Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

ginnyknit

My 3 girls have a 2 storey rabbit hutch and we measured it and BHWT said there was enough room per chicken. They love it in there. the sides are wire but we have put a loose cover over it so they get air but no draughts. they also have a large run for during the day. They are very healthy happy girls who lay 3 eggs a day and eat every scrap plus pellets. Its also amazingly easy to clean, when they get their feathery butts out of the way, added advantage the top lifts up for access. I just brush the suprisingly small amount of mess down the stairs into a bucket then once a fortnight spray it with the hose and its shiny!

jexygirl

In all honesty, and please don't shoot me down! But having had my girls for over 6 months now, whose bed and nest areas are a converted old generator building, they are happy wherever and whatever you give them it seems, as long as they have something to work with and, as long as they have somewhere to sleep and somewhere to lay. They decided the current layout of the house (against everything I read up on, and my "hen guru" having years of experience) we laid it out text book with perches and box areas in the researched spots... they now sleep on an old half rotten log to the side of the door... (they didnt like the hand built perches made from proper logs!) they lay in 2 areas in the back corners (where we assumed they would sleep!) and also dont like the perches we built, despite us moving them around.
They are ex batts, but soon got back their instincts, and we moved stuff around according to where the most poo was, in order to provide them with what they wanted. Its a big house to them, so took a few days for them to decide how they wanted it, but now we have it sorted to their exacting requirements, all is well! I even have to leave one full unused bag of sawdust in a specific spot, as one decided thats where she would lay, and only there, on top of the bag! If the bag wasnt there, she fretted till we moved one (it started out purely as dry storage, but what she wanted she got!) then got up and layed on it!
As long as they have safe and secure shelter, they will be fine, and a rabbit hutch sounds great as long as they have space to scrat too good luck!

I am taking on another 2 ex batts in the next few days, that were advertised on freecycle as the owner was concerned they were egg pecking, and laying soft shelled eggs, and she is now getting new diffferent hens and they apparently cant live together, so these were destined for chicken heaven.... I fear for the new ones more than the ones I am taking if thats the reason for not keeping them... I am intending on integrating them in with my 14..., have some home remedies planned for the pecking, if it is even an issue once they get some calcium from baked shells etc, and dont lay soft eggs / have a varied diet / learn that eggs arent the best food as there is much more yummy things available.
My hen guru has lots of experience and has only once had to resort to boot polish on the beak to confuse the sense of smell, but it will be the last resort as it often resets the pecking order, and much as I want to look after the new girls and give them a good life, I dont want my girls to have to do that unless absolutely all other avenues are exhausted, and there are about 6 options before that, and with 14 hens, I think we have to add another few if the telling off I get when i take the eggs is anything to go by, the girls wont be happy to let another hen peck them!
Ex batts have never even seen their eggs, so seeing them, is a novelty, they often accidentally tread on them etc. and seeing them as an extra source of food when they havent known anything other than a seed tray they have to reach through a wire to eat must be relearned as a behaviour from what I read. Will see how I go, I am still a newbie at this hen husbandry thing, but will do what I can to make sure they have a lovely retirement!
I also have a plan a b and c to stop the pecking (if its even necessary based on the info i have) and to integrate them, wish me luck!
jex

rsj

Thank all for your kind advice. Next question, what about the smell, honestly? Neighbours are concerned...
Thanks again x

ginnyknit

Jexygirl, sounds like you have done what i did and followed your instincts. My baldy girls had to learn what being a chicken meant and made their own decisions, they don't even have a roost anymore as they prefer to cuddle up together in the nest box. I worried myself silly at first until I relaxed and let them get on with it. I to had a guru and she told me to listen to the girls, feed them any leftover scraps, fishy bits, herbs and cod liver oil, garlic. So far so good!

Rsj honestly they don't really smell as long as you sweep them out regularly and give the coop a scrub. Everyone uses different bedding, I use a folded newspaper with a layer of sawdust and change it every day. The only smell seems to come from the soil outside the coop and so we move it every 6 months and that works fine, its a sort of stale smell. But if yours are going to free range it wont be a problem.

Just enjoy your birds, we all talk to them and dote on them, in return we get laughter and eggs!

susyrosy

They ARE funny little souls, arent they? Mine free range round the entire neighbourhood - not intentionally, but they put their hats and coats on in the mornings, grab their bags, and go out foraging ... Every so often I have to round them up and pretend the garden is chicken proof .. In summer they roost up a favourite tree, but in the winter, I MAKE them go into their house, because I can't bear to think of them outside in the cold and wet, even though they try and rush up before I can get them indoors, and then I have to 'persuade' them down with a bit of genteel prodding with a long stick .. sounds awful, but I promise you, it isn't.

Pets with added egg.

Susy

ginnyknit

Me and Dh have just spent half an hour in the pouring rain moving the pergola to a better position to keep the girls dry. Strangley I found my sowing scissors in the run this morning - I tell you its like the great escape, now they are making themselves suits, if my camera disappears I know who has got it! They are definately odd bods but so hungry too!

Gigervamp

Oh, thanks for the laugh girls! Read your posts out to hubby...he sat nodding in understanding!

We spent some time today putting stock fencing up against the railings and netting of the garden to stop our intrepid Steve McQueen (Gracie).
She goes off on her little jaunts but as soon as we realise and find her, she trots back and waits for us to open the gate to the garden, as if it's the only way in or out!

rsj, there really isn't any smell if you keep on top of cleaning. When I let the girls out in the morning, I use a cat litter scoop to scoop up the poo. It takes a minute, if that. Then, once a week, I empty out all the woodchips and give the house a scrub with some disinfectant. Just a splash in a bucket of warm water. Once the house has dried, I put in clean woodchips and sprinkle around some diatom.
Also, when I've been feeling unwell and haven't cleaned the poo out for 3 or 4 days, even when it's been hot weather, I've not noticed a smell then.

weeze210

Hi all, I've just spent an entire weekend reading this thread. I am hoping to have 3 exbattery chickens but not sure about my garden, the whole thing is covered with slate. I have lots of pots with flowers, herbs and a few veggies (carrot, courgettes and french beans) We have an avary which we can convert but I also want them to roam free when I'm at home. Any advice please, thankyou.
Weeze x

smileyt_2

weeze210 wrote: »

Hi all, I've just spent an entire weekend reading this thread. I am hoping to have 3 exbattery chickens but not sure about my garden, the whole thing is covered with slate. I have lots of pots with flowers, herbs and a few veggies (carrot, courgettes and french beans) We have an avary which we can convert but I also want them to roam free when I'm at home. Any advice please, thankyou.
Weeze x

Hi, I don't know how hens react to roaming on slate, but one thing I can advise is to raise your pots up as high as you can as otherwise the hens will eat everything. And I mean everything! All my big pots of veg are now raised up on upturned buckets and my girls still manage to shred the bottom leaves. They are fantastic at jumping and will keep going until they achieve their aim.

But they are very rewarding, so don't let that put you off!

Maybe you can remove some of the slate and have a 'digging area'?

weeze210

Thanks re the tubs!
I was wondering about the slate as it might be sharp on their feet, I know it hurts my feet if I walk on it bare footed!