New to Chickens

I have to brag here, my girls laying habits have barely changed all winter. I have averaged 3 eggs a day, from 6 ex batts. I only get 5 day in the summer.

Well done girls :cl-p::rocksn:

 

"" chicks want chick crumbs till 6 weeks then start mixing in growers pellets for a couple of weeks to get them used to the change in texture and then there on that till POL (point of lay) age between 16 and 20 weeks(my chuck book gives different ages for different breeds) when they need layers pellets/mash. It's reccomended to give them wheat and corn/corn mix as a treat (althought I do know someone that feeds them only on this and they're doing fine), give them s-c-r-a-p-s of food, veg peel(not potato peel raw), let them graze on grass, worms and bugs. They'll love if you give them things like corn on the cob hanging from something, scatter a bit of food on the grass, I've heard various things about giving them bread but I gave it to mine and will do again. ""
Mine have a big pot dog bowl where they can eat as little or as much as they want.
Make sure they have access to some sort of grit, different people have different opinions on which kind.
Always plenty of fresh water.
Have also been told that in colder times to give them warm water, same with putting warm water in their pellets/mash when it's cold (giveing them warm mash and scrambled eggs) and giveing them corn before bed time will warm them in the night.That was from BHWT as I get my new girls sunday and it's going to be rather cold for them after being in a heated shead for a year.

What's in the "" marks is what I've been told and from personal experience as I've have my 3 since 6 weeks old. The other chicken keepers will have alot more do'a and don't for you. I Hope this helps

 

Agree with what Jo has said, but the rules don't need to observed hard and fast. We raised chicks last year and will again this year-they were on chick crumb until 10 weeks (when the bag was finished) then they started on layers pellets.

If you are getting ex-batts, give them what they have been eating all the time-most likely layers mash or layers pellets, as they won't know anything else and probably won't eat it! You can start slipping in a few extra treats over time as they get accustomed to the great outdoors.

Treats should be given sparingly-too many and you'll end up with fat chickens who won't lay you as many eggs as they should!

 

How are you getting on wirh design and construction?

 

Hi All,
thought you might like to see the pics of my hens and their coop and run.

Since the pics were taken, I have extended the metal fence by 600mm in height with home made trellis.

Yesterday, I came home and discovered something had been digging in the woodchip covered paths on the higher terraces of the garden and tonight , the same thing. I can only surmise that the wee girls are jumping up onto the nest box, then onto the coop roof, then up onto the higher levels, then going back in around 4-4.30pm just before I get home.

And we all thought they were just dumb birds.
:skp:
G.man








The last picture shows the bit where they are jumping over.

Shades of the film Chicken Run.

 

Yep, they are sneaky that way. A friend of mine keeps Brahmas-if you know the breed they are huge. Her alpha male has been known to jump onto the fence and hold it down so his ladies can slip out and into the garden!

We have Pekins who know to fly into the garden (also by using the fencing) just when we are coming home from work ready for their bedtime corn.

G.man, your run ground looks frozen. Lucky you, its mud here.

 

It was frozen Aaron until a few days ago, then it turned boggy same as yours. I am going to re-site the coop tomorrow to stop this escapism trend. When I re-site the coop, I will build an extention onto the fence next to the gate and bring the trellis to meet it at the corner. I will take pics and post them tomorrow evening for your perusal.
Thanks for showing an interest by the way. :thumb:

 

Woodchip is excellent for counteracting the mud problems. Find a friendly tree surgeon and you'll probably get it for peanuts or even free. I have been using it all winter now and the girls love it. The garden is a swamp but their run is fine and in summer it'll go on the compost heap.

 

A few questions as I'm thinking that maybe I should rehome some chickens and my hubby wasn't too keen but he doesn't want the lawn so I might be able to do a deal lol :gnthb:

Can they stay outside all year round?

Does it matter where I sight there run and house? Shade/sun etc

I think I would like 4 so what size should I build their run/house?

Would I have to keep moving the house/run to different bits of garden or just put wood chip down?

Thanks

 

Morning

When you say rehoming, do you mean getting ex battery chickens or just doing someone a favour by taking their chickens as they no longer want them? The former need cosseting for a while until they regrow their feathers, so some shelter from the rain and sun is necessary (they can get sunburn!)

Right...
Yes they can stay outside all year round. Providing their house is dry with a good supply of air (not a draught, but ventilation) they don't mind the rain. A good chicken house will have a dark nestbox for them to lay, a perch above the height of the nest box (otherwise they'll sleep in there instead) and above all SECURE from predators. There are lots of substandard chicken housing out there and at expensive prices. We have one of these http://www.forshamcottagearks.com/poultry-housing/cat-prod-boughton-chicken-housing.htm which are great and would be ideal for 4 chickens (unless you get a huge breed like Orpingtons or Brahmas!). They have the advantage of being reasonably secure and if you go away for the weekend they can stay in the run part with food and water. We let ours roam a section of the garden but they can get themselves up in the morning and wait (impatiently) in the run until we let them out. Our house gets the sun in the morning but by late afternoon the sun has moved off it.

Your grass will vanish - it just depends on how long, rather than when! A permanent run is better - woodchip is great as a material as it lets water (rain) pass through, the chickens love scratching in it and it keeps the mud (which will appear as the grass vanishes) to a minimum.

Of course, you could get a dinky breed like Pekins that don't do as much damage and look decorative on a lawn - although they are indiscriminate where they do their droppings and you might get fed up stepping in it on the patio.

I woudl get some - they are a lot easier to look after than a dog or cat, they are great fun to watch, very therapeutic and they lay eggs.

Anything else you want to know?

 

Cool thanks. If I was getting some they would be ex batts. If hubby lets me have some I'll be getting him to build me a nice safe run and house. Maybe if I design one I can ask u what u think of my idea?

 

Feel free to ask advice

Ex-batts are incredibly rewarding. I've never kept them but have heard so many heartwarming stories from people who have. Take a look at the Battery Hen Welfare Trust http://www.bhwt.org.uk/ if you haven't already.

One word of advice - build a bigger run and house than you think you need because a) the more room you give them to play in the happier they'll be and b) chickens are addictive and you'll want to get more, especially if you are taking ex-batts (you'll possibly want to take the whole farm home!).

 

I agree that a permanent run is better, it's also less hassle! Although it may not be possible in your garden they do like to run around freely. They may even get rid of a few pests for you, we let our chickens into the vegetable garden last autumn and we've had no slugs this year, whereas last year we were plagued by them, we had no lettuce left by the time they were finished!

I think as far as the house is concerned bigger is better (I got a large garden shed) as it's good to give them plenty of room & allow space for their nest boxes, also if your closing them in the house at night (which is a good idea for extra protection from predators) you'll need room for some food and water, which is easier & less messy when put in proper poultry feeders & drinkers. Also as Sussexgarder said chickens are extremely addictive so it's best to have some extra room!

I wanted a few ex-batts but bhwt doesn't have any co-ordinators in Northern Ireland :( Good luck with yours the more that find happy homes the better!