Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

ginnyknit

Can I ask a couple of questions please?

I popped a bit of garlic powder in their water today and they didn't touch it so I change it to plain water and they were fine. There's lots of wild garlic next to the stream/trees at the back of my home, do you know if it would be ok for them to have that. I know you can eat all parts of it, but I'm not sure if it's as good for my ladies.

I bought mixed grit and oyster shell. Do they need both?[/QUOTE]

Maybe they just don't like the powder, mine now prefer their water with the vinegar/ garlic in, keeps them in top form. They need grit or shells which ever you have available, I now sprinkle their morning pellets with the grit and a drop of cod liver oil. Anything they can get thats natural and helps keep them healthy is fine in my book. Budgie grit is about a quid a bag at the petshop and does mine fine but do wash and dry their own shells , bake them, crush them and chuck 'em in too

jeanmd

Thanks ginny,

I'll try that.
We're getting three eggs every day so I'm not sure if one isn't laying or if it's different ones on different days.
They are all picking on the smallest, most battered one, poor thing. If it goes for food then they peck it the same with water and grit. I tried the holding Rosie (top hen) under my arm and walking around with her and that didn't work. ::( So I let poor Daisy out into the garden(they do have a large pen) with some food and then let the others out when she had eaten, she seemed a little more confident then, so fingers crossed she will be ok.

They are so funny, I give them a couple of meal worms on an evening and now the follow me about. But I must remember not to wear open toed sandles when feeding them. :rotfl:

Mutantk

Hi everyone - wondering if anyone can offer me some tips/help on how best to deal my broody blackrock...She's been like it for a week now and each day I have taken her out of the coop and blocked off her access so she can't get in there til bedtime but she scratches the door and goes to check every few minutes if she can get back in...when she can't she goes back out and does still eat and drink and scratch around the garden but the other two chooks seem to have ousted her from their gang and she's always on her own while the other two stick together! As soon as I open the coop near bedtime she's straight in there to sit. Like I said it's been a week now and I'm beginning to wonder if she'll snap out of it. I read that one option was to buy her a day old chick but I just don't have room for anymore and then say that makes the others broody too!! Anyone had a similar problem and how long did it last, what did you do? Thanks in advance, Keely

ginnyknit

Sorry don't have any advice on broody hens, apart from sit them in front of tv with a box of tissues and play Titanic for them, let them cry themselves silly and then their hormones will be back to normal - works for me!

Seriously think the 'websites devoted to poultry keeping may be of use here as there are specific ways of getting them off the nest.

Jeanmd, its funny how you wonder who laid an egg and who didnt isnt it. We always had 2 eggs from 3 hens and it baffled me but you will begin to recognise the differences between the eggs so tho you can't tell who laid it you can tell that the dark brown egg and the whiter egg are laid one day and the spotty one the next - if you get my drift.

One of my girls was making a hell of a noise this morning and got reprimanded - well I shouted 'shut the chuff up' out of the loo window. When Dd collected the eggs later I felt awful, one of them had laid the biggest egg I ever saw so no wonder she was making a noise!

Kevie192

I wonder if someone here may be able to advise me...

I still haven't got my coop yet - waiting for the right one at the right price! However, I'm starting to think of what I really want to put in it.

I can't decide between bantams and chickens so wondered if someone might be able to help me decide? Whatever I get, they will need to stay in the run during the day and come out between 5pm and dusk because we are both at work. Weekends they will be able to free range.

We don't have a particularly high fence so I wondered if that rules bantams out? Are they flyers? I suppose I would need to go round the garden and 'chicken proof' the boundries so they can't escape through a hole in the fence etc. too...

Please help, I really can't decide!!

Kevin x

steady__eddie

Bantams can fly, well mine did when I kept them several years ago. (Things may have changed these days though with all these E.U. regulations.)
One of my hens flew onto the kitchen roof and laid an egg in the guttering. No wonder some people are occassionally called chickenhead.

DON79

Hello, anyone have any suggestions or recommendations about how to rehome three cockerels in the northamptonshire area? We have two gorgeous Cochin cockerels and one equally gorgeous Silkie Cockerel which we now have to rehome Can't keep them all as they are having arguments as well as disturbing the neighbours a little lol!

singlehouseholder

Kevie192 wrote: »

I wonder if someone here may be able to advise me...

I still haven't got my coop yet - waiting for the right one at the right price! However, I'm starting to think of what I really want to put in it.

I can't decide between bantams and chickens so wondered if someone might be able to help me decide? Whatever I get, they will need to stay in the run during the day and come out between 5pm and dusk because we are both at work. Weekends they will be able to free range.

We don't have a particularly high fence so I wondered if that rules bantams out? Are they flyers? I suppose I would need to go round the garden and 'chicken proof' the boundries so they can't escape through a hole in the fence etc. too...

Please help, I really can't decide!!

Kevin x

Hello! I have 2 beautiful banty's - soon to be 4 yahoo. I clipped their wings, 1 each so they don't really fly, but the wyandotte does what we call a flark, she runs n flaps, its dead cute. One side of garden is a 6foot fence and the other is a hedge maybe 5ft. They've never attempted to fly over but the wyandotte has escaped under the hedge- so much for my attempt at chickenproofing! I could hear her swaquing like I'm lost, so I just shook the tub of mealworms where she could see them and she came waddling back through the gap- funny she's never went to the other side again.I went for Bantys as a town bird owner, currently there are two in coop and there is adequate room. I worried about letting mine out while at work so me and my dad built a run which is approx 6ft long 3ft tall n wide, I put the lasses in this mornin for the first time while I went to work, had to bribe them in with sweetcorn though. Came back to a white egg so they must be pretty happy in there! I put there feed n water in, and have covered 1 end in waterproof material so they can shelter from rain. They haven't dug/scratched my garden up like I've read. They very civilised little ladies and a complete joy to have. The Welsummer Banty is noisier than I thought and shouts Waarrrrrrggghhh when I open the door. They do love to be out - in all weathers, so think you should consider a day pen for them for when you're out. Its great having them strutting round the garden like they own the place, it makes you happy watching hapy hens.Good luck, its addictive!

Kevie192

Thank you for the opinions

The other thing I forgot to mention is my cat (and soon to be a kitten too)... I have read that a cat will probably be too scared of chickens to hurt them in any way but what about bantams? I would hate to clip their wings only to find they're now an easy target for the cat!

Kevin x

ginnyknit

I have a cantankerous big old tomcat who looks at my hens with total disgust, unless they are let out of their huge run then its a moving target and fair game. Cats instinct is to play with anything that moves so I wouldn't trust him.