Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

meggielo

I didn't know it was a bad idea giving hens warm food either. I buy the tesco value porridge oats and make my hens up a huge bowl of porridge with water and cook it in the microwave. They love it and it makes me feel like I am helping to keep them warm. I did this every day during the last lot of snowy weather we had and they are all still alive today :rotfl:I would take alot of what you read with a pinch of salt to be honest. When I first got my hens I was so worried I was not going to look after them 'right' but you learn as you go along and at the end of the day, hens, they say, will only eat things that they know are okay for them to eat! Don't know if that is true or not though:rotfl:

poohbear59

twiglet98 Here is a link to the solar light.
http://www.thesolarcentre.co.uk/products/Solar_Multi_Shed_Light-89-7.html

I have had hens for 9 years now and have always allowed them to naturally give up their egg production during Winter. In fact I kept hens to eight years old and they hadn't laid an egg in years. They are pets first and egg producers second.

My recent problem is that wheat and pellet costs have rocketed, more than double the costs when we started. If we don't have any eggs at all we really can's afford to keep the hens. We have nine girls and if I just had one or two eggs a day I could afford them more easily. I have bought a lamp which will only extend the day by three hours at most for my girls. We live in a mainly dark and cloudy area but when the sun shines we have eggs even in the depths of Winter. Maybe just one or two but then they pay for themselves. DH isn't working and I am trying to be MS:o.

oldandhappy

We also love and appreciate all wild life but going back 10 years when we moved from Wallington to Bexhill... sea and countryside....cannot get any better... we soon found by dropping a little food over the fence in the farmland next door, a few mins and the badgers would appear...fantastic...foxes also soon appeared in wait..then started climbing over the fence so our feeding place moved to outside the property and away towards ther habitat. We were concerned for our Cats even though the chances of a Fox taking a Cat is unlikley.. our Pets are our 1st priority...'big time'.
This May we purchased 3 Pekin Bantams from a Chicken Farm Near Catsfield/Battle area(and all there brilliant advice and help could not have done it without them)there House purchased locally too and Hubby built the Run, we have foxproofed all. Recently purchased 4 gorgorous Ducks from the same Farm and once again huge amount of advice.....Yet just 5 mins ago a Fox was spotted by us in the garden by the Chicken Run with our lights on and some Garden Xmas Light on...no deterent to a Hungary Fox...Foxproofed Yes, but that still leaves us worrying because we care so much for our Pets. We do not want to put up a 6 foot fence to take away our countyside aspect and I know a electric fence is what a lot of people do which we do not actually fancy either as it is not as if the Hens and Ducks are loose in the Garden anyway. Just need to remind ourselves that we have given them all as much security as possible within there Coups/Runs. Ducks still laying eggs....yummy. Dianne

p.s. Hen house has underlay covered in thick plastic sheeting for extra warmth on roof and two sides...extra shavings...4 inches deep approx in Hen House. also thought about a heat lamp but don't want to actually cook them!!!The Run has the sides filled with slot in clear plastic panels and the top has plastic sheeting over.....

coldstreamalways

Perhaps you shouldn't have fed them in the first place? Dont forget domestic pets can pick up worms, mange and ringworm from foxes. Nasty.

moominyak

Money_maker wrote: »

its mainly the egg producers who use lighting to lengthen the days to keep the egg supply coming so there is no difference in the seasons. This can exhaust the hens. Suggest the hens are left to their natural production - generally it kicks back in again in january anyway.

jamsandwhich wrote: »

We are also not doing anything to encourage ours to lay through the winter by using a light or other artificial methods, they are still giving us an egg each a day but would rather let them produce naturally than force them on.

My thoughts eggsactly (sorry )! I'm still getting 3 eggs a day from my 4 girls with no artificial lighting, and if they do go off lay over the winter then I will consider that a well-deserved rest for them

@ poohbear59 - did you look into the poultry spice? I'm convinced it's doing them some good. It seemed pretty expensive when I bought it, but you only need to add a tiny bit to the mash.

singlehouseholder

does anyone have any hints to stop water freezing?I've looked arounf a few poultry site but any advice given seems to be contradicted by the next person, its so difficult as a newby facing first winter.I too was feeding l.pellets soaked in warm water but read they shouldn't have warm food as it messes with their internal heating system, but they love the warm food. I've put hay on top of the nesting boxes, as one bird insists upon sleeping in there. As for the water, have lost a plastic drinker to frost, so bought a galv steel one, but think that might make water freeze quicker? Do you tink the birds'd peck through a thin layer of ice ?

oldandhappy

I saw the other day online water heaters...I was looking for ways to keep my little pekins warm but the only site that sold plate type heaters with safe electric leads was USA...butsaw lots of water heaters...ours ice up and right now they would be a good idea...but we can keep changing the water several times each day if needed as our time is free now...Dianne

stumpycat

singlehouseholder wrote: »

does anyone have any hints to stop water freezing?I've looked arounf a few poultry site but any advice given seems to be contradicted by the next person, its so difficult as a newby facing first winter.I too was feeding l.pellets soaked in warm water but read they shouldn't have warm food as it messes with their internal heating system, but they love the warm food. I've put hay on top of the nesting boxes, as one bird insists upon sleeping in there. As for the water, have lost a plastic drinker to frost, so bought a galv steel one, but think that might make water freeze quicker? Do you tink the birds'd peck through a thin layer of ice ?

I put a splash of apple cider vinegar into the water, which may help stop it freezing. I've also just got some new ex-bats and they keep flinging bits of food into the water, so that may stop the ice as well!

I also give them some warm food - but it's only just warm. Just as it gets dark they get a casserole dish of cooked barley, porridge & pellets - and eat it by the light of their dragonfly lights (Moneysaving, honest! £1.69 in B&M) :rotfl:

cheeswright

I was considering flinging one of those reusable handwarmers in their water to stop it freezing whilst i'm at work
up in the bottle part where it wont be accessible to them

any thoughts anyone ?

Money_maker

singlehouseholder wrote: »

I've put hay on top of the nesting boxes, as one bird insists upon sleeping in there.

I should change that to straw as hay is not really suitable for hens (think it can cause problems in the crop).

Talking of expensive food, anyone know any cheap woodshavings suppliers? Can just about stomach the rise in pellets and straw but woodshavings seem to have rocketed.