Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Katharine

Nope but I'm going to order a card reader tonmorrow as I need to show you my new farmhouse. I've found mealworms are the perfect making friends tool, had some free from the pet shop and had chicks all over my lap to get them. They are now keen to see me and unwary, the Dorkings are braver than the Marans and my girl dorking is the only one to be named so far, Natasha after Henstridge.

feefeelalabelle

hi all, im loving this thread so much !!!! only on page 14 ....wow you guys can chat lol
im after a bit of advice please:rolleyes:
last week we bought three chickens at about 4-5 months old 2 hens and one male, mixed breeds, they are all sorted now in their run ect ect, went out at the weekend and fell in love with some just hatched chicks, light sussex, white star, and a few other breeds, we said that we would like 3 but the man had no change so we ended up with 5 OMG:D, we was told to keep them under a 40 watt bulb for a week and then take the bulb away, then after another week they can go outside, does this sound right to you? everything ive read contradicts this and i dont want to harm my babies, we have them upstairs in our converted attic at the mo and its sooo hot upthere, so ive turned the lamp off for a short while as they were as far away from it as they could get, they are 4 days old now...well one of them is 2 weeks
i know it must get annoying all the questions but i promise i will share my wisdom when i get some:D
when can they come off the lamp?
when should i put them outside ?
how long before i can introduce them to the 4 month olds?

xxxxx

Frugaldom

Hi FeeFee, welcome to chicken world and congratulations on getting your first hens.

First of all, your 4 - 5 month olds are at point of lay, so you should start getting eggs very soon. But I need to ask how and where they are kept, how much space etc, in relation to where you hope to put the babies when they are ready to go outside?

My chicks are with the broody hens (their mums) or given heat until they are at least 4 weeks old, then they go into a large brooding cage and then into a run of their own until full grown. Mixing chicks with older hens isn't always the easiest thing to do, so it will depend on the answers to my previous questions what the best way to proceed will be.

Marigold123

KAAT_LADY wrote: »

just a question guys ....Where can i get ''dummy eggs'' ..as we have to keep one egg in the nest boxes so they remember what they are for ,,:rotfl::rotfl:

We used plastic ones, the kind of thing you have in the home corner in nursery school. I actually bought mine from GLS Dudley, the education supplies catalogue, when we were still home schooling, but you could always try the Early Learning Centre, I guess, or get the kids to pinch one from Nursery!

Marigold

feefeelalabelle

nykmedia wrote: »

Hi FeeFee, welcome to chicken world and congratulations on getting your first hens.

First of all, your 4 - 5 month olds are at point of lay, so you should start getting eggs very soon. But I need to ask how and where they are kept, how much space etc, in relation to where you hope to put the babies when they are ready to go outside?

My chicks are with the broody hens (their mums) or given heat until they are at least 4 weeks old, then they go into a large brooding cage and then into a run of their own until full grown. Mixing chicks with older hens isn't always the easiest thing to do, so it will depend on the answers to my previous questions what the best way to proceed will be.

ive just been out in the garden foi 3 hours as everyone else was in bed.......except my chickens, haha weve really been bonding, well if that whatr you call 3 clucks sitting on your head while your trying to weed!!!! i love them they are fab

right in hope you can help me some more
* my 4-5 months are kept in a dog kennerl, its about 8 ft x4ft with 1 door opening covering in decent mesh (no mr foxes for us thankyou very much)
* they have a full corner of our garden which is bigger than their cage, if you catch my meaning, their cage in in the run ,
* ive put a little picket fence around it all to stop my dog playing with them , hes too fat to jump lol, they do free range and can quite easily fly over the little fence, as proven when one flew onto out 8ft fence !!!!!!
*i think thats lovely that you have the mum and the chicks together....so sweet,our plan was to buy a rabbit hutch when they get off heat (you should advise me when lol) and to put a mesh fence at the side of the older clucks pen so they can all see each other but cant get through

ive just been up in the loft to the tiny chicks and its sooo hot up there im unsure what i should do about the lamp, i dont want them to over heat but in the same respect dont want them to get cold ?? i suppose if they was with their mums they would follow her around outside for a while... am i right in thinking this?

oh i have lots of questions but dont want to bore you too much with the newbie questions lol

sorry its a long post guys xxx

Frugaldom

Sounds like you are doing the right things, FeeFee, I use rabbit hutches for mine, too. As long as there's a few chicks together then they can huddle for extra warmth if needed. They should be alright to put out as soon as they are all completely feathered up, just make sure they can't get stuck in any gaps, fall in any water or get through the wire to escape. The ones I hatched in incubators were moved into their hutches at about 4 weeks or 5 weeks but that was in April when we were still getting frost. This time of year there's no such worries.

Have you got photos you can let us see?

feefeelalabelle

off to get the camera lol xxx


ive forgot how to upload them ......... help
xxx

Katharine

Sounds like the right idea to me, wouldnt bother with the lamp in this heat, but have it ready if required. My chicks (2 weeks 5 days) already don't sleep under mum but huddle together with her. I let them out to meet the others (and the dog) this eve (with careful observation) was planning to free them at the weekend but they want to escape now! Mum loved it even more than them, went straight for the greenery, then a climb on the bush, then had an apparently highly pleasureable dust bath. The other hens and particularly the cockrel came to say hello with no dramas. It's a different kettle of fish with no mum to look out for them tho.

I hope my chicks turn out as tame as your POL's. My other chickens were pretty much wild when I got them and have become very tame considering, but they have no interest in letting me stroke them or sitting on me. I'm putting in the time and treats so I'm hopeful.

Frugaldom

Oh, cute chicks Yes, the pictures worked, FeeFee Just keep showing us more pics

Today is poultry sale day and I should have been going but can't! Hmph! I was hoping to take a dew of my extra chickens for selling but it would have meant an overnight at relatives, as the sale is over miles away from us. Never mind, friend is there checking out prices. I'll be gutted if they make enormous amounts of money and mine are still all out in the garden eating and growing into crowing cockerels. :rolleyes:

KAAT_LADY

feefeelalabelle wrote: »

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/25878891

hope this works, not done it before

nice chicks ,, and baby xxx