Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

rubys_mummy

thanks...yes i did

someone did my first 3 , and then when i picked these 3 up today, the breeder held them and showed me where to trim them on one side. took about 4 or 5cm off i think

lalapalooza

Hi all. I used to have chucks but when we moved we have a more open aspect and felt it wasn't safe (foxes) until we have managed to fence the garden (which will take time as stupid previous owners planted lleylandii too close to the neighbours border - we have taken the trees down but not able to erect a fence because of the stumps! Grrr!

When introducing new hens best to do so under cover of darkness - simply put them into the house with the other hens. They come out in the morning and are usually ok. There may be a little status-sorting over the next 3-5 days - just make sure you have some purple liquid to squirt on any cuts if one is getting bullied! As to clipping feathers - my old ex batts didn't need this doing as they were quite happy just to be able to move around - my pekins however, were quite flightly - and can jump 6ft so be warned if you have little ones! :-)

rubys_mummy

sorry, but another question!

do chickens get fleas, and if so, what is the easiest way to treat them? garlic in their food maybe/

we moved into the house a couple of wks ago, and the previous tenants had dogs, so it could just be that,i dnt know

we DO have 2 dogs as well, but they get regularly treated with frontline

i really hope its the previous tenants tht had the fleas, and not the chooks

oh and i've had to keep my 3 new ones in a separate pen, as even tho i'd clipped their wings, they can still jump/flutter onto the top of the coop and then onto the 8ft fence! so i'm doing what i did with the other chooks i got....keeping them in an enclosed pen/coop for 4 or 5 days, so they realise that this is where they live now, and not keep trying to escape!

oh...just thought of something else...sorry! had a huge egg laid by one of my new girls this morning,and it was covered in blood...she seems ok in herself, but is this normal?

thanks everyone for putting up with all my questions! xx

angelsmomma

I have been left with just one of my girls now and as we have plans to move abroad in a year or so have decided not to get any more.

This is our answer for her not to be lonely. She comes running in the back door and joins the dogs every morning. They all eat together, Jemima's has her corn and the dogs eat their breakfast then settle down for a nap.

rubys mummy, Frontline is not as effective as it used to be so it could be the previous owners dogs fleas and now yours have caught them.

Syman

Just had my first problem with my girls. Mrs spotted ommelette was hunched up and generaly looking miserable. I picked her up and figured she had an egg stuck. Donned my latex gloves and oiled up for a gentle probe and massage and did indeed find a stuck egg.

Massaged her for a few minutes, then put her down to read up on wht to do next. When i picked her up again, she gave a loud squawrk and out popped the egg.

Her demeanour picked up almost immediately. Will have to keep an eye on her though heres hoping it will be ok.

Syman

well it's been a few days. Had three eggs per day so 1 each. Omelette is back to her old self and does not appear to have any problems.

bought this book on my kindle

Chickens as pets

very informative and some sound advice too.

Goldiegirl

I'm not a chicken keeper, but the other day one of my husband's colleagues had to meet a farmer, and he came back with a box of six eggs for everyone in the office.

It was great having eggs of all sizes and colours.

Supermarket eggs are so uniform. I'm going to try farmers shops and markets to get assorted eggs.

walkers60

Hi everyone

I wonder if anyone could help with my chooks which I have had for about 4 weeks. I have 6 and all seem healthy and happy. However their feathers at the base of the tail look fluffy - not nicely formed feathers. Also on a couple they have lost the feathers underneath - almost as if they have been plucked ready for the oven!!

Surely they cannot be moulting already, at only 24ish weeks? I scrubbed the house and put down lots of mite powder before they arrived. Also I have been giving them liquid Poultry Spice every other day in their water. Can anyone suggest a solution please. They are laying extremely well and I haven't noticed much feather pecking at all - none of them are being bullied.

Thank you for reading.

Walkers

ljonski

if their bottoms are clean then everything is probably ok. im not certain if there is anything wrong as fluffy bottoms are the sign of good health. Just monitor them and report back if anything else develops . You could check for lice i suppose . Hth

walkers60

Thank you for your reply. Yes I did wonder about lice. Also I didn't mention that some of their poo is a bit runny and sometimes yellowish rather than normal. Sorry for the graphic details!!
W