Chick, chick, chick, chick, lay a little egg for me!

Sorry couldn't resist the title :oP

I am about to give a home to 2 baby chickens (20 weeks old) but I don't know much about them.

does anyone please have some information about chickens for me.

Thank you. Babyboy515 xx

 

Make sure you feed them right, growing mash, then cracked corn. And a nice bowl of water.
Need a huge box with newspaper on bottom for their poop and be ready to change it a lot. Are they females? Are you planning to have them outside. Then they need a small wooden house all wire fenced in so they don't run away and so they are not eaten by foxes or swopping hawks.
You can keep it warm in the winter with a little electric heater. You will need to cover the floor with straw which will absorb the poop of which you will be cleaning out often and replacing it often with fresh straw.
If they turn out to be females, then you can build a little nest from them from two small wooden boxes, again fill with straw.
So that's what I would do.
But in the mean time, I think I'll hop into my car and ride 5 mins. down to the farmer and buy me a dozen fresh eggs for $1.50.

 

A clean, dry, draught free house, with a perch and somewhere private to lay. A secure run. Feed ad lib (some dicussion as to what to feed them), fresh water (although they will drink from dirty puddles too) and fresh greens if no access to real free ranging. Then sit back and with any luck you might get eggs before winter. Depending on the breed.

And enjoy

 

loads of great info here ,i also am new to chickens and find the info on the omlete site very helpful

if they are 20 weeks should start laying very soon

presume they are hens not cockerels ? if they are cocks hope you have good neighbours!!

just watch out for the foxes the biggest killer of chickens!

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=5

 

Five months plus is usual for chickens to start laying, but it also depends on the breed and time of year (chickens lay when there is the most amount of light).

 

Hi all, thanks so much for all the great info here and I will check out that website

My partner built them a coop yesterday. I triangler one

Its all safe but a few little twicks are needed (that is draft free).

There is a male and a female. My neighbours aren't friendly but they make enough noise so I think its payback time. The cockerel (Rocky) decided to cockerel and 8.14am today 3 times then shut up for an hour and did it 3 times again.

I was given some food by the people I got them off. It's pellets. I'm going to my local farmers market a week tomorrow to get some more food as I don't think the food will last long.

I mainly want the hen (Ginger-although she is white) for her eggs want to be self efficient. I don't know what breed they are. They are white with a few brown bits here and there. Will get photo up soon if I can.

Thanks again. Any more info would be good. Babyboy515

 

this is our amber ranger

 

If you want to be self sufficient as far as eggs are concerned, you'll need more than one hen for that. In a good week, you'll get 7 eggs maximum...and when she decides to moult (which chickens do once a year) you'll have none for up to 6 weeks or go broody, which, if lucky can be cured within a few days. Better to get another 2/3 hens to go with the pair you have already. A cock can become a nuisance to a single hen, forever pestering her to mate with her, so she either gets very bedraggled or refuses to go near him.

Pellets will be fine for them.

Your neighbours may be a nuisance, but they could cause real trouble as far as the noise from a cock crowing at 4am on a Sunday morning is concerned. Just be aware - the last thing you need is environmental health paying a visit. They might not be able to do much, but it's still a hassle. If you can keep the cock in a soundproof(ish), ventilated, box until a reasonable time in the morning it might prevent falling out. Even the most animal loving people get a little angst-ridden when woken on a Sunday summer morning at 4am!

 

agree with the comments on the cockerel ,they can be very noisy

we have 3 hens and have between 5 and 7 eggs per week per hen

 

Hi all, thanks so much for all your comments again.

Rocky (cockerel) was doing his thing at 5.55am this morning :( not good. We are going to have to give him back :(. Can I just have a couple of hens without a cockerel??

Ginger hasn't laid any eggs yet I believe she isnt ready. Rocky and Ginger have been together since they were born (apparently) and they seem to get on great. He does follow her sometimes but nothing too bad.

I feel sad to be letting Rocky go but I just can't have him upsetting the neighbours whether we get on or not :( my partner isn't too happy about being woken up either this morning. :(

Thanks again. Babyboy515.

 

best to have 3 hens if you loose one and only have 2 the remaning hen will pine itself into a early grave!

 

Agree with Gerkin, a trio is better than a pair. They will lay perfectly well without a cock (and will probably be happier without him pestering them constantly).

Your hen might be a bit young yet to be laying. It's five months plus when they start, but determined by quantities of light, time of year and each individual hen.

 

Rocky has now been re-homed :( but he has gone to a happy home on a farm with lots of ladies

I am off to the farmer's market to buy myself a hen

Will stick to hen's

Babyboy515.

 

Make sure you segregate any newbies for a week at least - new hens can have latent diseases and bugs which can be passed on to others. Try to get younger birds as well - they'll fit in better, but still be prepared for a few squabbles while they sort out the pecking order.