I'm learning as I go with my new-found chicken obsession... i have four 9-week-old pullets and two 3-week old girls. The older ones are in the coop and happily living on commercial grower/starter feed and occasional treats. (They have discovered the wild joy of mealworms, for example). I have some wheat sheaves from last Thanksgiving that I got from a local farm, as well as some whole pearl barley that I'm wondering about feeding to the girls. Is there any reason not to give them these kinds of grains in moderation? Should I whirl them in the food processor first to break the grains up or are they OK whole? I was having this notion of just hanging the wheat sheaves in the coop and letting the girls figure out how to peck out all the kernels. As always, I'm grateful for all the help from you more experienced folk!