Keeping hens and ducks chat.

Cheery_Daff

Thank you SO much edwink :kisses3: You have no idea how much you are calming my (admittedly ridiculous) nerves about chicken keeping Your encouragement and cheerfulness are making it seem like an everyday normal thing to do rather than some madcap scheme

Absolutely p*ssing down today so no more progress on coop sadly. Hoping things will lighten up tomorrow - I've got a friend coming round to help me level the ground so Mr Cheery can get the run constructed :j :j

edwink

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Thank you SO much edwink :kisses3: You have no idea how much you are calming my (admittedly ridiculous) nerves about chicken keeping Your encouragement and cheerfulness are making it seem like an everyday normal thing to do rather than some madcap scheme
Absolutely p*ssing down today so no more progress on coop sadly. Hoping things will lighten up tomorrow - I've got a friend coming round to help me level the ground so Mr Cheery can get the run constructed :j :j

Keep calm and carry on I say :rotfl: For me it is an everyday normal thing now but before getting any of mine many years ago not only was I terrified of them I think my hubby thought I was actually loosing the plot :rotfl: But, now I wouldn't be without my girls, honestly I wouldn't cos I love them all to bits.

Honestly Cheery no need to panic you will be fine. I must admit I was very nervous when I got my very first 12 ex batts because I was so scared of them, believe it or not but that is perfectly true, I was terrified of anything that had wings and flapped. I thought their feet would get tangled in my hair and they would be up there flapping about and trying to fly off. Silly me eh?

You are doing fine so done worry. When you pick your first one up you must hold them by the sides of their bodies so in theory you hold their wings towards their bodies. They may try to flap a bit as they are not used to being handled or they might freeze as they are just as scared as you are. Once you have picked the hen up just hold her close to your body and then put her in to the container you have to transport them to their new *forever* home. When home take them out of the container again holding their wings in to their bodies. You will see how warm and fragile your new little friends are. Once they have settled and found their feet you can gain their trust by holding something tasty in your hand with your arm stretched out in front of you. Let them come to you and take the food from you whilst sitting/kneeling as still as you can. It will feel odd when they take the food from your hand as you will feel their little beaks picking up every piece of food.

The easiest and quickest way to pick up a hen is to stand behind her. She should as a rule almost freeze and crouch down to the ground so you can just pick her up. They do this because if a Cockerel were to come behind them he would want to mate with her so she would automatically crouch down in front of him as he is boss. As you are much bigger then them they would see you as the Cockerel/boss if that makes sense.

The weather is much better today so I hope you managed to get everything up and running for your new girls in between your breaks to your lovely little local tea shop.

You will be fine They are so friendly and as a rule they love human company and will come running/charging towards you when they see you in no time at all.

Edwink

crv1963

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Thank you SO much edwink :kisses3: You have no idea how much you are calming my (admittedly ridiculous) nerves about chicken keeping Your encouragement and cheerfulness are making it seem like an everyday normal thing to do rather than some madcap scheme

Absolutely p*ssing down today so no more progress on coop sadly. Hoping things will lighten up tomorrow - I've got a friend coming round to help me level the ground so Mr Cheery can get the run constructed :j :j

Hi Cheery,


Don't be nervous, the basics are just good housekeeping, clean them out, feed, water and enjoy! Ours were nerve racking when we first started, now it's an every day joy.


We give layers pellets, supplemented with fresh veg- the love a bit of veg! We hang cabbages and lettuce from the top of the hen run just high enough that they have to stretch or jump to get it. They love meal worms(dried) and we were told that we shouldn't give too many as it is like Thorntons Chocolate for hens, a handful twice daily between 5 hens.


They run over to us when we go in the pen, and although a bit nervous they will eat from our hand.


5 eggs a day at the moment, but I expect this to drop as our original Columbine Tuffty used to only lay 6 eggs a week, but with the addition of our 4 new ones she's laying every day.


Don't over worry about potential problems- mite powder liberally applied and with daily interaction you soon spot a problem, rarely go to the vet with them but if we do it's just a cat basket to take them.

jac99

Just thought I would let you know that we collected our 5 Pekin Bantam hens yesterday and they seemed to enjoy exploring the run and finding places to hide up. I had to pick them up and put them in the hen house last night which was a bit of a kerfuffle for all of us but by the last one I was feeling a bit more confident with my grab and capture technique and they seemed fine with having a little cuddle before bed.

Today they have been scratching about and appear to have quickly relaxed. They don't appear to be fazed by our dog who has been laying watching them through the wire today, even when she has been bouncing up and down encouraging them to play with her. I wasn't too sure how she was going to react to them considering she isn't very tolerant of any pigeon who happens to land on the lawn, but she has been calm around the run so hopefully it will continue to go okay.

When I went to put them up for bed this evening they had all put themselves inside and were quietly clucking away so I locked them in and left them to it.

No eggs yet but early days...

jac99

Quick question please...should I be putting some food and water inside the hen house for overnight? Thankyou

edwink

jac99 wrote: »

Quick question please...should I be putting some food and water inside the hen house for overnight? Thank you

You don't need to put any food for overnight just a container of water that they can not knock over. Maybe place it in a corner so they can't stand or perch on it because if they can they will. Hens can go quite a while without water and going by the level of water in the container we provide for our hens this is true but we still provide one for them.

Will respond to your post (1715) tonight. Glad you now have your Bantams and that they have settled nicely.

Edwink

edwink

jac99 wrote: »

Just thought I would let you know that we collected our 5 Pekin Bantam hens yesterday and they seemed to enjoy exploring the run and finding places to hide up. I had to pick them up and put them in the hen house last night which was a bit of a kerfuffle for all of us but by the last one I was feeling a bit more confident with my grab and capture technique and they seemed fine with having a little cuddle before bed.

Today they have been scratching about and appear to have quickly relaxed. They don't appear to be fazed by our dog who has been laying watching them through the wire today, even when she has been bouncing up and down encouraging them to play with her. I wasn't too sure how she was going to react to them considering she isn't very tolerant of any pigeon who happens to land on the lawn, but she has been calm around the run so hopefully it will continue to go okay.

When I went to put them up for bed this evening they had all put themselves inside and were quietly clucking away so I locked them in and left them to it. No eggs yet but early days...

Aww hens are quite intelligent little things really. Slightly on the lunatic scatty side once the find their feet and get going though. How clever is that to put themselves to bed after being shown where to go for only one night. Obviously they felt comfy and safe in there the night before so decided to be good and put themselves to bed. It is a bit of a job trying to catch them on the first/second night but they will soon get used to being handled by humans if you do it often enough. They will happily sit on your lap if you let them too. Bless em!

Looks like they are settling in nicely and they already appear to be happy and content as they are scratching around which is always a good sign.

Mine are ok with dogs too but I suppose you only have to turn your back and a dog could maybe get a little too playful with a hen. I look after a Cockapoo for a friend and she walks round with me and the hens are not in the least bit bothered by her at all. Even when I feed my girls in the evening the Cockapoo comes up with me and the hens are more interested in their supper and the Cockapoo more interested in her ball. You always have to be careful though as I am with her, I suppose, as they could be ok one minute and be a bit rough with a hen the next. Always worth bearing that in mind I would advise. Bet they are keeping your dog amused which is always good.

Looks like you have got off to a great start, well done :T

Edwink

jac99

As always Edwink, thanks for the advice and the reassurance.

The dog is always supervised. I agree that while she may be fine most of the time dogs can be as unpredictable as the rest of us and it isn't worth the risk.

They seem to be establishing their 'pecking' order - is it usual that one appears to be in charge? I put up a treat dispenser this afternoon and used a seed combination with aniseed bought from the local farm store that is supposed to promote conditioning and health after a stressful experience. One hen worked out quickly that if she pecked at it then the seeds would fall out, however she then wouldn't let any of the others near so I had to scatter some extra seeds for them! When the first hen got bored the others soon worked it out as well.

Thought I might try and rotate the treats/activities to give them something different each day to keep them occupied while I am at work. I have been letting them out in the garden when I get home. So tomorrow I will be looking for CD's to hang up and maybe making a swing. Does anyone have any ideas of other things to keep the hens busy?

Thanks Jac

edwink

jac99 wrote: »

As always Edwink, thanks for the advice and the reassurance.

The dog is always supervised. I agree that while she may be fine most of the time dogs can be as unpredictable as the rest of us and it isn't worth the risk.

They seem to be establishing their 'pecking' order - is it usual that one appears to be in charge? I put up a treat dispenser this afternoon and used a seed combination with aniseed bought from the local farm store that is supposed to promote conditioning and health after a stressful experience. One hen worked out quickly that if she pecked at it then the seeds would fall out, however she then wouldn't let any of the others near so I had to scatter some extra seeds for them! When the first hen got bored the others soon worked it out as well.

Thought I might try and rotate the treats/activities to give them something different each day to keep them occupied while I am at work. I have been letting them out in the garden when I get home. So tomorrow I will be looking for CD's to hang up and maybe making a swing. Does anyone have any ideas of other things to keep the hens busy? Thanks Jac

There will always be a pecking order and always a top hen. So the one that is getting the treats and not letting the others have any until she gets bored of them is obviously standing out as top hen right now. That can change whilst they are all still settling in though. You may get a few feathers flying about if they get a bit rough with each other but once the pecking order is established it will all calm down. Sometimes it goes on a little longer but mostly it gets established pretty quickly. Sometimes it can get a bit nasty but again that will settle down in time. If at a later date you were to introduce some more hen the pecking order can change again with one of the newer hens wanting to be top hen. Its just a natural thing for hens to do. Often if one of the quieter hens gets picked on by another hen the top hen will step in to stop it. The top hen almost acts like a Cockerel to keep harmony in the camp.

Good idea to scatter some of the seeds so they all get some. Also to keep them busy you can get a plastic bottle like a fizzy drinks bottle and poke/drill some holes in it down the sides. Then fill it will seeds, screw the cap back on and leave it in the coop for them to play with. They will happily roll/push it about in order to get some seeds out of it. If you make one of these just have a good roll of it yourself to make sure the seeds come out ok but not too many at a time otherwise you will be forever filling it up and they won't have any room to eat their layers pellets. Scatter some porridge oats in the coop in the colder winter months but not in the summer as it can make them overheat.

Also you can put anything in their coop that they can climb on like a some blocks of wood or some fairly sturdy tree branches for them to perch on. At the moment mine have half a wooden pallet to perch on. I change my coop around a bit from time to time to keep them interested in things. Although mine are free range hens they do spend time playing/eating in their coop. Also you could hang some sweetcorn, broccoli or a bunch of greens from the coop roof alternating with different types of veg will keep them busy too. They will have great fun if you throw in some lettuce leaves or a stick of celery. They absolutely love boiled potato peelings or scrambled eggs so they always a good choice to give them.

Hope that helps.

Edwink

jac99

Hello, so today I am pleased to announce that we have received our first egg! Not sure who laid it but my son told me there has been a lot of clucking going on while I was out today. Photo's taken and proudly shared around the family and friends of the little egg and the subsequent mini fried egg. I realised a bantam egg would be smaller but hadn't actually seen one before.

Arrived home to find my 16 year old had taken a chair into the coop and was taking pictures of the hens to share on social media - I think everyone has now been converted to life with chickens!

My eldest was given the responsibility of being in charge of chicken entertainment today. He hung some CD's up for them to peck at and filled a dog ball treat dispenser with hen seed. Tomorrow he said he will have a go at your bottle idea Edwink.

And my granddaughter has painted some pictures for the hen house. Grandsons are visiting at the weekend and apparently they have bought the hens a welcome present that they are excited to share with them.

I have now collected some herb plants from friends and reduced sections of the garden centre and supermarket so tomorrow I will plant them up into big pots specifically for hen house, nest box and coop floor. I have also found a 'recipe' to make a natural hen house spritzer from lavender, mint and white vinegar so will also start the concoction for that. If nothing else comes from using the herbs at least the hen area will smell nice.

I have to admit I do wonder what I did with my spare time before I started on this journey...