried them on pellets they wanted nothing to do with them. I also scatter a bit of mixed grain for them to scratch in the afternoon and give them any kitchen scraps I have. At bedtime they get some dried mealworms, usually dried but occasionally live.

Today I tried something I read about on dlt, drop peas into a basin of water and let them play "apple bobbing". They loved it and it got them drinking a bit more on a very humid afternoon too. It was so funny to watch them :rotfl:

spirit

Just so that Martin's site doesn' get into any trouble wih DEFRA, it is actally illegal to feed our hens on kitchen scraps http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Smallholders/DG_189309

I have 5 ex batts (for 10 months now) and 6 hybrids. None of them will eat pellets dry, i have to make a warm mash of them for them to be eaten. They all have layers mash (meal) available all day. Some days they have a green leafy cabbage which i put in a hanging basket and suspended from the run roof with a bungee cord.

I grow stuff like spinach and beetroot etc which I will chuck in the basket for them. it keeps the food clean and is fun for them to eat it through the wires.

I only feed corn as a scatter in the colder months since it heats them up a bit and can cause aggression. this time of year they get dried mealworms (cheaper on fleabay). I stopped getting the live ones when a more experienced keeper on dtl said they can scratch the hens throat on the way down.

Gigervamp

Mine get layers pellets during the day and corn in the afternoon. We sometimes buy dried mealworms for them from Nature's Grub as a 2 kilo bag works out so much cheaper than buying smaller amounts from the shops.

We always check out the fresh fruit and veg in the reductions when we go to the supermarket. The other day I got a Galia melon and sliced that up for them, which they loved.

Late summer when the brambles are full, they love the blackberries. Luckily, our place is surrounded by brambles so it's a regular treat for them.

Shortie

Thanks everyone on the feeding suggestions - I'm especially loving the 'pea bobbing' and giving them fresh veg in a hanging basket!

So, do I need to reduce down the pellets I give them if I give them fresh fruit, veg, dried meal worm and corn (any mix of)? The packets says 100g of pellets per chook, sometimes there is some left, sometimes it's like someone licked the bowl clean. But I don't want to overfeed my ladies so should I reduce the pellet quantities if I supliment with other fresh things, or will the become deficient in a nutrient that they get from the pellets? - I hope that makes sense - it does in my head, lol

Thanks again

spirit

shortie, the pellets/meal should be available to the ad hoc all day. Only give treats later on in the day when they've had their fill of pellets for them to get the nutrition they need.


mine get the cabbage etc hung up all day as a distraction really. the other treats like mealworms, I gibve them as an enticement to get them back in the run after FR time when I get in from work.

HeatherintheHills

You are right Spirit, thanks for the reminder. I must admit that by kitchen scraps I mean fresh vegetables and fruit and not plate scrapings - never have any of those in this house anyway . If I'm cooking potatoes I do a few extra for the girls as they adore them. Mine love melon too Giger, doesn't seem to matter what kind, they go nuts for them all.

The pea bobbing got quite a lot of extra fluid into them on a hot day. When they had eaten all the peas they started drinking the pea flavoured water, so I shall be doing that again.

I hang cabbages on a string but love your hanging basket idea Spirit. :T