Effie in her ICU enjoying her water with a little added Poultry Liquid!
Feed FAQs
What sort of feed do they need? In the farm the hens will have had layers mash. Give them to this at first on rehoming and if you want to introduce layers pellets, do it slowly. Pellets mean less mess but my girls prefer the mash. They can scratch it about and peck at it quite happily. Also I find it easier to mange, especially when mixing in Flubenvet. My girls like theirs with a little water.
Can you get GM free or organic feed? Yes. Shop around at your local store but Allen and Page, Smallholder and Organic feed Company all do organic GM free feeds. That said I gave some to my girls and they refused to eat it. Will only eat their cheap mash. So common.
What feeders and drinkers do you recommend? It really depends on how many hens you have. You can get large plastic feeders and drinkers which are ideal for quite a few hens and will need topping up less regularly. I have found the Mason Cash ceramic dog bowls the best. They are too heavy to kick over and are easy to clean. The deeper ones for 'normal' hens and ex-batts and the shallow ones for poorlie girls or babies. Being open though they do mean feed needs changing daily so only put 1 day's worth of feed in. Water should always be changed daily. But if you have no money, large plastic ice cream containers will do.
Plastic or aluminium feeders? I prefer plastic as the aluminium ones react with apple cider vinegar. They are also generally cheaper.
What treats are best for them? Corn is good, in the afernoon after they have filled up on mash. It is particularly good in colder weather as it takes a while for them to digest and helps to keep them warm. Although this means it should not be fed to them in hot weather. My girls kill for mealworms but they are high in calories so again, only a few. A girl needs to watch her weight!!
What sort of feed do they need? In the farm the hens will have had layers mash. Give them to this at first on rehoming and if you want to introduce layers pellets, do it slowly. Pellets mean less mess but my girls prefer the mash. They can scratch it about and peck at it quite happily. Also I find it easier to mange, especially when mixing in Flubenvet. My girls like theirs with a little water.
Can you get GM free or organic feed? Yes. Shop around at your local store but Allen and Page, Smallholder and Organic feed Company all do organic GM free feeds. That said I gave some to my girls and they refused to eat it. Will only eat their cheap mash. So common.
What feeders and drinkers do you recommend? It really depends on how many hens you have. You can get large plastic feeders and drinkers which are ideal for quite a few hens and will need topping up less regularly. I have found the Mason Cash ceramic dog bowls the best. They are too heavy to kick over and are easy to clean. The deeper ones for 'normal' hens and ex-batts and the shallow ones for poorlie girls or babies. Being open though they do mean feed needs changing daily so only put 1 day's worth of feed in. Water should always be changed daily. But if you have no money, large plastic ice cream containers will do.
Plastic or aluminium feeders? I prefer plastic as the aluminium ones react with apple cider vinegar. They are also generally cheaper.
What treats are best for them? Corn is good, in the afernoon after they have filled up on mash. It is particularly good in colder weather as it takes a while for them to digest and helps to keep them warm. Although this means it should not be fed to them in hot weather. My girls kill for mealworms but they are high in calories so again, only a few. A girl needs to watch her weight!!
