4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Amanda]

Hello everyone, I am new to this site(isn't it fab) and I got a mixed bag of hens 2 weeks ago, a moran,3 orpingtons,a cream legbar and 2 rhode island reds. They are all 15 weeks old. I am feeding the growers ACS pellets and water and have been giving them "extras"

 

The lady I bought them off said they eat anything and they like meat.

 

So far They have had raw veg ( including potaoes, which I know now is bad for them) sunday cooked lunch, raw sweetcon, ham, grass and salad material.

 

I would like to know how often to give these "treats" and what else I can feed them on, and should I be doing it now or wait until they start laying.

 

Also what are the essential diet supplements or do they get everything they need in the layers pellets once they start laying.

 

When do you give them mash and what grains etc to feed them.

 

Also what should I be doing from a medical health point of view and how often ? I saw worming mentioned, was there anything else ?

 

Thanks ever so much to anyone who could offer advice. I would really appreciate it

[Clur]

I would stick with layers pellets in the mornings and just feed them treats in the afternoon. Avoid raw potato, but cooked/mashed it's fine. Personally I don't feed mine meat - but if they're moulting I'd give them a tin of tuna or some organi cat food. Give them plenty of access to greens and you'll see how lovely and yellow the egg yolks become!

 

Regarding supplements, make sure they have access to grit to help them digest their food. Most pet shops will sell containers of mixed grit with oyster shell for extra calcium. I would worm your girls regularly - I used to use Verm-X (preventative) but switched to flubenvet recently. If you do a forum search you'll find lots on the topic,

 

No-no's apart from raw potato -umm, think avacado is bad for them (?), don't give them much, if any, dairy.

 

Treats-wise, mine love brocolli, weetabix, sweetcorn and will kill for asparagus (only get it if I've forgotten about it at the back of the fridge!). Now and again I'll give them left-over scrambled eggs too

 

Enjoy!

[Hen Watch]

Hi you might want to take a look at these 2 topics in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the forum.

 

FAQ- About chickens - what else do I need?

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1570

 

FAQ – About chickens - chicken treats

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12659

 

I don't give mine meat or dairy (except sometimes live yogurt). It may be an idea not to give too many treats until they start laying and when they do lay make sure treats are afternoons only so they fill up on their nutritionally balanced feed in the mornings. I use Flubenvet for worming which I buy online from Petmeds.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum, Amanda . Nice selection of girls you have there .

 

I don't think many (if any) forum members give their hens meat. We tend to stick to fruit & veg. Avocado is poisonous to birds apparently, so do avoid that!

 

A handful of mixed corn in the afternoon always goes down well. Otherwise just try your girls on whatever you happen to have in the house - they'll let you know what they like!

[Egluntyne]

Cooked potatoes are fine, but raw.....poisonous.

 

Keep them on the growers pellets till a 18 weeks and then introduce layers.

 

Too many treats will prevent them eating the good stuff as it will fill them up, rather like a child not eating its tea because it has stuffed itself with sweets.

 

Just limit them to a few treats in the late afternoon.

 

Meat is a definite no no according to defra. I wouldn't give it to hens so young .

[Gallina]

Don't give them too many treats, or they will stop eating their pellets, which are good for egg-making.

 

Save treats for emergencies, when they won't go in. But it is good for them to have some greens every day if they don't get out to graze.

 

The meat question is a tricky one. It is actually illegal at the moment to feed hens meat (although the law may be changed soon so that commercial hens can be fed on pork), but they like it more than anything. (How do I know? I -- er -- read it somewhere....)

 

A number of people say they don't give their hens meat but feed them cat-food (especially beef), and I don't quite understand the logic of that. Meat passed for human consumption is surely of a higher quality?

[WitchHazel]

Can't add anything to what others have said.. but am looking forward to seeing pics of your flock. They sound a great bunch!

[chickenanne]

I would never give mine meat, wether intended for human or animal consumption. It was made illegal as part of tightening of legislation following BSE and s"Ooops, word censored!"ie (in sheep) being traced to the feeding of meat. I don't understand the details of it, but it goes beyond feeding-meat-to-herbivores (irrlelvant to chickens as they are omnivorous). Unless you count slugs, snails, nice juicy bugs from the garden, and mealworms.....

Don't worry it sounds like you're doing grand though.

[Amanda]

Thanks for advice- no more meat from now on then. I now have loads more ideas on what to give them ( thanks to the forum ) I shall be purchasing a dust bath today & some grit mix.