Take the square feet of the chicken coop and divide by 4 sq. feet. 5.5 x 5.5 =30.25 divided by 4 = approx 8 chickens. If they are too crowded you will have them fighting each other. Also, for 8 chickens have 2 nests. It figures for 4 chickens to a nest.
Chickens shouldn't have a ratio of over 1//4 scraps to 3/4 layer feed as you will notice if given more scraps, your egg production will drop. They need the supplements that are in the feed for them to lay good. Just like we need supplements for our bodies too.
Don't need to freeze dry chicken feed. Put it in a large tote and keep it dry. Crumbles should be feed to new chicks until they are a couple months old. As long as the feed doesn't get moisture on it and doesn't have mold that is the main thing.
Make a long pole that isn't too thick, on the end attach a heavy wire and bend the end to make a hook that is wide enough to go around the leg. Reach up and hook its leg and pull it out of the tree. Make the pole long enough to reach up in the tree.
If you already have the mesh up, lay snow fence across the top and it will give shade. If it rains, you can till the ground up when it puddles and work the ground up so it will drain in ground.
We put the hen that was attacked out on a leash cord. Have had her out for a couple of months. We put her in a building at night. She seems to like it. She is outside the chicken run so she sees the other chickens during the day. She don't get tangled up either.
You can remove the bully and put it on a leash around its leg down by the foot. Try using a small cord and put its' feed out by it. We had to do that to a chicken and it really worked for keeping it from getting attacked by other hens.
You will need a coop to accommodate 25 hens, mine are ISA brown hens that lay brown eggs about 300 per year and only one egg a day. You will need a coop this size: 100 square foot, like 25 x 25 feet. Four sq. feet per chicken. Also a roost and 6 egg boxes, ( 1 box per 4 chickens) Be sure...
Yes you can put grass clippings in your run, but don't put too much as grass clippings start molding if in a pile and you don't want to put too much at a time as the hens need to eat their layer feed so they get enough nutrients to lay eggs, or they may not lay good.