Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

libra10

Am finding this a fascinating thread and I thought I would introduce you to our three new hens who we have called Pecking Poll, Clucking Clara and Victoria Peckham!

We bought them at point-of-lay and they are 'generously' giving us three eggs a day - which are delicious!

Each day my OH and I go walking and collect dandelions, clover, and other greenery, which they seem to prefer to their usual feed.

Eventually we will let them peck freely in the garden, but are a little wary of Mr Fox calling!

Everyone is very taken with our 'little ladies', it's surprising how much interest there is in hen keeping.

Hope the image shows! If it doesn't I'll have another go.

diluvsdiscounts

Finally some pics of my chickens. They do not have a disease if you can see white on one of their heads DD did some baking today and gave them the leftover icing.They loved it but ended up wearing more than they consumed.
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/5936/sam0133i.jpg
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3753/sam0175.jpg
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/5492/sam0220n.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/701/sam0703.jpg

smileyt_2

libra10 wrote: »

Am finding this a fascinating thread and I thought I would introduce you to our three new hens who we have called Pecking Poll, Clucking Clara and Victoria Peckham!

We bought them at point-of-lay and they are 'generously' giving us three eggs a day - which are delicious!

Each day my OH and I go walking and collect dandelions, clover, and other greenery, which they seem to prefer to their usual feed.

Eventually we will let them peck freely in the garden, but are a little wary of Mr Fox calling!

They look lovely. But you may find you don't have much garden left if you let them have access to all of it! I'm surprised your bean plants weren't shredded - my girls will eat anything, especially if they're not supposed to!

I wouldn't give them icing and other sweet stuff, though - I don't think chickens are designed to eat such highly processed 'human' foods. Might upset their digestion and their laying.

smileyt_2

singlehouseholder wrote: »

hello fellow chicken lovers! Hope you can help. I'm having a real struggle with my sussex. Went to coop this morning let them all out into run, fine. Went back a couple of hours later after they'd had a chance to get some layers down them, and to let them out to Frange and found a broken egg on the newspaper on the dropping board.:( Now, I don't know if its been stood on by accident and smashed, or , if its been smashed on purpose. Anyway, was doing a bit bonding with the four of them this morning, letting them eat worms out of my hand and noticed the sussex has got yellow on her head and beak, which suggests to me she is the culprit.:( I think it may have been her egg too. The two orig's lay teatimey and did last night, then my part wyan laid her 1st egg (yahoo) earlier today :j. So i'm thinking the Sussex has laid her egg, then eaten it.:eek: She's the bird that I'm having a hard time with, rang breeder a few times, he said she might be going broody, her feathers are all over, he said thats what they do, and they go reet maudy too, which she is. I really don't feel experienced enough to cope with an egg eater, what can I do? Please help.

Hi, one of my hens is an egg-eater too. I try to get to the coop around the time I think she will lay (not always successful though) and remove the egg as soon as I can. Her shells are very thin so I am adding Poultry Spice to their feed to try and thicken the shell. I'm not sure what else to suggest. Some folks suggest blowing an egg and filling it with mustard so that the hen gets put off by the taste when she pecks it, but I don't know how you would time that so that she pecks the egg you want her to!

Hopefully some more experienced chicken keepers will be along to offer more helpful advice soon.

diluvsdiscounts

[QUOTE

I wouldn't give them icing and other sweet stuff, though - I don't think chickens are designed to eat such highly processed 'human' foods. Might upset their digestion and their laying.

[/QUOTE]
That's exactly what I said when I got home from work.There was only a small amount she promises and as I said they were wearing most of it!!

oystercatcher

We've spotted this chicken coop recently, what do people think?


Looks nice and easy to clean and we love the idea that it's made from recycled plastic and also looks long lasting.

http://www.chickencoopsdirect.com/eco-hen-house.htm

We only have a tiny garden so need something compact.

ETA they would have an enclosure around the run for extra space as well.

Mutantk

Hi Oystercatcher, I'm no expert but I love this chookie house/run and have just entered a comp to win one actually! Bet it's easy to keep clean/sanitised...

On another note, have just acquired 6 fertilised eggs for my broody blackrock to hatch - anyone know what the success rate is...ie with 6, how many chicks am I likely to end up with?

Thanks

singlehouseholder

oystercatcher wrote: »

We've spotted this chicken coop recently, what do people think?


Looks nice and easy to clean and we love the idea that it's made from recycled plastic and also looks long lasting.

http://www.chickencoopsdirect.com/eco-hen-house.htm

We only have a tiny garden so need something compact.

ETA they would have an enclosure around the run for extra space as well.

ouch pricey! Add on all you other set up costs and bet you're well on your way to a good £4/500!
It would look good on th lawn though!

oystercatcher

singlehouseholder wrote: »

ouch pricey! Add on all you other set up costs and bet you're well on your way to a good £4/500!
It would look good on th lawn though!

We are budgeting for £500 to set up and I am saving my survey and Quidco profits to make it 'cost neutral' .
From reading around it just seems that the cheaper coops don't last and I'm not keen on wasting money and not very good on DIY skills so the eco house seems a possible option. Would love to reduce costs if anyone can suggest a viable option though!

ginnyknit

I have just been to check on my veg garden and walked past the chicken run where the girls were wandering about quite happily. As I did a little weeding i could hear a gentle clucking sound, strange noise I thought, when I turned round all 3 hens were behind me cleaning the path - they had opened the door to the run and escaped - so I dangled a radish in front of them and led them back in as if nothing has happened. And we were worried about them digging a tunnel, ha, they don't need tunnels :rotfl: