[grumpydad]

you could try asking a tree surgeon for some chippings to put on the floor of the run, if they were deep enough it would let the chucks scratch around in them, i dont get charged for mine.
i was advised not to use straw or hay in the coop, just shavings of something like easibed, or a hemp based bedding that horses use.
get some vikron as a disinfectant, and please be very clean in the coop and run to avoid any problems with bugs.
enjoy your chucks and what they have to offer.
martyn

[hillfooter]

As has been pointed out you aren't giving them a balanced diet and certainly not enough.  Give them a staple diet of layers pellets freely available all day in gravity feeders.  A mature layer will eat 130grammes a day approx.  Keep household titbits and other food such as poultry corn (which can be fed in an evening) to no more than 5% to 10% a day.  If you make grit and oyster shell available don't mix it with their food but make available separately so they just take what they need,  resist the temptation to routinely give them suppliments as the layers provides all the nutrition they need (even calcium) and is specially formulated to provide a balanced diet.  Over dosing on minerals can cause more problems than it solves.  If you want to help them through periods of stress such as the moult you can give them mulivitamins in their water otherwise don't mix them witches potions which have no scientific basis or give them cat food or other sources of excessive protein.

Don't use hay in the run which is really bad for mould and mite and I'd also avoid straw too which can also harbour mites (not red mites but straw mites) and can become very smelly and insanitary if it gets wet and isn't changed frequently.  See this thread for alternative materials you can use.   http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=43689.msg513057#msg513057.

Keep it simple and you won't go wrong
Regards

[Spacey]

Hi, we too live in the 'Ipswich area'.  We get our suuplies from Barnards on Woodbridge road. Apparently Rackhams in Wickham Market is good too although I haven't been there yet myself.

[lukasmum]

You could try looking up Timber merchants in your area... I go to one locally who bale up all their shavings in nice clean plastic.

I buy one bale for £5, it lasts almost a year (Yes, it just fits in the back of my small estate car!)

My girls have a big area to scratch around in, I occassionally fork over areas to the to peck in, and sometimes put down shreddings from pruning bushes in the garden.
Good luck with your girls - they look beautiful!

[newChickenMummy]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I'm really confused now though as I filled their feeder with pellets this morning and they have eaten the lot, they didn't stop until it was all gone! Do you think this is just because they aren't used to it and I should try again tomorrow? I'm worried they will make themselves ill 

I don't give them any supplements, they have water and oyster shell available all the time but I don't give them any corn, should I buy some? I don't give them any bread or pasta only fruit & veg scraps and they have a cabbage hanging in their run to peck at.

I keep their run clean and pick up poo every day, scrub & clean out completely replacing everything once a week and sprinkle their house with mite powder (I will buy some disinfectant from Barnards). I'll remove the straw and see if I can get some wood chippings.

Also going to put a tarp over their roof to keep them dry.

My main concern is the food, will they get used to having the pellets there all the time and start to eat less do you think? The person I got my girls from told me to only feed them an ounce each of pellets per day plus greens & scraps but her girls are practically free range so I guess hers maybe don't need as much pellets.

I feel so guilty now, I've been starving them 

 

[lukasmum]

Your girls are still growing, so will eat loads (a bit like kids and puppies!)
You'll also find they eat loads when they are laying - so just keep topping up that feeder.

Unlike puppies, they do seem to stop when they have had enough!

I was surprised at how much less my girls ate when they stopped laying! However - thats all about to change, as I whizz off to get a couple of new babes to add to my flock!
Qu :tongue2:ite exciting!

[newChickenMummy]

I am really worried now, honey has gone really quiet and is just sitting down with her eyes closed. Do you think she has just overeaten and is having a rest? Will it do her harm to overeat?

[iwantanallotment]

As far as I know newchickenmummy, chickens don't overeat. If they're not hungry, they won't eat.

Maybe she's just having a contented nap after a nice good feed 

[newChickenMummy]

They've just eaten about 750g between 3 birds, are you sure that's normal? They don't look right just standing there quiet which is not like them at all, they are usually so full of beans. Somethings definitely not right with them and now I'm really worried 

[grumpydad]

when they are full they will rest for a bit, just like we do after a big meal, when it has gone down a bit they will be back for more.
keep the hopper filled, how big is the hopper, maybe you need one a bit bigger, or a second one either end of the run, then if you start to have problems with one being pushed down the pecking order, she will always be able to get to food.
we have 2 food and 2 water, either end of the run, just in case of problems.
try corrugated plastic on the roof, a tarp will flap in the wind and they wont like the movement or noise it makes.

martyn

[iwantanallotment]

They'll just be resting after a good meal, don't worry 

An ounce a day is really very, very little, not enough at all, so they just aren't used to having enough to eat and being full up.
As GD said, when it's gone down a bit they'll soon be looking for more 

[hillfooter]

Yes the fact they have eaten a lot is just because they haen't been getting enough.  Don't worry they'll be fine once they settle down.  Don't fuss or rush to conclusions on the state of your birds on the basis of a single observation only if the lethargy persists or they appear to deteriorate should you suspect anything serious to worry about.  Chx can have their ups and downs particularly when they are starting to lay appearing under weather one minute and a few hours later being right as rain.

Nothing wrong with feeding them mixed poultry corn or household scraps including pasta cooked rice and bread provided it's in moderation and preferably in the evening only.  Having two feeders is a good idea if you have a number of birds but unless there's a particular problem with one bird driving another off the food it's probably unneccessary with 6 or so birds. Though if you go away having two drinkers is a good idea as if one gets spilt there's a backup.


I use tarps held down with bungees to cover my run and they are a good cheap solution and you can overlap the sides to give extra shade and weather protection.  The birds quickly get used to any flapping and don't seem to bother at all.  It's also a good dry spot to store things under a such as a corn container and the bulge helps to shed water .  An alterrnative is a corrogated bitumised roof sheet preferably ONDULINE available from a builders merchant.  Not as sweaty as plastic sheeting

Regards

[andreadon]

yes, they're just happy to have had a big meal!

We put two feeders out, one at each end of the run, and they peck between the two all day.

4and a half ounzes of food each hen each day is the official figure.
and any greens you can put down too.
(the greens is what makes the yolks yellow/orange)

 

[Sue33]

hello NCM, they look lovely and healthy, your set up looks great 

[AmandaH]

Well well well, is that what proper chickens look like?   Loved the photos NCM!  My little ex-batts don't look anything like those plump and shiny looking models - mine are thin and kind of threadbare...

Never mind, here's hoping they'll fluff up with lots of tlc, fresh air and sunshine!