Hello! Intro and some newbie questions

[jomax]

Hello all!

I've been lurking around this forum for a couple of weeks so I thought I would come out and join up and say hello!

Hubby and I have decided to get a few chickens, mainly as pets for ourselves and our two little boys. We have bought a secondhand Eglu, which I know isn't ideal but we hope that if we take to chicken keeping then we will expand to a bigger house and run.

We have a local poultry centre who seem lovely and helpful and they are going to help us choose birds that will be good for beginners. They have several different hybrids at pol coming in soon - we're planning on getting 3.

My main question is what do I need to get at this point? My mental list includes: layer's mash, grit, bedding (Hemcore?), garlic powder, apple cider vinegar. I have also seen mentioned a cat litter tray to provide a dustbath.

The run will be on an area of garden currently covered with a weed proof membrane and bark which we will lift. Underneath will be earth so we plan to put wood chip down to quell excess mud!

I'm hoping to give the hens limited access to the garden but I'm fearfully proud of my flowers (chair of the local gardening club!) so may have to find a way of barricading them away from the borders!

My other question is - when I shut them into their house at night, do they need food and water in there? I hate the idea that they are trapped inside - perhaps I'll have to put an emergency exit in for them if no human appears within 16 hours!

I'm sure many more foolish questions will come up over the next few weeks! Thanks for humouring me!

Jo

[kirsty b]

Hi Jo
welcome to the vine. It sounds as though you have everything covered. You will need some mixed corn to feed them with at night. I give mine some about an hour before dark, I was told it helps keep body temp up at night.
In the cold weather we are getting at the moment I have put a heavy metal trough of water inside my shed to reduce the chances of iced up water in the mornings. (it has to be heavy or my dopey birds will knock it over)

Good luck with your new girls when you get them, and above all, enjoy them.

Kirsty

[jomax]

Thanks for your reply. I've been to the poultry centre this am and if we get the birds this weekend they will be 16 weeks and still on Growers' food so I don't need to worry too much about their diet at this point.

I'm getting quite excited about it all!
Jo

[TPeers]

While they may be on growers pellet - I suggest you get layers for them, preferable the samre brand as the growers.

Hybrids come into lay anywhere from 16 to 20+ weeks of age and will need the vitamin and mineral balance in the layers to keep them healthy.

Don't forget the oyster shell as well as flint grit, one is for egg shell strength the other for digestion. Some people say that a free range/semi free range bird will pick up enough grit but since the stuff is cheap and easy to store I think it is better to be sure!

On the bedding front - what is Hemcore? Many people I know, myself included use straw in the nest box and if any litter is used in the roost it tends to be dust extracted wood shavings, If I have a reason for these choices I suppose because they are easily obtained, cheap and the used litter can go on the compost heap. Not having heard of Hemcore I don't know if disposal might be an issue?

If you really can't stand the thought of the birds making their own dust bath in your prized flower beds you will either have to fence off the beds or invest in some moveable electric fencing which you can pen the birds in with when you let them out of the eglu. and if you don't want an immaculate lawn trashed I suggest moving the birds at least every other day - they are fantastic at ripping all the moss out of a lawn though!

Food and water - given you are using an eglu you won't have room for food and water inside - they aren't sufficiently spacious. If that is a worry then when you close them in at night only push the door shut without locking it - less secure I agree but the birds can then push their way out in the morning.

Enjoy your new friends - they have wonderful personalities!

Terry

[jomax]

Thanks for your advice. The poultry centre suggested chopped straw as bedding so I will go with that.

It's all getting very exciting now!

Jo

[Alice]

Hello Jomax and welcome to the Vine. I don't know anything about keeping chickens but I do know about foxes. Some other Grapes have lost their chickens to them. If they're anywhere in your vicinity you need to make sure the areas the chooks are in - day and night -are absolutely foxproof or it's heartbreak all round. Good luck with the project.

What are you growing ?

[Sue]

Hemcore is a hemp (as the name suggests) product, used for horses, I think, it's mean't to compost down really quickly so it's something I want to investigate.
Sue