Hi everyone, I have a problem with my chickens. ot is very frustrating. I got them from auction about Two montsh ago as Point of lay Hens I have Three Black Rocks and One Welsummer Bantam. I am feeding with a mix of layers pellets and cracked corn, someone said to me to mix the feed together so they get a good mixture of the feed. so i did this now my hens are scratching all the pellets out and eating the corn and leaving the rest laying on the ground. my hens are very fussy and when there feed goes on the ground they wont touch it AT ALL!!!!! so becasue of this i am now giving them a wide mixture of greens,vegetables small amount of bread and corn on the cobs (which they actually jump for). Today I moved my hens into a movable run i made so they can eat the grass and have some exercise, and noticed they are a litlle thin for my liking. I dont like thin animals but i dont like fat ones either. can anyone give me some tips on how to fatten them up and give me some hints on why they have kinda gone off laying, i was getting a egg from each every day and now im lucky if i get one. please help I dont want to loose my �45 each birds.

IMO dyes look bad unless black. There is a black dye called Deep Water sold by Lilypons (on-line). IMO the blue dye they sell for ponds (I think it is called Shade) looks like airplane toilet water! Maybe consider colored lights for your fountain if you want something colorful that you can change the lens cover if you don't like one shade over another or want to have variety. But, if you want to know how to make blue-green. Blue is a primary color and green is a secondary color made from varying amounts of blue and yellow depending on the shade you are seeking. I would start with yellow dye and add blue until you get a green you like. Food coloring won't hurt fish IMO but it will stain like the dickens everything it touches.

Tanya, if the email remark was intended or me then no I did not receive one. I wish to apologize for anything I have posted here to offend anyone. I had an extremely long day with lots of pain and I was tired both emotionally and physically. but that is no excuse for being negarice or hurtful to people. I do not wish to create problems so I am going to leave the forum and stay out of things. It was nice meeting you and everyone else and please give Junior a bite of chicken for me along witha scratch and tell Jinxie I said hello. You truly have a wonderful home on golden pond and I hope you enjoy it for years to come. Linda

Clever trick and effective! You're a better person than me. I tell people it is an experiment or creation. If they don't have enough faith to try it, they can make themselves something to eat. I might make an exception for a MIL.