[Porffor]

Hi all,
After more advice..

How much should I feed my 3 silkie chicks and mum?

Also should mum have seperate feed or is she ok on the crumbs?

Have been adding feed to a bowl and all 4 eat from that... in a couple of minutes it's gone! I fed them 4 times today as figured little and often, and it all went, but i'm not sure how much to give.. should I just put it in a normal feeder and let them take what they want or will they eat too much? It was so wet today I didn't do this - so opted for the bowl.
I did make a shelter and they were slightly dry still at 'bed time'.


Also.. what 'hours' do you let them keep.. wake up time is around 7.30am for our girls so this morning I took mum and babies out into the small run (the house is inside the big run), they were still tucked up asleep when I opened the house.
I put them to bed at 7.15 as was going to choir, but wondered what is the ideal time. I don't get back till 9.20 or so from choir (sometimes a little later) and it's getting dark then so didn't want to leave them out that late in case they were over-tired.

Sorry if this all sounds so silly! lol just don't want to wear them out.

Thanks for the advice.

[Foxy]

awwww in this case I would just feed adlib chick crumbs, mum will help herself! It is surprising how much they scoff but dont worry they wont overeat. They will take lots of naps under mum through the day. Chicks are naturally born in the spring,summer so they have lots of daylight hours to feed so wouldn't worry how late they go to bed as long as they are safe from predators  as mum will tuck them under her feathers at bedtime!  

[Porffor]

Thanks foxy! will do that tomorrow then. it's only tuesday and thursday nights i'm out unless we have a function, so they'll get a late night. The dogs prowl the garden late on, and i'm on watch when it starts getting dark - they'll be tucked in bed before then anyhow.

[Poolfield2]

Make sure you have time in your busy life to enjoy watching the hen feeding the chicks. Winnie used to lift tiny bits of corn out of the bowl and feed them to one chick after another, it's soooo cute to watch. It seems as though the mum will make sure they eat the right balance of stuff.