Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Gigervamp

It's worth trying the greens, but I found that my girls won't touch greens!

You can put gravel in the run. It will help to stop it being so muddy and will give them something to scratch around in. A cat litter tray with some play sand will allow them to dustbathe.

Another thing you can do, is get a small animal treat ball and fill it with corn/mealworms. We have one for our girls and it's fun watching them pass it backwards and forwards with their beaks.

mardatha

I have a pair of feathered piranhas. They seem to eat anything that doesnt bite them first!
... herbs, grass, dandelions, seeds, grains, potatoes, cat meat, chickweed, lettuce, cabbage. The only thing they don't eat - and I canny blame them - is broccoli.

Athome1

Gigervamp wrote: »

A cat litter tray with some play sand will allow them to dustbathe.

What a clever idea, I did wonder about dust baths in the cold wet weather!

Another thing you can do, is get a small animal treat ball and fill it with corn/mealworms. We have one for our girls and it's fun watching them pass it backwards and forwards with their beaks.

Another good idea, will be off to the pet shop asap!

Thanks for the advice, I'm sure I'm more nervous about the hens than I ever was about my (human) babies:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Athome1

mardatha wrote: »

I have a pair of feathered piranhas. They seem to eat anything that doesnt bite them first!
... herbs, grass, dandelions, seeds, grains, potatoes, cat meat, chickweed, lettuce, cabbage. The only thing they don't eat - and I canny blame them - is broccoli.

They certainly seem game to have a taste of everything! They certainly like cooked potatoes and rice and they like raw porridge oats. The cabbage leaves get kicked about more than eaten but they like the extra weeds and grass I've been putting in their run.

My old fat cat doesn't leave much of her food but I'll remember the hens when she does:D

sparrer

Athome1 wrote: »

I think I've read that some folk hang cds and greens up too, is that a good idea?

I have friends who keep chooks, they hang CD's up and the chooks love them, even jump onto the logs in the run to try to reach them. They have cabbage leaves through the top of the run too, so double fun lol. They also love jam sandwiches....I wouldn't say they're spoiled, but when I visit they seem to be eating better that me!

ionahenor2

Mine love cauliflower stalk leaves and the inside of the broccoli stalk. They peck out all the middle. I also hang up cooked corn on the cob. I bought a frozen pack from Aldi last year for 99p then in August they had fresh ones. They had plain cooked spaghetti tonight and a few chopped grapes. They don't like cucumber/tomato or raisins.

You could put tree bark/shreddings in the pen. Mine have it and dig in it all the time. Where it has broken down they now have compost which s great for dust bathing. (We had some trees cut down about 2 years ago and the tree surgeon left all the shreddings from the job in piles in the wood. which we use to top up the girls pen. It's about 6 inches deep and was full of worms etc Now sadly eaten!!!!) Some tree surgeons will give it away, others make a small charge but are much cheaper than B&Q.

I tried the cat litter tray and sand but it didn't last more than 10 mins as all 3 decided they would bathe together which was funny to watch. Then mine discovered the soil at the base of trees in next doors garden was better still.

Have you had many eggs from your exbats Athome1?

redpete

The two bluebelles we've had have been the least friendly (to us and the other chickens) compared with the blackrock, goldline and silverlink that we've had (or is it goldline & silverlink, I never remember).

spirit

redpete wrote: »

The two bluebelles we've had have been the least friendly (to us and the other chickens) compared with the blackrock, goldline and silverlink that we've had (or is it goldline & silverlink, I never remember).

That's what I'm concerned about redpete, I love the look of them, all fluffy knickers and wotnot, but might have to shelve the idea of having that breed

tru

I've got 13 chickens, 5 of them are bluebells. They're the friendliest They walk over to me to be picked up. If I sit down, one of them will jump on my lap. If I crouch, one ends up on my shoulder. When they've gone to bed, I open the gate to put them away and Ruby comes running out to be carried back down to the shed

We've also got a light sussex, a maran, 2 wyandottes, 2 columbines, a rhode island red and a rhode rock.

And they all love tomatoes

spirit

Hmnn, now that's put the cat amongst the pigeons tru!