Any and all advice for a brand new chicken owner: I know NOTHING!

[StefneyRSA]

Hi all! My name is Stefney, I’ve recently acquired chickens for the first time. I live in South Africa, in the suburbs of Pretoria. I have 6 chickens at the moment: all of them are Orpingtons (2 x full size hens, 3 x bantam hens, 1 x bantam rooster).

Please give me all of your best advice for someone who has never cared for chickens. I don’t even know where to start wrt food etc.

For now they’re living in a makeshift pen underneath the trampoline, while we’re building two beautiful 6x3meter (20x10feet) runs(enclosures) in my backyard under big luscious trees. The runs will be completely predator proof and half of it will be covered with sloping plastic roof sheets to shelter against rain in the summer.

Thereafter I’ll build a wooden coop with built in nesting boxes and perches for them to sleep in if they choose to. But with temperatures here year-round being very warm, I don’t consider the coop a necessity per se.

Here’s what I have no clue about:
1. Feed: I’ve bought mixed fowl food (basically crushed corn with some pumpkin seeds etc) and mixed it in equal parts with layer mash and grower mash. Help, what are they SUPPOSED to be eating? Most of them are still young, haven’t laid yet, I think they may be moulting too as we’re heading into winter now. But I’m not sure. Definitely none older than a year or 18 months. None of them have bred yet for sure.

2. Medication: Some of them have a little bit of a cough/sneeze, is this normal? No other symptoms, and they don’t seem to be bothered, but I’ve read respiratory diseases are a problem in chickens? How do I treat them for this?

Also, one of the big hens has small wart-like bumps on her face. The internet says this is fowl-pocks? (Cr*p, I’m scared now). I’ve been applying iodine ointment with an earbud once a day and that seems to be making the bumps go away, but then a new one appears somewhere else. Other than the bumps the hen looks fine. I know I’m supposed to isolate the sick ones, but my temporary setup doesn’t allow for separation at the moment, and they were already sleeping together for about 10 days before I noticed their ailments, so I figured they had already passed whatever they had to the others by that point.

What other common or life threatening diseases and problems should I be aware of? And how do I treat/prevent those? I have administered a vitamin booster via syringe and mixed a vitamin supplement into their feed. I’m also on day two of DoxyMax-50 for chickens in their water (link of this in case it’s not common in your country: https://alzufeeds.co.za/product/doxymax-50-30g/ )

What should I do in the future? Am I on the right track? Please help!!

3. Cleaning the enclosure: How often am I supposed to remove the poop and how do I disinfect the entire closure? There are different plants and some large landscaping rocks to perch on, the ground is just soil/dirt now (it was grass and succulents for about a week haha). There’s poop everywhere, but I can’t imagine raking and mucking out the area daily.

When they have a coop I’ll clean that obviously, don’t want them sleeping in a smelly gross poop bed. But as for the rest of the area, they’re scratching and pecking in the dirt all day, around the poop, is that dangerous?

4. Sleeping arrangements: Why are they sleeping in a huddle on the floor instead of perching or sleeping in their nests at night? During the day they love their little nests and nap in there all throughout the day. Some of them use the one little perch (a plank of about 2-3 inches wide securely resting on brick pillars about 2 feet high) but I see them on there very rarely. I thought chickens loved to roost and I was planning on building a big roosting perch for them as soon as the enclosure is finished? Will I be wasting my time?

5. Separating/dividing the flock:
For now all 6 of them happily coexist, but I’m planning to add 2 more bantam hens in the near future. How do I integrate them into the flock? And is it okay to keep the big hens with the bantams?

My new enclosure will be split in half so there will be two sides, should I split the group? When do I separate hens with chicks? Or the rooster? I have no idea how this works?

6. Signs and clues that my flock is healthy/not: How do I know when my chickens aren’t well? How do I tell when they’re thriving?

7. Anything else? Please spam me with all your chicken knowledge. I wish there was a “backyard chickens for absolute dummies”, but I’m hoping to learn from all of you.

I’ll post some pictures of my temporary setup and my chickens for context.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

First of all get and read a good chicken keeping book.
Some suggestions:
Talking Chickens, by Kelly Klober
City Chicks, by Patricia Foreman
Chicken Health Handbook, by Gail Damerow
It will prove to be invaluable through your journey. You should do that yesterday or before getting chickens.
Feed:
You want a complete chicken feed. It should be something age appropriate. Like chick starter or grower or an all-flock type feed.
They could be molting but they usually don't do so until their second and subsequent autumns.
Don't give a layer type feed till they start laying. The calcium content is too high for non laying birds (hence the name - Layer Fed).
The food you have for them now is considered a "treat" and should only be 10% or less of their diet. Primarily it is too low in protein for growing birds. At this age they should be getting 18-20% crude protein.
Medication:
Get Gail Damerow's book.
Under normal circumstances they need none. It may not hurt to have some Corid on hand for coccidiosis but you may never use it.
Healthy chickens well kept don't get sick. It is mismanagement in most cases that causes illness. Fresh air, nutritious feed and plenty of clean water is what they need. When you build a coop, make sure it has more ventilation than you think is necessary. 1 sq. ft. per bird is a good start. They can't have too much ventilation. They aren't cave dwellers.

You can put down some sort of bedding in the run like straw or wood shavings.
Here most people use pine shavings. Inside the coop you'll want to avoid hardwood shavings as that can introduce fungus.
I would visit a feed or farm store and see what they have on hand.

 

[FrostRanger]

Welcome!
1. Based on what you say you have available, I'd go with the grower mash since you have birds that aren't laying yet
2. Fowl pox *can* be serious but it sounds like at least some of them have the dry form which causes scabs. the coughing and sneezing could be a sign of wet pox which can be deadly, could be something else entirely or could be absolutely nothing. How often are they sneezing and coughing and what other symptoms do they have? Can you post close up pictures of the ones with legions? Fowl pox has no specific treatment other than supportive care which you're already providing but I think having a closer look to see if it's indeed fowl pox before jumping to conclusions would be a good idea
3. This will depend on your setup, some require daily care while others may only require occasional cleaning. In your case, I'd cover the floor with woodchips or mulch to deal with the poop as the birds will end up mixing the poop up mulch which will greatly cut down on the mess and odor

4. Not sure why your birds aren't roosting, perhaps the height of the roost isn't to their liking? I don't consider them not roosting to be ideal, but it's not the worst thing in the world, I'd just add more roosts at various heights and see if that solves it, but I wouldn't fret too much about it. It's also not good to let them sleep in their nests as chickens poop while they sleep and you might wind up with poopy eggs if they sleep there. The only time a hen should be sleeping in the nestbox is when she's broody
5. Best way to integrate new birds is the see but no touch method. Have the new birds in a separate part of the enclosure where they and your existing flock can see each other but can't touch and keep them like that for a week or 2, then if they're basically ignoring them let them intermingle. Bantams can be with full sized hens, but you may have to watch out for bullying. I would not advise splitting up the flock as 6 hens to 1 rooster is already kinda low, generally you want 10 hens for every rooster although this is just a general rule, flock with higher or lower ratios can and do work, but it's a good starting point. You would generally only separate a rooster if he's causing some sort of problem for the girls and if you separate a broody, I'd separate her until the chicks are a week old. A divider is certainly a useful addition though as it will help in the integration of the newcomers. Oh, and make sure to quarantine the new birds or any future new birds you add as far away from your flock as possible in case they have something contagious. It's not unusual for birds that seem healthy to come down with something due to the stress of rehoming and if you aren't careful, 1 sick bird can turn into many
6. Chickens are experts at hiding illnesses but the best way to spot something early is to watch for any deviation from their usual behavior. Get to know them well so you can know when they're acting off
7. Don't overdo it on treats, always provide grit and oyster shells, always make sure they don't get too hot during heat waves, share your scraps, keep a spare dog crate around as a quarantine cage, don't put up with a jerk rooster, have more than food and water station and enjoy your birds! Chickens are really cool animals and are more personable than one might expect

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thereafter I’ll build a wooden coop with built in nesting boxes and perches for them to sleep in if they choose to. But with temperatures here year-round being very warm, I don’t consider the coop a necessity per se.

Not sure how much rain you get. As long as your soil drains well (like the top of a hill or sloped) or is sandy so water goes through it you might look at an open air coop. There is a section on coops in the "Articles" section above that might be informative.

Different coops perform different functions. They should provide protection from weather. For you that is probably rain and a strong wind, especially when sleeping. Cold should not be a problem.

If your run is predator proof your coop does not need to be. Some people that trust their runs leave open access between run and coop all the time. I like to have the flexibility to secure the coop if the run is breached. On any of this stuff additional flexibility can be nice.

Most people put nests in the coop, usually one for every four hens. A few people put them elsewhere. Wherever they are they need to be out of the rain and where you can comfortably collect the eggs.

The way I establish elevation on the coop parts is to determine floor level. That includes any bedding you might put in there. Then I put the pop door (chicken door) high enough the chickens cannot scratch bedding out but can still comfortably reach it inside and out. I put mine about 30 cm (12") above the coop floor which is also the run floor. Even your bantams can easily hop they high. And they have wings so they can fly.

Next I install the nests. Some people put theirs at floor level. You want enough of a lip on them that chickens cannot scratch bedding and trash in the nests. Some put them much higher. If you have a bad back you may not want to bend over to reach into a low nest. People tend to care about this a lot more than chickens do.

Then I install the roosts. Most chickens like to sleep on the highest place possible so you want your roosts noticeably higher than the nests. In a coop your size about 30 cm should be enough. My full-sized fowl (including Orpington) have no problems flying up 5 feet (1.5 meters) to the roosts and could easily go further but I don't want them too high. They need a clear landing area when they fly down, no nests, feeders, waterers, or anything else. The higher they go the more clear landing space they need. If yours are extra heavy for their breed like show chickens often are or you feed them a high protein diet they may get heavy enough to hurt their legs flying down. So don't go much higher than you need to. Also, a good way to inspect your chickens is to take them off of the roost at night so you don't have to run them down. Put the roost at a convenient height for you.

1. Feed: I’ve bought mixed fowl food (basically crushed corn with some pumpkin seeds etc) and mixed it in equal parts with layer mash and grower mash. Help, what are they SUPPOSED to be eating?

I hope this link shows up as an image. You want a balanced feed with an analysis that looks something like this. The percent protein is one of the main variables. Some people have pretty strong personal preferences on how much protein they need. Some people insist it has to be fairly high, I'm happy if it is anywhere in between 16% and 20%.

The other significant variable is calcium and this most of us agree on. The one I show is a Layer, it has all the calcium chickens need for eggshells if they are laying and this feed is all they eat. It has enough calcium in it that it could potentially injure non-laying chickens if fed over a period of time. The large amount of calcium can harm internal organs like the liver and kidneys, similar to how excess calcium could harm humans. The way many of us get around this is to feed a feed with around 1% calcium to all of them and offer oyster shell on the side. The ones that need the extra calcium typically eat enough for their eggshells while the ones not laying might eat a little but don't eat enough to harm themselves. If you feed them low calcium treats or let them forage for much of their food they may be short of calcium anyway so I suggest always offering oyster shell on the side. If they need it they eat it. If they don't that calcium can last a long time.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...&itb=0&idpp=overlayview&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

Most of them are still young, haven’t laid yet, I think they may be moulting too as we’re heading into winter now.

Some chickens molt (American spelling, not the British. Friends separated by a common language.) their first fall/winter, some skip the molt their first year. As long as you do not manipulate the length of the days by managing a lighting program all chickens should molt their second fall when the days get shorter.

one of the big hens has small wart-like bumps on her face. The internet says this is fowl-pocks?

Probably fowl pox but this is an assumption. Some strains of fowl pox are pretty virulent, some more of an irritation. It is spread by mosquitoes. I know of no treatment. My suggestion is to let it play out. Either they survive and do well or they don't. Sorry.

What should I do in the future? Am I on the right track? Please help!!

I personally do not preemptively treat for any disease or parasite unless I know I need to. I do not want to contribute to any disease or parasite becoming immune to a specific treatment. If I know something is there I'll treat for it. Otherwise I make sure they have clean water and a fairly dry environment.

Healthy chickens can become sick if exposed, just like every other animal on earth. I practice what is called a closed flock, or at least my version. I only add to my flock by hatching eggs or getting chicks from an established hatchery. Many flocks can have flock immunities. They may have a disease or parasite that does not affect them but can infect any chicken that comes into contact with them. So I limit their contact with any other flock. My flock has the parasite that causes Coccidiosis. By keeping the brooder dry and exposing them to it at a young age they develop an immunity to it so it is not an issue.

3. Cleaning the enclosure: How often am I supposed to remove the poop and how do I disinfect the entire closure?

What a common question! We all do it differently. The poop isn't what makes the environment potentially dangerous or smelly. Wet poop is. If you can keep the poop dry it is generally not a problem.
Poop can get wet from rain, water dishes, whatever. So keep the poop dry. If it can dry out in a day or two you should not have a big problem. If it stays wet bad things can happen.

Also, poop can stay wet if it gets thick. The more room you can give them to spread poop out the better. This is purely a function of the number and size of chickens and how much area you have. They poop while walking around but as long as they are walking in a big area it's spread out.

At night they are not walking around, they roost in one spot. The poop can quickly build up enough to remain wet. The way I manage this is that I have a droppings board under the roosts. Poop collects there to make it easy to remove. Depending in how many chickens I have pooping at night in there and how humid the weather is I might clean it off once a week or once every 6 weeks. If it starts to stink I waited too long.

With collecting the night time poop and with them staying outside practically all day every day my coop floor does not see much poop and I keep it really dry. I clean everything out once every three or four years, not because I have to but because I want that stuff on my garden. I clean it out in the fall and by planting time it has broken down enough to really enrich the soil. If I were not so lazy I'd do that more often. With their set-up and other things some people need to clean their coop bedding weekly. We all have different set-ups, management styles, flock makeups, climates, and many other things. We can't all do the same thing.

4. Sleeping arrangements: Why are they sleeping in a huddle on the floor instead of perching or sleeping in their nests at night?

Is this all of them or just some? Younger chickens often form a sub-flock. If they hang too close to adults they might get pecked or worse so they quickly learn to avoid older chickens. This is usually during the day and at night both. Different flocks do this differently, the only thing consistent with chickens is that they are inconsistent.

With my established flock the adults sleep on the roosts and the others sleep elsewhere. That might be in a group on the floor or higher up. Hopefully not the nests. When the young ones mature enough they will join the adults on the roosts.

It is also possible you just got them and they need a bit of time to sort themselves out.

If they did not roost where they came from they may not know how. They may sort this out in time or you can go out after dark and set some on the roosts. It usually doesn't take that many nights of doing this before they catch on. It does not have to be all of them. When one or two start the rest usually follow.

My fingers are tired from the typing. Have a good night and enjoy your fall/winter.

 

[StefneyRSA]

Not sure how much rain you get. As long as your soil drains well (like the top of a hill or sloped) or is sandy so water goes through it you might look at an open air coop. There is a section on coops in the "Articles" section above that might be informative.

Different coops perform different functions. They should provide protection from weather. For you that is probably rain and a strong wind, especially when sleeping. Cold should not be a problem.

If your run is predator proof your coop does not need to be. Some people that trust their runs leave open access between run and coop all the time. I like to have the flexibility to secure the coop if the run is breached. On any of this stuff additional flexibility can be nice.

Most people put nests in the coop, usually one for every four hens. A few people put them elsewhere. Wherever they are they need to be out of the rain and where you can comfortably collect the eggs.

The way I establish elevation on the coop parts is to determine floor level. That includes any bedding you might put in there. Then I put the pop door (chicken door) high enough the chickens cannot scratch bedding out but can still comfortably reach it inside and out. I put mine about 30 cm (12") above the coop floor which is also the run floor. Even your bantams can easily hop they high. And they have wings so they can fly.

Next I install the nests. Some people put theirs at floor level. You want enough of a lip on them that chickens cannot scratch bedding and trash in the nests. Some put them much higher. If you have a bad back you may not want to bend over to reach into a low nest. People tend to care about this a lot more than chickens do.

Then I install the roosts. Most chickens like to sleep on the highest place possible so you want your roosts noticeably higher than the nests. In a coop your size about 30 cm should be enough. My full-sized fowl (including Orpington) have no problems flying up 5 feet (1.5 meters) to the roosts and could easily go further but I don't want them too high. They need a clear landing area when they fly down, no nests, feeders, waterers, or anything else. The higher they go the more clear landing space they need. If yours are extra heavy for their breed like show chickens often are or you feed them a high protein diet they may get heavy enough to hurt their legs flying down. So don't go much higher than you need to. Also, a good way to inspect your chickens is to take them off of the roost at night so you don't have to run them down. Put the roost at a convenient height for you.


I hope this link shows up as an image. You want a balanced feed with an analysis that looks something like this. The percent protein is one of the main variables. Some people have pretty strong personal preferences on how much protein they need. Some people insist it has to be fairly high, I'm happy if it is anywhere in between 16% and 20%.

The other significant variable is calcium and this most of us agree on. The one I show is a Layer, it has all the calcium chickens need for eggshells if they are laying and this feed is all they eat. It has enough calcium in it that it could potentially injure non-laying chickens if fed over a period of time. The large amount of calcium can harm internal organs like the liver and kidneys, similar to how excess calcium could harm humans. The way many of us get around this is to feed a feed with around 1% calcium to all of them and offer oyster shell on the side. The ones that need the extra calcium typically eat enough for their eggshells while the ones not laying might eat a little but don't eat enough to harm themselves. If you feed them low calcium treats or let them forage for much of their food they may be short of calcium anyway so I suggest always offering oyster shell on the side. If they need it they eat it. If they don't that calcium can last a long time.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=+ebIENlK&id=CE8F0D0F03D6B7D3296ED8C9B103D76D1E88B218&thid=OIP.-ebIENlKCtJEVl-vQJ6YpgHaLc&mediaurl=https://www.betterhensandgardens.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/B076C560-4EEC-48E3-874F-2C3008F7B5FF-663x1024.png&cdnurl=https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.f9e6c810d94a0ad244565faf409e98a6?rik=GLKIHm3XA7HJ2A&pid=ImgRaw&r=0&exph=1024&expw=663&q=chicken+feed+label&simid=608055103728484056&FORM=IRPRST&ck=58EE73448AF7496FD901DCF90489A50B&selectedIndex=0&itb=0&idpp=overlayview&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0


Some chickens molt (American spelling, not the British. Friends separated by a common language.) their first fall/winter, some skip the molt their first year. As long as you do not manipulate the length of the days by managing a lighting program all chickens should molt their second fall when the days get shorter.


Probably fowl pox but this is an assumption. Some strains of fowl pox are pretty virulent, some more of an irritation. It is spread by mosquitoes. I know of no treatment. My suggestion is to let it play out. Either they survive and do well or they don't. Sorry.


I personally do not preemptively treat for any disease or parasite unless I know I need to. I do not want to contribute to any disease or parasite becoming immune to a specific treatment. If I know something is there I'll treat for it. Otherwise I make sure they have clean water and a fairly dry environment.

Healthy chickens can become sick if exposed, just like every other animal on earth. I practice what is called a closed flock, or at least my version. I only add to my flock by hatching eggs or getting chicks from an established hatchery. Many flocks can have flock immunities. They may have a disease or parasite that does not affect them but can infect any chicken that comes into contact with them. So I limit their contact with any other flock. My flock has the parasite that causes Coccidiosis. By keeping the brooder dry and exposing them to it at a young age they develop an immunity to it so it is not an issue.


What a common question! We all do it differently. The poop isn't what makes the environment potentially dangerous or smelly. Wet poop is. If you can keep the poop dry it is generally not a problem.
Poop can get wet from rain, water dishes, whatever. So keep the poop dry. If it can dry out in a day or two you should not have a big problem. If it stays wet bad things can happen.

Also, poop can stay wet if it gets thick. The more room you can give them to spread poop out the better. This is purely a function of the number and size of chickens and how much area you have. They poop while walking around but as long as they are walking in a big area it's spread out.

At night they are not walking around, they roost in one spot. The poop can quickly build up enough to remain wet. The way I manage this is that I have a droppings board under the roosts. Poop collects there to make it easy to remove. Depending in how many chickens I have pooping at night in there and how humid the weather is I might clean it off once a week or once every 6 weeks. If it starts to stink I waited too long.

With collecting the night time poop and with them staying outside practically all day every day my coop floor does not see much poop and I keep it really dry. I clean everything out once every three or four years, not because I have to but because I want that stuff on my garden. I clean it out in the fall and by planting time it has broken down enough to really enrich the soil. If I were not so lazy I'd do that more often. With their set-up and other things some people need to clean their coop bedding weekly. We all have different set-ups, management styles, flock makeups, climates, and many other things. We can't all do the same thing.


Is this all of them or just some? Younger chickens often form a sub-flock. If they hang too close to adults they might get pecked or worse so they quickly learn to avoid older chickens. This is usually during the day and at night both. Different flocks do this differently, the only thing consistent with chickens is that they are inconsistent.

With my established flock the adults sleep on the roosts and the others sleep elsewhere. That might be in a group on the floor or higher up. Hopefully not the nests. When the young ones mature enough they will join the adults on the roosts.

It is also possible you just got them and they need a bit of time to sort themselves out.

If they did not roost where they came from they may not know how. They may sort this out in time or you can go out after dark and set some on the roosts. It usually doesn't take that many nights of doing this before they catch on. It does not have to be all of them. When one or two start the rest usually follow.

My fingers are tired from the typing. Have a good night and enjoy your fall/winter.

Wow!! Thank you SO much for hour detailed and thorough reply! I really appreciate your effort.

Making notes and storing all of this information, thank you!

 

[StefneyRSA]

Welcome!
1. Based on what you say you have available, I'd go with the grower mash since you have birds that aren't laying yet
2. Fowl pox *can* be serious but it sounds like at least some of them have the dry form which causes scabs. the coughing and sneezing could be a sign of wet pox which can be deadly, could be something else entirely or could be absolutely nothing. How often are they sneezing and coughing and what other symptoms do they have? Can you post close up pictures of the ones with legions? Fowl pox has no specific treatment other than supportive care which you're already providing but I think having a closer look to see if it's indeed fowl pox before jumping to conclusions would be a good idea
3. This will depend on your setup, some require daily care while others may only require occasional cleaning. In your case, I'd cover the floor with woodchips or mulch to deal with the poop as the birds will end up mixing the poop up mulch which will greatly cut down on the mess and odor

4. Not sure why your birds aren't roosting, perhaps the height of the roost isn't to their liking? I don't consider them not roosting to be ideal, but it's not the worst thing in the world, I'd just add more roosts at various heights and see if that solves it, but I wouldn't fret too much about it. It's also not good to let them sleep in their nests as chickens poop while they sleep and you might wind up with poopy eggs if they sleep there. The only time a hen should be sleeping in the nestbox is when she's broody
5. Best way to integrate new birds is the see but no touch method. Have the new birds in a separate part of the enclosure where they and your existing flock can see each other but can't touch and keep them like that for a week or 2, then if they're basically ignoring them let them intermingle. Bantams can be with full sized hens, but you may have to watch out for bullying. I would not advise splitting up the flock as 6 hens to 1 rooster is already kinda low, generally you want 10 hens for every rooster although this is just a general rule, flock with higher or lower ratios can and do work, but it's a good starting point. You would generally only separate a rooster if he's causing some sort of problem for the girls and if you separate a broody, I'd separate her until the chicks are a week old. A divider is certainly a useful addition though as it will help in the integration of the newcomers. Oh, and make sure to quarantine the new birds or any future new birds you add as far away from your flock as possible in case they have something contagious. It's not unusual for birds that seem healthy to come down with something due to the stress of rehoming and if you aren't careful, 1 sick bird can turn into many
6. Chickens are experts at hiding illnesses but the best way to spot something early is to watch for any deviation from their usual behavior. Get to know them well so you can know when they're acting off
7. Don't overdo it on treats, always provide grit and oyster shells, always make sure they don't get too hot during heat waves, share your scraps, keep a spare dog crate around as a quarantine cage, don't put up with a jerk rooster, have more than food and water station and enjoy your birds! Chickens are really cool animals and are more personable than one might expect

Aah thanks so so much for taking the time to respond! I really appreciate your effort! I’m taking notes and will definitely be referring back to this regularly!

 

[StefneyRSA]

First of all get and read a good chicken keeping book.
Some suggestions:
Talking Chickens, by Kelly Klober
City Chicks, by Patricia Foreman
Chicken Health Handbook, by Gail Damerow
It will prove to be invaluable through your journey. You should do that yesterday or before getting chickens.
Feed:
You want a complete chicken feed. It should be something age appropriate. Like chick starter or grower or an all-flock type feed.
They could be molting but they usually don't do so until their second and subsequent autumns.
Don't give a layer type feed till they start laying. The calcium content is too high for non laying birds (hence the name - Layer Fed).
The food you have for them now is considered a "treat" and should only be 10% or less of their diet. Primarily it is too low in protein for growing birds. At this age they should be getting 18-20% crude protein.
Medication:
Get Gail Damerow's book.
Under normal circumstances they need none. It may not hurt to have some Corid on hand for coccidiosis but you may never use it.
Healthy chickens well kept don't get sick. It is mismanagement in most cases that causes illness. Fresh air, nutritious feed and plenty of clean water is what they need. When you build a coop, make sure it has more ventilation than you think is necessary. 1 sq. ft. per bird is a good start. They can't have too much ventilation. They aren't cave dwellers.

You can put down some sort of bedding in the run like straw or wood shavings.
Here most people use pine shavings. Inside the coop you'll want to avoid hardwood shavings as that can introduce fungus.
I would visit a feed or farm store and see what they have on hand.

Thank you so much for all of the information and taking the time to respond!

I didn’t know about the layer feed being risky, so I’ll be buying something more suitable tomorrow!

Saving all of these tips for future reference thanks a million!

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

Hello Stefney, first of all your birds are beautiful. My advice is to try to be calm lol. It might seem silly but in the beginning it's very EASY to get overwhelmed. You're going to be a very great bird mom (and already are). Since you're just beginning I think a YouTube channel called "Welcome to Chickenlandia" would help you a lot. It's a channel focused on educating in a non-judgmental way and the lady who runs it is very sweet. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/@WelcometoChickenlandia/videos
Have a good one and happy chicken keeping.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thank you so much for all of the information and taking the time to respond!

I didn’t know about the layer feed being risky, so I’ll be buying something more suitable tomorrow!

Saving all of these tips for future reference thanks a million!

Virtually all chicken feeds (except layer feed) are about 1% calcium. That is sufficient for all body functions and for the growth of young birds. It is only when hens start making eggs which is accompanied by the need to place a layer of calcium carbonate over the contents of the egg. At this time, most birds need supplementation. While not perfect (what is?), virtually all layer feeds are about 4% calcium. Sufficient for most hens but may not be enough for super productive birds and maybe even excessive for birds that only lay periodically, like once or so a week. While there is room for error, there can still be a potential problem.
What most people do is provide some calcium carbonate in a separate dish. I use cage cups with each flock and either in the coop or by the feed. If the bird feels the need she'll eat some. This system works 98% of the time. There are mineral sources of calcium carbonate that some feed stores carry but the best source is crushed oyster shell. (calcium carbonate in/calcium carbonate out)
I've had many people disagree with me (everyone is entitled to their opinion but not their own facts). I've had one on one conversations with a couple poultry nutritionists employed by feed manufacturers as well as read all the research papers on the topic.
A chicken has 2 kidneys with 3 segments each. Excess calcium can damage those segments as well as other organs. (less common)
While this is happening, the birds appear normal and continue to lay eggs. The segments either swell or atrophy. In either case they become non-functional. It doesn't always go this way but once they get down to 2 functioning segments, they will still behave normally but when one of those two fails, the bird can be dead within 24 hours with no symptoms. When most people lose a single bird, they just write it off to chance and never get a necropsy performed by a poultry diagnostic lab at university Vet school or government facility. If this were the cause of death, the necropsy would show it. For many years, large egg producers were well aware of the situation. While they keep only highly productive hybrids that utilize the calcium but they still lose birds. This is at the critical stage of onset of lay. They have millions of birds all the same age in every barn. With specialized lighting programs, they can insure all the birds will begin producing at nearly the same time. A few weeks before the projected onset of lay, they begin a pre-lay diet which consists of about 2.5% calcium so the birds can pack calcium into the medullary bone. When an egg enters the uterus (shell gland) calcium is rapidly transported there to apply the egg covering. This calcium comes from the free calcium in the blood stream at the time as well as extracted from the medullary bone. What is removed from bone is replenished by the diet when a shell isn't being produced.
It is in the interim phase between growing pullet and full production pullet that some birds can be subject to disparity between supply and need. The egg industry studied this at length and discovered adding an acidifier to the feed can ameliorate the issue to a point. (Their bird losses improved)
All egg producers operate their own mills and tweak the recipe when needed. When small holders buy feed by the bag, we don't have that luxury.
Again, nothing to really worry about in most cases, I just thought I would share the scientific facts. Be ready to provide oyster shell at onset of lay and begin layer feed once all your charges are laying.
As I said, layer feed is for layers. Chicks aren't layers, roosters aren't layers, hens out of production aren't layers whether due to seasonal molt or old age. None of those birds can handle 4% calcium no matter what anyone tells you. Being a female bird doesn't make them a layer. Laying eggs makes them a layer.
Mother nature is lenient, and some lines of chickens can handle it better than others. But until the bird is cut open, it is anyone's guess what is going on inside.
I liken the situation to the difference between an occupational accident and occupational disease. If you fall off a ladder and get hurt, it is immediate. If you breathe noxious fumes for any duration at work and end up with cancer or mesothelioma, there is no immediate effect (but, in the end, you can still be dead)

I'm sure food and feed labeling is different in SA as opposed to the US but another thing to note if provided is the mill date on the feed. Freshness is key. If you already purchased layer feed, you could store it out of sunlight in a cool place till your birds start laying. Vitamin and amino acid potency can be affected by age. Always buy the freshest feed you can.

 

[StefneyRSA]

Virtually all chicken feeds (except layer feed) are about 1% calcium. That is sufficient for all body functions and for the growth of young birds. It is only when hens start making eggs which is accompanied by the need to place a layer of calcium carbonate over the contents of the egg. At this time, most birds need supplementation. While not perfect (what is?), virtually all layer feeds are about 4% calcium. Sufficient for most hens but may not be enough for super productive birds and maybe even excessive for birds that only lay periodically, like once or so a week. While there is room for error, there can still be a potential problem.
What most people do is provide some calcium carbonate in a separate dish. I use cage cups with each flock and either in the coop or by the feed. If the bird feels the need she'll eat some. This system works 98% of the time. There are mineral sources of calcium carbonate that some feed stores carry but the best source is crushed oyster shell. (calcium carbonate in/calcium carbonate out)
I've had many people disagree with me (everyone is entitled to their opinion but not their own facts). I've had one on one conversations with a couple poultry nutritionists employed by feed manufacturers as well as read all the research papers on the topic.
A chicken has 2 kidneys with 3 segments each. Excess calcium can damage those segments as well as other organs. (less common)
While this is happening, the birds appear normal and continue to lay eggs. The segments either swell or atrophy. In either case they become non-functional. It doesn't always go this way but once they get down to 2 functioning segments, they will still behave normally but when one of those two fails, the bird can be dead within 24 hours with no symptoms. When most people lose a single bird, they just write it off to chance and never get a necropsy performed by a poultry diagnostic lab at university Vet school or government facility. If this were the cause of death, the necropsy would show it. For many years, large egg producers were well aware of the situation. While they keep only highly productive hybrids that utilize the calcium but they still lose birds. This is at the critical stage of onset of lay. They have millions of birds all the same age in every barn. With specialized lighting programs, they can insure all the birds will begin producing at nearly the same time. A few weeks before the projected onset of lay, they begin a pre-lay diet which consists of about 2.5% calcium so the birds can pack calcium into the medullary bone. When an egg enters the uterus (shell gland) calcium is rapidly transported there to apply the egg covering. This calcium comes from the free calcium in the blood stream at the time as well as extracted from the medullary bone. What is removed from bone is replenished by the diet when a shell isn't being produced.
It is in the interim phase between growing pullet and full production pullet that some birds can be subject to disparity between supply and need. The egg industry studied this at length and discovered adding an acidifier to the feed can ameliorate the issue to a point. (Their bird losses improved)
All egg producers operate their own mills and tweak the recipe when needed. When small holders buy feed by the bag, we don't have that luxury.
Again, nothing to really worry about in most cases, I just thought I would share the scientific facts. Be ready to provide oyster shell at onset of lay and begin layer feed once all your charges are laying.
As I said, layer feed is for layers. Chicks aren't layers, roosters aren't layers, hens out of production aren't layers whether due to seasonal molt or old age. None of those birds can handle 4% calcium no matter what anyone tells you. Being a female bird doesn't make them a layer. Laying eggs makes them a layer.
Mother nature is lenient, and some lines of chickens can handle it better than others. But until the bird is cut open, it is anyone's guess what is going on inside.
I liken the situation to the difference between an occupational accident and occupational disease. If you fall off a ladder and get hurt, it is immediate. If you breathe noxious fumes for any duration at work and end up with cancer or mesothelioma, there is no immediate effect (but, in the end, you can still be dead)

I'm sure food and feed labeling is different in SA as opposed to the US but another thing to note if provided is the mill date on the feed. Freshness is key. If you already purchased layer feed, you could store it out of sunlight in a cool place till your birds start laying. Vitamin and amino acid potency can be affected by age. Always buy the freshest feed you can.

Wow!! Thank you SO SO much for the detailed response! What an interesting read!

So one of my pullets just laid two eggs last night, so I officially have a later! But of the 5 hens and a cockerel she’s the only one (so far) who needs layer feed then?

If I put only layer pellets in a feeder and offer grower feed and fowl grain in a separate feeder, will the laying hens be smart enough to eat the layer pellets while the cockerel and other non-layers don’t eat the pellets?

Or is it better to just offer plain oyster shells? I struggle to find the oyster shells here, which is why I ask. But I can use Amazon USA it just takes a long time (6-8 weeks) to deliver.

Also, I’ve been mixing equal parts 1:1:1 mixed fowl grain, layer mash/pellets, and grower mash for 2-3 weeks now…. Oops! Will that be enough to cause kidney damage? Or are they okay if I stop immediately?