[Flowergirl]

Hi,

As the titles implies I am a newbie and have no idea what I am doing!!

I acquired four chicks (all female) just before Christmas when they were less than a week old and they are feathering up nicely, growing a lot and very cute but I am wondering whether I could add anything to their diet as they are being exclusively fed on chick crumb right now.  Because of the weather I have not been able to let them range in the garden plus I was told that they cannot go outside until fully fledged at 6 - 8 weeks.  I am worried that they are not getting the right variety of foodstuffs.

What if anything can I give them, and is this correct about the timescale in allowing them outside during the day?  Also is the eglu as wonderful as it says on the tin as £295 is a lot of money for something that might not be that great!

Thanks in advance.

[Hilarysmum]

No expert with chickens as mine would tell you.  I would keep them inside until its a lot warmer.  The chicken igloo sounds expensive, but mine is home made.  When they are feathered up you could introduce them to cabbage leaves.  The chick feed contains all the nutrients they need for now, think at about 6 weeks we slowly introduced growers.  Try posting in the chicken forum, they will certainly have answers there.

[Smiler]

Hi Flowergirl

It's been a while since I've had chickies but, from memory, we just added wee bits & bobs like any leftover cooked pasta etc to their diet, and they loved that.  They also enjoyed bits of cauliflower and I used to spend ages threading chunks of (uncooked) cauli on to strings to hang up so they had to stretch just a wee bit to get them.  That gave them a bit of exercise and stopped them trampling all over it too.  If the ice ever goes away and you can find some grass, they'd love that too - just chop a bit off with scissors, but you'd need to bring it indoors first to let it reach a more normal temperature, otherwise they might get a wee chill. 

I got mine when the weather was milder so they were out & about straight away, so can't answer that bit I'm afraid.  Same with the Eglu too - they weren't around then but I had a look at them recently (when I NEARLY bought a field - got gazumped at the last minute  ) - I thought they looked a bit small actually, although I'll bet they're cosy inside.

The best thing of all that I remember about my chickies is that they loved to catch and eat daddy-long-legs' - I'm not scared of much but I'm absolutely bloomin' terrified of them  !

[bamford6]

i would keep them in till april and chick crubs is the best bet for them .give them 3 months then all will be good . you could also give them growers mash wich is good

[Daisys Mum]

Hi Flowergirl  have you had a look on ebay for hen houses sometimes see eglus on there. If you want to go down the plastic house route have a look at Solway recycling, they do some good ones and they are slightly cheaper than ths eglu.

[doganjo]

A cheap garden shed from B & Q will do from about £100, you can stand upright in it for cleaning, put in some shelves or dowels for perching, vinyl on the floor a little larger all round - pulls out easy for cleaning and hosing down. Add a couple of old drawers fro nesting boxes and fence them in with some chicken wire and a few posts.  How do you know they are all female?  What breed are they.  Must be an autosexing breed if sexed at a week old - post photos if you aren't sure.
Food wise has already been mentioned - my new ex batts get porridge with milk and honey.
Good luck - you'll have lots of fun and nice fresh eggs.

[Flowergirl]

Thank you for all your help and advice.

The cauliflower thingy sounds good I might try that, and the cooked pasta too....what age was the porridge given?

In terms of building a coop, I have two left hands so would end up killing the chickens with a falling down coop!

I am not sure what breed they are, they closely resemble the Gingernut breed that get given with the Eglu's.  I am only going on what the breeder told my mother before she took them back to me regarding the sex of them.

I will try searching on ebay again and that recycling website is a new name so will check that out.

Thanks again.

[marigold]

Sounds like you have embarked on an exciting adventure. We boil up our potato peelings and then mash or pulverise them in the food processor adding brussell sprout peelings carrot peelings etc.
I can vouch for the cheap shed idea. I have reused an old one and it is definitely our best hen house. They'll be all grown up before you know it.

[Sylvia]

I would stick to chick crumbs until they are first feathered up, they eat so little and pasta etc. will fill them up without giving them the nutrients they need.
Then on to growers pellets, gradually and adding a tiny bit of other treats at the same time. Meal worms occasionally will do them good and they will love them!
Take them off heat very gradually, first raising the lamp by day and lowering at night for a week, then switching down to no. one for a few days, then turning off by day and on at night until they are well feathered i.e. their heads are no longer downy, then they can go into a dry, draught free house. Eggloos are all very nice if you have the spare cash but, as someone has said a basic garden shed will do just as well!
Good luck and enjoy your chickens, you will be hooked!!

[northfifeduckling]

Hi Flowergirl,
How exciting for you to start off with wee ones! the nice thing is that you can get them quite tame if you have them so young.
I would only start with kitchen scraps and pasta etc when they are off the chick crumbs. I would gradually introduce them with growers mash or growers pellets. I am sure they are developing just fine with the food they get now. It is still too early to let them freeranging, i agree with the others.
I would not buy an eglu new. i have one on long-term loan from a friend, they are easy to clean and great if you don't have much space for your birds. Otherwise every other hen house will do the job! a shed will even be better as you can just walk in to clean it without breaking your back!someone posted pictures on this forum with home made nesting boxes. If you are on a budget, you can always try to source one through your local frecycle or freegle groups, as some people are looking for a new home for their hen houses and are happy to pass them on.

[ballingall]

We tend to give our chicks bread soaked in milk as well as chick crumbs- but we generally have a plentiful supply of fresh goats milk. Cow's milk isn't so good to give them as its harder to digest.

My aunt has an eglu, and they are nice, but its a big price to pay. The garden shed option is a good one, we have 4 Cayuga's who just live in a garden shed with the door open during the day. You can pick up nice, well built hen houses from ebay, but you have to be careful- some are really poor quality wood. I also agree, the Solway recycling houses are nice too, although still quite expensive. I've been meaning to mention this company for ages on the poultry area, and its Littleacre henhouses http://www.littleacre-direct.co.uk/index.html

We bought one about 12 years ago- I think it cost about £120 then, but its still going strong today. Its the Hintsford http://www.littleacre-direct.co.uk/acatalog/Hintsford.html which is £270 now- still a big expensive, but they are great products. The one we have might be a little small for 4 hens, unless you move the run around a lot. But we use it for lots of different things, as a temporary run, a broody coop, a rabbit hutch, for 2-3 bantamns, for poorly hens, even for a couple of call ducks.

Beth