m.hubbard 1 Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 hey all im new to the world of keeping chickens .iv read afew books sufed the web for info but theres afew things id like to clear up. questions i now thay have seasons for laying but do thay lay in the winter? how and what is the best feed for fattening them up .i under stand diffrent breeds just wont fatten up as thay are just layers . id like to stick to an organic feed too. at present i have 1 blackrock thre brown hens that iv tryed to find a breed type but carnt .if it helps thay look like a battery hen well in every pic i see of one thats what thay look like and 1 small white bantam. i was given them and the age and history is anyones guess but should i be gettibg eggs off them this time of year . im feeding them wheat everyday with fresh water and grit .thay are free to rome around my garden in the day and thay seem to make there own way bck at nite .my garden is 5m wide and about 40 or 50 ft long . and all thay seem to do is eat scratch and arggue over the worms thay find . thay have a 3x4ft shed that i have built with perches and nest boxes built within . sorry no pics yet as i know this would help with the i.d of the birds .i'll try and get sum up later. i hope this is enough for them if anyone can see anthing wrong please let me now .m Quote Link to post Share on other sites
akton 15 Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 cook them some spaghetti and watch them leg it over to you,they go beserk, their eyes focus in on the strands of spaghetti as though its the biggest worm they have seen. I feed mine a mixture of corn/barley mix as well as layers pellets, these contain all the necessary stuff for them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
steviebhoy 0 Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 hey all im new to the world of keeping chickens .iv read afew books sufed the web for info but theres afew things id like to clear up. questions i now thay have seasons for laying but do thay lay in the winter? how and what is the best feed for fattening them up .i under stand diffrent breeds just wont fatten up as thay are just layers . id like to stick to an organic feed too. at present i have 1 blackrock thre brown hens that iv tryed to find a breed type but carnt .if it helps thay look like a battery hen well in every pic i see of one thats what thay look like and 1 small white bantam. i was given them and the age and history is anyones guess but should i be gettibg eggs off them this time of year . im feeding them wheat everyday with fresh water and grit .thay are free to rome around my garden in the day and thay seem to make there own way bck at nite .my garden is 5m wide and about 40 or 50 ft long . and all thay seem to do is eat scratch and arggue over the worms thay find . thay have a 3x4ft shed that i have built with perches and nest boxes built within . sorry no pics yet as i know this would help with the i.d of the birds .i'll try and get sum up later. i hope this is enough for them if anyone can see anthing wrong please let me now .m if you are wanting eggs then get them on layers pellets right away, if they are over 6 months then you should see some eggs within 2/3 weeks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m.hubbard 1 Posted November 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 cheers guys for the info iv only had them 3wks so hopfuly thay are just about settled in . not sure how to take the spaghetti are you serious ? i'll go have a look for sum layers pellets today.m Quote Link to post Share on other sites
akton 15 Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 cheers guys for the info iv only had them 3wks so hopfuly thay are just about settled in . not sure how to take the spaghetti are you serious ? i'll go have a look for sum layers pellets today.m Just try it and you will see what I mean ,let me know how they re act as I said before get a mix of corn/barley seeds and even try frozen sweetcorn just defrost it and feed them that as a supplement Mine have all kinds of food scraps,bread,pasta,carrots any kitchen waste, potato skins but need cooking and mix with some seeds,this bulks them up Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m.hubbard 1 Posted November 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 cheers akton i'll have to give them sum later so i'll let you know. i give them the veg peelings from the kitchen . so i take it thay will eat most things like bugs corn .m Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Back Stabbath 1 Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 hey all im new to the world of keeping chickens .iv read afew books sufed the web for info but theres afew things id like to clear up. questions i now thay have seasons for laying but do thay lay in the winter? how and what is the best feed for fattening them up .i under stand diffrent breeds just wont fatten up as thay are just layers . id like to stick to an organic feed too. at present i have 1 blackrock thre brown hens that iv tryed to find a breed type but carnt .if it helps thay look like a battery hen well in every pic i see of one thats what thay look like and 1 small white bantam. i was given them and the age and history is anyones guess but should i be gettibg eggs off them this time of year . im feeding them wheat everyday with fresh water and grit .thay are free to rome around my garden in the day and thay seem to make there own way bck at nite .my garden is 5m wide and about 40 or 50 ft long . and all thay seem to do is eat scratch and arggue over the worms thay find . thay have a 3x4ft shed that i have built with perches and nest boxes built within . sorry no pics yet as i know this would help with the i.d of the birds .i'll try and get sum up later. i hope this is enough for them if anyone can see anthing wrong please let me now .m Corn should get them fairly ripe for the table. Give em all sorts, Give grass if they've already ripped all the grass in the run up, they like it and its good for them. Give any spare cabbage leaves, fresh beetroot, anything from your veg garden. You'll have the healthiest chucks around! The main thing is to have variety. Also give some millet, like a budgie mix, just for variety. A mix of oats, wheat, barley and whatever is great. When you're digging the garden, throw em in some worms that you find. They will eat some table scraps. Leftover plain rice (esp. brown), plain pasta (no butter, pref.), bits of bread, potato, carrot etc. Avoid feeding anything processed or sweet like buns or the like. Layers pellets are fine, but its sort of like the equivilant of processed junk food for humans. If you vcan get a good quality, organic one with specific defined ingredients then go for it, but they are not necessary with a good fresh diet. And like you mentioned, they need to have grit, for good strong egg shells and grinding since they dont hull their seeds. A bird like a budgie does not need grit, its actually harmful to seed hulling birds. You wont really need to fatten them, they will get everything they need from this. You don't want them to be fat, you want meat. You want to avoid excess fat. (well I do anyway). If they put on weight quickly, its gonna be fat. If you keep them gaining weight at a slower pace, its going to be lovely meat. Don't slaughter too early. Nothing better than home grown, free-range chicken. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m.hubbard 1 Posted December 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 cheers for that back stabbath when i talk about fatting them up i ment for meat not for the fat on them .iv bin feeding them wheat plain pasta scraps from the kitchen and all the old veg we dont want fromt he allotment fto so there on a very healthy diet i hope .lol i bought a tub of dried worms from the pet shop and thay whent crackers just the same when i dug over my boarders in the garden .i thought thay would stay well clear but no just like the dog thay was right under my feet just waiting to see the worms before the others did.lol once again thanks for the advice.m Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bullterrier Posted December 13, 2008 Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 cheers for that back stabbath when i talk about fatting them up i ment for meat not for the fat on them .iv bin feeding them wheat plain pasta scraps from the kitchen and all the old veg we dont want fromt he allotment fto so there on a very healthy diet i hope .lol i bought a tub of dried worms from the pet shop and thay whent crackers just the same when i dug over my boarders in the garden .i thought thay would stay well clear but no just like the dog thay was right under my feet just waiting to see the worms before the others did.lol once again thanks for the advice.m nearly killed a few chickens over the years digging on the allotment they live dangerous some times Quote Link to post Share on other sites
milo2005 0 Posted December 13, 2008 Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 i have 12 black hens ,trio of shamo's get them on layers mate wheat is for the malt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Back Stabbath 1 Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Sounds like you're gonna have some very healthy, happy and tasty chickens there m.hubbard!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m.hubbard 1 Posted December 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 cheers i like to think so as thats what im hoping for .iv ordered them other for the meat so hopfully i can stay away from supermarket trash . i allways thought chickens to be shy but f**k there mad iv got a dog an im sure it's all way the chickens that start the chasing .lol bullterrier thay are on layers but only a small amount and i forgot to say alltho thay want need it i suplement there grit to it's only a small bowl full every few days but it's all gone buy the second day. the is my black rock and white pekin and two of 3 of the goldline her tale feathers look abit rough not sure why but iv not had them to long and it was like that when i got her. cheers.m Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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