Hi all newbie needs some help

[Phattaff]

As some you may know i got me girls yesterday and coz i want them to be ok i have a few questions.
1. One of me girls seems to have a bit of a cold what should i give her?
2. I've been told you can put a clove of garlic in their water to help with the cold (cheers Maureen) but do i put it in whole or crushed??
3. I have a 4Ltr drinker and have also read (somewhere) that you can give them cider vinegar in their water but how much???
4. As a rough guide how much does a chicken eat each day???? (their on Garvo growers mash at the moment).
5. I,ve done them some boiled peelings (potato, carrot, turnip, cauliflower) is this ok to give them as well as their normal feed or should i just give them one or the other????
Any other help would be greatly appriciated.
Sorry for all the questions but i just want to do the best for them.
Cheers
All the best
Phattaff

[moola]

Hi there
The cold - when chooks get moved they can get stressed and go a bit off key. Just make sure she has plenty of shelter and access to feeders and drinkers. If she starts going quiet, hunched up etc and stays like this it could be a coccidiosis flare up (not uncommon moving chooks). You need coxoid for this which you can order over the net -but hold off doing this unless you really think she needs it as it is a bit tough on their guts. Give her a few days and let her settle in tho - it may all just pass.
Garlic - should be crushed a little
Cider vinger - I tend to put a splash in. You should be changing their water regularly anyway which is more imp than adding in any 'extras'
Garvo growers - I'm starting mine on this soon - it's meant to be excellent food. Comes highly recommended to me. Apparently chooks should eat slightly less of it, but you should be feeding on an ad lib basis. I would make sure your feeder is kept out of the rain otherwise it will spoil.
Treats - In theory chooks don't need them and by law anything from the kitchen should not be given...but...ahem...many people do. It is best to give these towards the end of the day when they have gotten enough growers in them. Otherwise you will find that they will tend to eat the treats first, fill up on these and not get the 'good stuff' in them.
Likewise, with corn or maize (when they are older) it should be an end of day thing - just a smattering.

[Flummery]

If one has a cold on Day 1 I would contact your supplier.
I put a slighly crushed (I put my morning tea mug on it and press!) garlic clove in the water for 2 or 3 days running, about once a fortnight. I take the clove out and rinse it when I change the water. Some people add powdered garlic to the feed.
Advice as to the amount of cider vinegar varies. I add a capful - it comes in a gallon container from horsey suppliers - into half a bucket of water. Some add more than this.
I couldn't advice on growers mash as I only got my girls as Point of Lay and they get layers mash ad lib. I fill the feeder every day and let them eat what they want.
You can feed them boiled up peelings but my personal feeling is that they will fill up with this and not necessarily get the balanced diet which is available in the layers mash.
There are some very experienced chicken owners here so you'll get lots more advice - hope too much of it's not conflicting!

[Suechooks]

1.If you only got the girls yesterday I'd be contacting the person you got them from. It could be just a cold or a few sniffles but could be something more serious. Is she well in herself? Eating drinking scratching about? I presume you are using dust-extracted bedding? If not this could be the cause of sneezing, but I would definitely contact the seller as they really shouldn't be sneezing
There is a liquid called Respite which is an evil smelling potion you put in the drinking water for 3 days based on garlic and other stuff. This is for respiratory illnesses.
2. Bruise the clove and just leave it in the water.
3. ACV should be given in the water at a dose of 10ml per litre.
4. A chicken is supposed to eat about 125g of feed per day but this is difficult to gauge if they free range. Just give them ad lib pellets in a feeder.
5. For the first few days I would just give them layers ration. They need to adjust to their new home and have probably only had chicken food before you got them. It's very tempting to spoil them when you first get them but try to resist.
Good luck!

[RichmondHens]

We all have different ideas about colds. I do nothing, a normal cold should clear in 3 - 4 days, but adding garlic to the water or feed will be a good tonic for them anyway. I would crush the clove to release the juices.

Feed only mash or pellets, with anything else given as a treat towards the end of the day (not too much - a couple of large handfuls is enough). They need to get their nutrients from a balanced pellet/mash diet. Lots of other things will upset that balance. A rough guide for feed is that a healthy laying hen will consume about a kilo a week of feed, but this can vary quite a bit depending on the size/breed of the bird (bantams consume far less), also whether they get to free range for part of the day etc etc (my free rangers eat relatively little feed, but the ones in pens with limited access to other stuff eat far more).

Cider vinegar can be added to the drinking water at a dosage of 10 ml per litre of water. Only add to PLASTIC drinkers, though, not metal, as it reacts with the metal and the water will become toxic.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your chickens!

[Phattaff]

Thanks everyone for your quick replys, s'pose i'm just a bit of an over protective dad at the moment and want to spoil them but i will resist, i will keep an eye on Madam (she seems fine feeding well, drinking and scratching about) but will pop a garlic clove in their water coz it can't do any harm.
Thanks again for your help.
All the best
Phattaff

[Eco-Chic]

A good way to get them to eat out of your hands is to offer them some corn mix at the end of the day. I love the warmth from their heads and breath in my hands

My girls are used to their 'treat' at bedtime, when they're toddling into the coop or shuffling about on their perch. They put themselves to bed when it starts to get dark.

If I arrive at a timely moment they gently peck the corn out of my hands. If I'm a tad late for their liking they pile drive their beaks into my palms and give me a couple of spiteful pecks too. I'm learning to look at the light or lack of rather than the clock as a guide when mesdamoiselles should be indulged