How to care for bantam layer hens? 2 silkie and 3 austradorp?

Question

I have the new egloo chicken coop, and 5 bantam layer chickens. can someone give me a complete run through on how to care for them, what food to buy, and how to pick one up (and hold)? thanks so much, i'm a new owner.

Answer 1

You really should have done the research for them before you got them. i do hope you have food for them already. How old are they? if they are over 6 months of age they can have layer crumbles. They can also have scratch grains as a treat. Make sure they have fresh water at all time.

Are they all hens? You do not need a rooster to have eggs. So if you do have a rooster I would get rid of it now. They can be very hard on the hens, especially if you do not remover their spurs.

You can pick them up by puttin a hand underneath between the legs and the other on the top of the bird. Lift it up and hold it close to you so it doesn't flop around and try to get away. You need to pick them up so you can check for paprasites like mites and ticks. Also for any injuries as chcikens can get fly strike easily if they have a wound, especially under the wings or near the tail.

Chickens also like to eat leftovers. Mine love cooked pasta, fruits and veggies and cooked ground hamburger. I also feed mone dry cat food to help give them extra protein to make good eggs.

You can join a Chicken group on Yahoo groups. I belong to everal the best one is-Chickens 101