Been offered chickens!

After some advice.. (as usual) I've been offered a coop, run and 2 chickens, 9 months old not sure what breed they are..have done a google possibly New Hamspshire red? but friendly and good layers, so I'm told. Need to pick them up tomorrow if I'm 100%.. I'm not though.





I'm worrying about:

• Biting off more than I can chew..
• Neighbours complaining/letting them out when I'm in bed or not around/killing them.. I'm not even gonna bother to ask them if it's ok, I assume they'll say no.
• Cats? Mine are hunters. And so is everyone else's around here.
• Cold/frost? Does this bother them? Do I need to insulate the coop?
• Have been reading about light, 16 hrs to lay? Does this mean sun or lights wired up? Is it necessary, I don't want to stress them to lay I'd rather just get them settled here over winter?
  
• How early do they get up? Sunrise? Noise? Do they start clucking then?
• Do I need to buy those starter packs with sprays and fluffers?! Or is it simply, straw/wood shavings and pellets and some corn?
• Put the coop on concrete or grass? or could I put the coop on concrete and the run on grass??
  
  probably got more questions but can't think as I have just been coaxed out for a meal.. any suggestions, help advice or website will be greatly appreciated .. i do things on such short notice and regret them later..not sure if this will be one of them

 

Lots of questions Linz. I advise you to get a chicken keeping for beginners book. There are lots around. I kept a few chickens for years and they are fun pets.....and useful.

I'll try to answer your questions.
1) My experience is neighbors don't care as long as you don't have a cockerel.
2) A cat will not catch a hen; they are too big.
3) They can cope with a normal cold winter but insulation is a good thing.
4) Hens laying is regulated by daylight. There will be many more eggs in summer. Commercial people use artificial light in winter but most small scale chicken keepers do not.
5) They get up with the sun and go to roost at dusk.
6) Don't know what starter packs are. Feed them layers pellets. They also like the various grains. Straw is nice for scratching around in it.
7)The little ark and run looks ok. You will probably want to move it around your lawn. They will quickly eat and scratch up any vegetation they have access to. If you have a large lawn this isn't a problem; just move it on every few days. You could also prop it up so they can roam around BUT they will make a mess of your garden.

Hope that helps.

 

What times dinner ?

 

Aw thank you Redwing That's fab I'm gonna get some books too, deffo. I think I'll just bite the bullet, go for it and find out if its for me. Think I'm worrying /over thinking a lil too much!

B*gger off @WeeTam haven't seen any foxes around here for a good few years!

Another question(s) I forgot was, do their wings really need clipping? Is this something I can do or is it down to a vet? Also do they need regular vaccs? basically can they be left to it (sort of) or will I be caring round the clock?!

 

Don't clip their wings!! No need to vaccinate; I never did. As long as they have enough food and water, can scratch around and have access to green stuff, they are generally happy. Line the nest boxes with hay or straw.

 

In order:=

• Only if you try and eat one whole in one mouthful
• Check your deeds/letting agreement! Some prevent you keeping livestock, so double check before committing yourself. Neighbours shouldn't be an issue, but ... you can always sweet talk them with the occasional fresh egg Do be aware that a compost bin + chooks will almost certainly mean that rats will be attracted to your garden. It should not become an issue/problem if you take necessary steps (we have bait boxes).
• Light: let nature do its thing; you are keeping back garden hens As far as light goes, mine go off lay around about now and then come back into lay around late January early February. As yours are 9 months old, they may still offer an egg or two but don't expect it. Come February/March they will be back in the swing of things.
• Up at dawn; take themselves off to bed at dusk If they have access to water when they wake up, they may not make too much noise; but then, some girls can be right chatterboxes! There's no way of knowing until you get your girls and, trust me, each one has its own personality!!!
• We have straw in the nesting box (where they lay eggs); we have shredded paper in the coop (so, under the slats where they will roost at night; and, we have bark chips on the floor of the run.
• My setup is an Omlet Cube. It is on a concrete base (to prevent any nasties from burrowing under it ). If you put your coop/run on grass, those girls will soon have it all turned into earth before you can blink! So, if you could put it on concrete it will, a) prevent them from turning the grass into mud (winter is coming ) and b) it is far easier to clean therefore preventing a build up of bacteria. Now, they do like to have a bit of grass to play/scratch in, so you may want to consider getting some chicken wire (Wilkos) and sectioning a bit of the garden off so they can have a good scratch around - get the chicken wire with the smallest holes! - and then after a couple of days, section off another area so the first one has time to recover. NB: They *will* eat your plants if they are given free access to any and all of your garden!!

It is possible to clip their wings yourself, so no need to pay the vet! However, I've never clipped the wings of any of my girls. One thing to bear in mind is this: if a fox *did* get into your garden, leaving their wings in tact means they stand a chance of getting to somewhere high and out of the way. It happened to me - Fatty Hatty was attacked by a fox when I was only a few feet away, it was the middle of the day and the rest of my flock starburst to safety! That meant they flew over our 2 mtr fences On a positive note, they all came back again too
Regular vacs is a matter of choice and opinions vary widely. I do not.
You will not be caring around the clock, they are very independent little things. But, it is also nice to spend time with them and have cuddles; for that to happen, you do have to spend time for you to get used to them and for them to get used to you Let them out in the morning, secure them at night. Feed and water daily. Cuddle and play at leisure

Ok, now for the "routine" bits.
You have a wooden coop, so, you will need to dust it regularly - but most Spring through to Autumn. A little pest called red mite will hide in every nook and cranny of a coop and they nibble on your hens (the equivalent of dog/cat fleas in essence). Diatomaceous earth is easy enough to get hold of (Pets at Home I think does it, but shop around) and that is what you need to use both on the coop *and* on your girls. I hold my girls upside down by their legs and give them a good dusting with it.
On the subject of "dusting", hens like to dust bath - because of mites etc - so you may want to put some earth into a cat litter tray and leave that in their run so they can have a bath.

Hens also need worming from time to time. Flubenvet is what I use (other products are available).

Some other random thoughts:-

• You have been offered 2; get 3! If something happens to one of them, a lone chicken will not thrive. Call it insurance. They are flock creatures and thrive with company.
• Hens can hide illness very well. By that I mean, they can look ok one day and you find them no longer alive the next. Not nice for us, but its unlikely something we have done. It is one of those really hard, but sad, facts of life.
• Hens can go off lay for many reasons: 1) they can get broody (it can last a long time; but does not harm them); 2) they may have worms; 3) they maybe dehydrated; 4) they may be egg bound or some other illness. You will know your girls and will get to know their moods and "normal" behaviours.
• Hens cannot have chicks if they have not been around a cockerel. Equally, their eggs do not contain a developing chick.
• Hens can live for a good number of years.
• If yours 9 months old, they will be at their most prolific egglaying stage, next year and the one after. They will still lay after that, but, gradually, it will slow over the years.
• Hens can lay "soft shell" eggs. This means the hen is lacking in calcium. To increase their intake of calcium, some owners buy crushed oyster shell. I bake the hens egg shells and then mix it back in with their feed.
• Grit: hens do not have teeth and they need grit in their tummies to break down food. This can be bought in a pet shop and mixed with their feed.

Phew! That's a lot to think about but in a nutshell, give it a go! The kids will love it and its not a huge amount of work - the eggs are well worth it!

Ask away with any other queries and ... good luck!!

 

Ah lovely @"M", your a gem. Don't think I'll need a book after reading all that

No problem with deeds saying no chooks, I own the house so no landlord/letting agreement to comply with.. found out someone down the road has got chicks and they are a council tenant.
I think what was putting me off was the fact I'm a lazy git and like to have a lie in...
Yep will leave them to natural light then, I don't want to make things more expensive for myself either.
Tbh I don't care if their chatty, I think it would be great if they were, I just know others will think different

Been looking on Omlet's website most of the afternoon (some good info on there), I love the Cube! And that purple coloured one but my budget doesn't stretch that far sadly..
I won't clip their wings just in case my cats have a go, thought it was a necessary thing.. I don't want to do something like that. Aww poor Fatty Hatty! Hope she wasn't too traumatised.

As for vacs I think I'll leave that too.. however I didn't realise they needed worming! Been looking to see if I could use Pancur 10% liquid (what I use on the cats) and one answer came up as "vets will use Panacur as they don't have Flubenvet on the shelf" or to that affect.. will more than likely pick up flubenvet
for them.


Your random thoughts are fab do they not taste their own erm bodily erm secretions from the egg shells though!?

Didn't know about grit, had seen it in some food mixes but didn't know what it was for!

Now for the pants news.. I've been let down by the person.. they gave them to someone else as they were 100%.. I wasn't. Fair enough.

BUT not letting that get in the way, so I've contacted 3 silkie and pekin breeders and a few "sellers" around me to ask if I can go and have look at them asap. There are some people who deliver..but I didn't like that idea.

I have picked silkie as no1 choice then pekin, polish or possibly wyandotte.

I've picked up this coop http://www.garden4less.co.uk/prodde...UQfOGF2DeEY1Pd6WwLyNdlLbndMk-kjC8UaAs8z8P8HAQ .. it has a small run but I think I'll make my own little fenced off area so they can have a roam.

Cheers @Redwing and @"M"

 

Yummy Yummy Yum Yum
Chicken in my tum tum



With your chicken in my tum
I won't ever feel glum

( all my own work )

 

haha!! .. funnily enough, I tried Nando's chicken for the first time today! Utter rubbish!

Was supposed to go to Nant Ddu and have a bloody decent steak!

 

That's a super looking chicken house and run and reasonably priced too.

Beware that the fancy breeds don't lay as well. Marrans are good and lay big dark brown eggs. Sussex are good layers too but lay pale coloured eggs. Rhode Island Red is another popular breed but most people end up with Warrens.

 

That is why I bake them first (either pop them in a baking tray on the bottom of the oven if you're cooking something else, or a couple of minutes in the microwave. Then, when cold, crush them down). On that subject, some hens can get a taste for a fresh egg if that happens, consider getting rid of the chicken. Once they get a taste for a fresh egg, you won't stand a chance!

Boo! Hiss!!!

Silkies and pekins are pretty but a note of caution: both are prone to broodiness! I had one Silkie who spent most of her days being broody Probably only had half a dozen eggs out of her in her lifetime. Pekins can be the same and both are quite vocal breeds. Can't remember which of the two had the worst noise, but its one of them and not a nice "chook-chook-chook". Even their Bwark-bwarks were akin to Japanese water torture

Very wise to go and see the set up before you buy hens. You can then take a sneaky peek at the other hens to see if there are any signs of scaley leg

I currently have: a Buff Orpington, a Cream Legbar (green eggs), Cuckoo Maran (should be very dark brown eggs, but, hers are blue; think a cheeky Araucana cockerel got to her mummy before being separated ), two bantam Wyandottes and a White Sussex.

The coop you have chosen is really lovely!! Please may I give one piece of advice though? That nest box? It is the weakest point of the whole design. Secure it underneath with some extra wood. I had a similar one and a fox literally pushed up underneath that egg box piece and pushed up the floor - took all 4 of my bantams in one swoop Took us a little bit of time to see through the shock and find out just how foxy had managed it.

If you are visiting the Omlet website, keep an eye on their sales/wanted part of the forum. Sometimes even Cubes are put up for sale. By the time we came to move from our previous house, I had managed to end up with 4 Eglu's (with runs) and they do hold their prices well if re-selling

I'm really excited for you!

 

Because you havent seen them dosent mean they are not there make sure you shut there doors at night foxs are crafty !!

 

In a way I'm glad I didn't get the 2 chooks from the other lady.. this breeder seems really legit compared. Have been answered to straight away and she has even offered advice before, after and during, she also sells feeders, feed and other equipment. So think I've done the right thing in finding a proper breeder rather than being given them.

As for the breed/s I've picked, I did read they are not very good layers compared to others.. which is not a major thing, we don't eat cooked eggs all that often just on a brekky or more for cakes! And I thought if I didn't get something "cute" my daughter wouldn't go near them :/ Is there something you can do for broodiness? I was reading about what to ask and look for when you pick up your chicks and scaley leg was one of the pointers along with drooping heads and tails tucked between their legs.

lol'ed hard at the "japanese water torture" bit.. can't be that bad, surely!!! I'll find out next weekend suppose!

I wanted a house style coop rather than a box, hopefully more enticing for daughter dearest. And will deffo cover the nesting box up with some more wood and try to fox proof it, we di have one around here about 5 years ago but we haven't seen him since.. and I'm not doubting there's a chance one will come as we got open fields behind the railway track

Thanks for the omlet tip too.. didn't notice the omlet club/forum at the top so will have a look on there for an eglu cube for next year maybe!

Thanks again, it's really appreciated! And I'm so bloody excited too!!

 

There are a few methods people use, with varying success.
1) Wait it out. No hen will starve itself to death in the effort. They do break broody ... eventually Usually around 3 weeks, but they can also do a quick turn around: break broody for a couple of days and then go straight back into broody mode
2) Dunk them in a bucket of cold water. The theory being it cools them down and that breaks the broodiness
3) Get a small pet crate and hang it from the roof of the coop (inside). The theory is, the hen will be surrounded by cool air thus bringing her temperature down and breaking broodiness.
4) Get a fake egg for them to "sit" on (I've tried a very decorative marble egg and also a bouncy rubber egg; the marble, being colder, was more effective/coincidence )

Personally? I just leave them to it. They do lose a little weight but they do not starve nor dehydrate. They also lose some of their under feathers. All of that is normal in a broody.

Good idea! Do remember, the hen very quickly associates you/family with the concept of f.o.o.d. and when they hear/see you coming ... they will run towards you as fast as they can!! It can be a bit daunting for some people, but, try and convince your daughter it is because they are so very happy to see her and love her very much ... they'll just love her more if she has a treat in her hand

If you are only keeping two or three, the Cube may be a bit on the large side. I began with a humble Eglu (which served me well for years too!) which housed 4 bantams. The Cube can house as many as 10!

 

I would avoid the really broody breeds; I know it's natural and most hens will eventually go broody but you want the eggs after all. People think it will be lovely to have chicks and it is but at least half will be males......so what do you do when you end up with 10 nice cute chicks with half of them growing into cockerels? My recommendation is to go for three or four Marrans or Sussexs. I would also avoid bantams as the eggs are too small.