| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| eskimobirdlady |
Posted - Aug 13 2008 : 11:16:25 AM
we are getting 4 hens that are already laying and i need to know if they will get along ok with my current flock of half grown,juvenile chicks? should i put them in a seperate pen? i assume that the turkeys will have to be seperate. they are about 2 month old, when are they full grown? they are not the kind that grow extremely fast. will they be ready for thanksgiving dinner? hmmm hubby just thought of something. the layers need to have layer mash and the chicks arent getting that. guess i answered at least part of that question. if i let them free range should i keep them in a "box" for a few days to let them know where home is? peace connie in alaska |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| shepherdgirl |
Posted - Aug 14 2008 : 8:32:20 PM
Michele is right. The younger birds should be fine with Layer mash. Actually, I found out recently that ALL the "Chick Starter" sold at all the feed stores in our area is MEDICATED!!! I did not know that. Since I had a mixed flock of juvinile birds and only about 5 laying hens I had been feeding the chick food mixed with Layer crumbles. When I found out the one feed was medicated I just about had a FIT!!! We were eating the eggs that they older hens were producing and the thought that we were eating MEDICATED eggs really upset me. So, I switched to total layer mash rations for ALL my birds. The only difference, REALLY (besides the medication of course), is the size of the feed bits. In chick feed it's very finely ground. Layer mash (not all brands, but some) is a bit chunkier and harder for tiny chicks to eat.
As for introducing new birds-- I'd still put them in a separate cage for a few days-- INSIDE the area where the other birds are so they can used to one another. I have had success many times putting new birds directly in with the "established" flock, but this year it DID NOT work! Every young bird I put in without that "introduction" phase resulted in DEAD birds--- Pecked to death by a blood thirsty, serial killing hen. Unfortunately, since then, it's been an ongoing issue (she started pecking at ALL the other birds and once they all smell blood, the feast is ON!!!). I've had to throw that particular hen out of the chicken house and the killings have slowed down a bit (I've had a murdurous RAT to deal with this season too!!! It's NOT been a good year for chickens here). The hen's gone broody again and is now sitting on a nest, so hopefully she won't start eating her own chicks!!! In the nearly 20 years that I've been raising chickens I have NEVER had such a horrendous problem like this before. Raccoons, blood thirsty rats, a serial killing hen.... sigh... Good luck your birds Connie!
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
| windypines |
Posted - Aug 13 2008 : 6:47:08 PM
The chicks should be fine with laying mash. My feedstore guys tell me that their laying mash they make is about the same as a grower ration. So my chicks go onto mash once they are done with the starter ration. They do just fine.
Good luck with all your feathered friends.
Michele |
| eskimobirdlady |
Posted - Aug 13 2008 : 1:07:46 PM
thanks darlene. we dont free range our oung chicks because of predators so they are in a pen that is really too small for all of them now. we have found a way to cut feed costs and hopefully our guys are healthy. they look like it. we buy pallets of broken grain bags for $50! there is a huge mixture if kinds including, chicken grower, layer mash, scratch feed, duck and goose feed, turkey feed, broiler feed, meat bird feed, and game bird feed. right now the chicks are not getting the layer mash but the rest they eat the heck out of! the new hens will get layer mash and scratch and of course the turkeys will get the turkey feed as well as a mixture of the rest. i know its not the "scientific" way to feed them but heck who can afford that when you can get this mixture so cheap? lol do you use any lime or such in the coops to keep down the odors? even the pen, becuase it is so small is getting nasty!
peace connie in alaska |
| craftychick06 |
Posted - Aug 13 2008 : 12:29:11 PM
Well we have all our feathered friends together. We have 68 hens,ducks,geese,6 turkeys, guinnea hens and 2 peacocks all together and no problems. They will establish their pecking order as things go but should be fine. We free range and also use laying mash,scratch with grit and cracked corn for our "girls" so they are happy!! I think they are anyway!!LOL
**LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY** |
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