Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

diluvsdiscounts

mummy knows best my OH thinks they are just chickens aswell they just don't understand.
Sorry I can't help with the pecking bit I'm sure they love being with you have you thought of getting two more and then it might sort the pecking order out a bit,not sure just a suggestion.

Mojisola

diluvsdiscounts wrote: »

Gigervamp they are beautiful.
I remember when our garden had grass!!
They are lovely how many eggs are you getting each day? At the moment we are getting three from four hens so I am trying to decide which one isn't laying which is very difficult to do without moving in with them for a week! They are all warren's and I presume all of a similar age so I don't think it's an age thing and they all seem perfectly happy even more so now they can look at themselves.

They might all be laying, just not all of them every day. Egg formation takes up to 25 hours so it's normal to miss a day occasionally.

You can usually tell if a hen is in lay by feeling the width of her pelvic bones.
Pick up your hen and feel over the vent. You should be able to feel the bones on either side. On a large bird, you should be able to fit three fingers between these bones if she's in lay. This is only approximate because it depends on the size of your hens and the size of your fingers! If you get to know your chickens, you'll learn how big the gap should feel on them.

Added: found this - http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_Poultry_2009-01pr.pdf - probably everything you need to know, with pictures!

mummy_knows_best

I think there could be more too it than just being pecked she can hardly stand up on her own to feet now, shw went under the coop and wouldnt come out, dont know if its the right thing to do but iv brought her inside in a box she just laying there.

Frugaldom

Mutantk wrote: »

Wow great thread - have sat and read it from start to finish - much cheaper and more MSE that buying a book - thankyou all for great tips and info! Juat ordered a coop from Ebay and been and bought layers pellets, corn and grit and some straw for nesting box and I pick up my 4 black rocks after Easter weekend - can't wait, am so excited! Already got my eye on the Lakeland egg boiler for my birthday in May! Out of interest, if I use straw in the nesting box, is shredded newspaper any good in the rest of the house? Someone in pet world this morning told me to try that but I hadn't heard anyone on here suggest that...Thanks in advance

Hi MutantK, I shred newspapers into short strands and use these for the nest boxes instead of straw, as the newspaper seems to compost down quicker. Only problem I have encountered so far was in pouring rain when the silly creatures go out into the garden, get soaked then come back to lay their eggs. You then get the odd egg with a news headline on it! :rotfl: Wet weather means changing the bedding constantly, but we need to do that regardless of what gets used.

My chicks now have their own webpage - has anyone heard of freewebcams? :T They give you free downloadable software and server space to host your photos. I've called mine frugalcam but the chicks just don't seem to understand that they need to stay in camera shot when it's doing the auto upload. Refresh, refresh, refresh... oh, there they are! :rotfl:

Mutantk

Haha I love it Frugaldom - just been looking at your lovely chicks! Thanks for the tip re shredded paper in the nesting box - do you put it in their main house area too or stick to straw/sawdust?

Mutantk

Sorry - just another thought - do any of you have problems with local cats at all - am worried that even though I'll only let the hens free range when we're in the garden that the cats may be a problem? We have quite a few in the area that use out garden as a cut-through (and toilet but that's another matter!)

mummy_knows_best

I took her too the vet this morning and was put to sleep.

ljonski

I am sorry about your loss Mummy Knows best.chickens are such lovely but fragile creatures and i guess it can be distressing at times. If you watch lambing live on the bbc the same scenario is repeated over and over again. Chickens despite the hen pecking are quite gregarious creatures and need others for company, so , Will you be able to get a couple more? I thinkk this is very important.

about cats - at first they will chase the chickens but after a while everyone will ignore each other and get on with their own lives.

lj

edmund_blackadder

ljonski wrote: »

about cats - at first they will chase the chickens but after a while everyone will ignore each other and get on with their own lives.

Unless it's my cat ... who decided to watch the chickens for the first day, saw how they handled the dog (she decided to try and round them up - bad move!) and has kept out of their way ever since!

Mumof2_2

I'm sorry Mummy Knows Best that Bella had to be put to sleep. Will you get another one?