Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

RacyRed

OMG! OMG! My little banty looks like she might be broody :eek: Panic, panic, get towels, do I need hot water? :eek:

Well, either she is becoming broody or she doesn't want to get her pretty white feathers muddy in this horrible weather. :rotfl: She was sort of wobbling around on top of one of the large hybrid's eggs as well as her own tiny one. I've removed them from under her in the hope she will lay one or two more before she sits properly.

If she isn't going to suffer the indignity of having to sit on her eggs in a cardboard box in the shed, I think I had better sort out a broody house and run for her. Any suggestions anyone?

Flippin 'eck! I haven't had her and her gorgeous hubby a month yet

Gigervamp

I've got 2 broodies at the moment. We tried moving them into a seperate coop, but they wouldn't have it, so they're back in the big coop. They share a nesting box (an old council recycling box) and the others stay out of their way.

It's quite sweet seeing the two of them tucked up together, purring away! We've popped some eggs under them, but we don't know if the eggs are fertile as we don't have a proper egg candler and the torch we used wasn't bright enough to see through the eggs.

happymum2010

Hello,

I have only discovered this thread, I wish I had found it sooner, you all really seem to know a lot about chickens. I would really appreciate some of your expertise. I am getting chickens for the first time next weekend. I have a new hen house and a run. The hen house seemed to have a lot of large gaps in the base and I was worried that the chicken's poop would get stuck and that it would fester, so I filled the gaps with clear outdoor silicone. Now I am worried that the chickens will peck the silicone and get sick. Do I need to pick it out? We are getting a barnvelder, light sussex, buff sussex and a rhode island red all about 9 weeks old from one supplier.
Does anyone you know if they can be reliably be sexed at this age? Really do not want to have to deal with a rooster - neighbours would go nuts.
How long are they fed on growers pellets/mash? Do they get wholegrain at this age?
Do they need vaccinations and vitamins?
Do they need protected from frost and cold weather? Do I need to keep them in the house or garage when it is frosty?
When do i give them apple cider vinegar and how much and how often?
I have foxglove, sweet pea and daffodils in the garden, I have been told these are poisonous, so do I have to dig them out?
I have the Hayes Chicken Manual, could anyone recommend a book with more practical advice?
I have a feeder, drinker and 2 lockable dustbins for storing feed ordered, is there anything else?

Sorry for the long ramble, I am just in a complete panic. I don't want to do anything wrong and they get sick or die.
Please help. Thank you in advance.

ljonski

Ill start the ball rolling.
Female chucks have rounded feathers whilst male have pointed ones.
Downthelane or omlet forums have all you need for specific chicken advice.
The hen house must have ventilation for the chucks.
ACV 1% in water drinker


What are you using for bedding?/nesting ?

Chickens know what food is and I wouldn't worry about rooting up your plants

Welcome to the wonderful world of Chicken keeping

Gigervamp

You'll need to give them growers pellets until they're about 16 weeks old. Then gradually change them over to layers pellets.

The breeder may have vaccinated them. If chickens are going to be vaccinated, it's usually done when they're a day old, but they don't have to be vaccinated.

You could ask the breeder if they will take a chicken back if it turns out to be a cockerel. Most will.

Not sure about the silicon sealant. Were the gaps there due to shoddy workmanship, or could they have been for ventilation?

At 9 weeks old, they should be fully feathered and at this time of year should be ok in the coop at night when the temperature drops. They'll probably snuggle up together to keep warm.

oldtractor

We have a chain link cage which surrounds our hen house. This is to keep badgers and foxes from getting to the hens as they cannot bite through it. Today I discovered one of my hens had been killed . We think she put her head through the chain link and that the fox bit it off. She had been seen to peck at our cat previously so we think she went to peck at the fox which was obviously prowling round the coop. We bought the chain link cage to be a strong security measure rather than more fragile chicken wire. Just mentioning this in case anyone else has a similar arrangement.

happymum2010

Thanks ljonski and Gigervamp for your advice.
I was going to use dust free wood shavings for bedding to start with, I'm hoping to use shredded paper once the hens get bigger.

The hen house has one circular vent at the top approx 15cm in diameter. Is that enough ventilation? The gaps were all on the floor of the hen house at the joins and in the base of the nesting boxes. It did look like shoddy workmanship, should I pick out the silicone for extra ventilation? There is also a gap of about 2cms where the lid of the nest box does not quite close flush. Would that put them off from laying?

I will check out those forums ljonski.

Thanks again for you help

Syman

Well, It's been a week since i joined the world of chicken ownership. And i can honestly say they are the funniest things to watch bumble around. it made me smile when after a very wet day i let the girls wander around the garden in the early evening, then come 8o'clock they had taken themselves off to bed.
Another good thing is that they know that the sound of the shaking corn tub means a treat is on the cards and they reappear from wherever they are hiding and jog back up the garden so i can put them back in their run. Chickens running is the funniest thig to watch LOL.

RacyRed

happymum2010 wrote: »

Thanks ljonski and Gigervamp for your advice.
I was going to use dust free wood shavings for bedding to start with, I'm hoping to use shredded paper once the hens get bigger.

The hen house has one circular vent at the top approx 15cm in diameter. Is that enough ventilation? The gaps were all on the floor of the hen house at the joins and in the base of the nesting boxes. It did look like shoddy workmanship, should I pick out the silicone for extra ventilation? There is also a gap of about 2cms where the lid of the nest box does not quite close flush. Would that put them off from laying?

I will check out those forums ljonski.

Thanks again for you help

That nest box gap doesn't sound good. Have you contacted whoever you got the hen house from to query the build quality? Do you have a photo of your hen house so we can help you further?

Re your garden, your large hens will destroy it in weeks I'm afraid, it is just what chooks do. If you want to keep your garden decent and have chooks in it you might want to think about swapping your big girls for bantams. Their feet, especially the miniature true bantams, are much smaller and do a lot less damage. Their eggs are small but delicious and the right breed will lay a decent number for you. Some breeds are also really friendly and a lot of fun to keep. I have 4 hybrids and in 6 weeks they have turned a large (20ft) enclosure into bare earth (it is currently a mud bath). Normally the growth in that patch is about 4 ft high by this time of year. My banty pair have to have "help" from the big girls to stop the weeds from taking over their enclosure. Banties also do much, much smaller poos

NB, my banty girl isn't broody, or if she was then removing her egg was enough to knock her off. Oh well, at least this gives me time to plan properly.

Gigervamp, your broodies sound so cute! Any signs of life from the eggs yet?

Oldtractor, sorry to hear about your girl and thanks for the warning, something else to consider in the battle against the foxes.

Gigervamp

RacyRed, the eggs have about another 10 days to go.

We're getting ducks! They're a pair of cayugas. I've been thinking about getting some ducks for a while now and someone I know is having to downsize her flock. Really looking forward to getting them.