How long for chooks to settle down?

[fenwoman]

My birds get my own mix which is wheat, with added kibbled maize, flaked peas, linseed pellets or flax seed, limestone flour (bought in a 25kg sack for less than a fiver, a teaspoon of garlic powder, and a teaspoon od codliver oil all mixed in big buckets and placed in hoppers.

Hi Fenwoman
My ex-bats eat the mash quite happily and, so far, I've managed to keep it vermin free but I'm still interested in mixing my own as I feel it would be more "natural".

Can I please just check the ratios that you use? Is it one teaspoon of garlic to a whole bag of wheat etc? I don't want to put them at risk by overdoing it as I gather garlic thins the blood.

Cheers
Zoe

Into each black bucket I put 2/3 wheat. nealry 1/3 kibbled maize, less in summer. a good scoop of flaked peas (protein) a cup ful of soya meal, a cup full of linseed, a leven tablespoon of garlic. All this is approximate as I tend to do it by eye.

[Millymollymandy]

The new hens have been in with the old hens for a week now and there is no sign at all of them settling down. The oldies still chase the youngsters and the fighting and pecking at bedtime requires about half an hour of my time to referee .

I'm shutting the oldies in a separate run during the day to give the youngsters a break.

Everyone is off their food - the youngsters don't like layers pellets and just pick at some wheat. The oldies have gone off pellets and aren't even eating all the treats I give them, which is quite amazing as normally they are pigs like the ducks are!

Egg production is down too.

Help!

if it is possible, I find the easiest way is to allow them all to free range together during the day so that the bullied ones can get away if they need to. Make sure you have several feeders and drinkers about too so that everyone gets a chance. How many birds do you have and how much pen and house space?

They have a large run about 35m2 and their shed is about 10m2 so plenty of space to get away from each other. Food and water both inside and out.

I have 3 older hens (2 1/2 years old) and 2 new ones (6 months old). I wish I'd got three new layers instead of two because the oldies are hardly laying any more and the newbies lay half size eggs!

[flower]

ahh! could it be that you've added two to three?

when I tried adding one to two it was awful, so I added another two so that the bullies were outnumbered and it really helped.

perhaps another two littluns if you have room? plenty of eggs and safety in numbers

[Millymollymandy]

Will the newbies suddenly turn into nasty pecking monsters though if I get a couple more?

I really wish I had got more, though I don't know if I want two more, but I can't introduce just one. Hmmm will have to think about getting a couple more in June as my mum's coming to stay soon and I won't have time as hubby will have to make more nest boxes and a longer perch!

At the moment I'm getting so few eggs, yet I got these others to keep my neighbour supplied! She isn't getting any!

[flower]

I can't profess to be an expert, but it did work for me.

although I'm not getting anymore eggs as two of my newbies settled in and promptly went broody, the third has stopped laying in sympathy so I'm still only getting eggs from the original two!

Still, the 'cures' for broodiness all seem pretty unpleasant so I'm just going to have to do without for a few weeks

[Millymollymandy]

Oh dear, broody already! I found with one of mine going broody the first time, when she was young, a couple of nights in what is now the duck shed on her own cured her of it. After that when she was broody again I just left her be.