Goodmorning newbie here.

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Anonymous

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Goodmorning to you all!

My first ever post of many I hope.
I became a chicken owner yesterday at 11:30 am of 3 very pretty red hens. (no clue what they are)
At 1:20 we recieved our first egg, I thought we would have to wait a while for them to settle in?

So my first question, I cleaned out the poop from the tray this morning and was literally 'hen pecked' by the hens. I have 3 chidren who are desperate to be involved (although they are MINE :-)) but I dont want them to be pecked. Any help would be great thankyou.
 
Well I checked on a website about the food it said 130g per bird. So I have for the two days I have had them put in 390g of food for 3 birds. Should I be feeding them more? They are having layers pellets and yesterdays left over pasta. I have been feeding them the pellets allowence in the morning then giving them leftover bits after they have eaten the food.
 
As they are new and in a very different enviroment, the pecking will be natural, they just need a little time to get used to their new surroundings. Feeding I give mine ad lib 24/7, chooks don't usually over eat as chooks are grazers and do like to scratch around for food throughout the day :)
 
Hi, they should have pellets ad-lib- they will eat as much as they want .Too many treats/pasta willmake them fat and they will eat less pellets which contain all they need- so be careful on the treats and give them pellets 24/7 -they will only eat what they need.
regards, David :)
 
Hi thanks for that. I gave them some more pellets so I guess they must be hungary. We had two more eggs today, must be hard work making those!

Do you think it would be okay to let them out in the garden or should I wait. Also how much damage will they do? Every time I open the door they try to escape. If I should let them into the garden should I clip their wing first or just see if they try to escape?

Sorry about all the questions, great site!
 
Hi, if you just open the door and let them come out in their own time- try to stay calm and not frighten them- they should be fine-once they have settled in they will know where their coop is.
regards, David :)
 
I really want to let them out, but what about their wings and my garden?
 
Hi, they wont fly very far- and as for your garden- have you not got them in a run? you may need to wire a section off to start with- they will dig and eat some plants and make a mess.
regards, David :)
 
Welcome! We feed free choice all the time as well, they seem to know how much they need to eat, unlike me :lol:

As for your garden, unless you're willing to lose plants, you'll need to either fence them out or fence them in - or they will go scratch in any and all flower beds, dig dust bath holes, and eat any yummy looking veggies. :o

What luck on the early eggs - but don't be surprised if they quit for awhile as they get settled. The eggs you've gotten were ones already in the pipeline, so to speak. Still, what a nice bonus for you.

Welcome again, glad to meet you.
 
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