More chicken advice please

[Clarea1]

With regard to the Omega 3 - Allen and Page organic feed contains organic flax seed, a natural source of omega 3! The feed is about £5 a 20kg sack

[poultrychat]

Mixed corn should be fed at the rate of about 1 0z per bird shortly before bedtime and feather pecking is a classic sign of boredom.

[Busy Lizzy]

Chickens

Hi, I dont keep chickens but my friend does and I think she leaves them with plenty of feed and water up about 48 hours. she has got a big run and I think she does have an omlet type house for them (you could try the omlet web site for some more ideas!!. She also feeds them as a treat bits of fruit they go mad for it. My friend said hers lay 1 egg each a day which is just right for a nice breakfast (she had two chickens).... Hope this helps! Oh and if you wanted a bigger hen house made from wood instead of plastic have you had a look at the web site in Grow Your Own mag Forsham Cottage Arks (www.froshamcottagearks.com) they look nice quality too, sorry dont know how much a hen house is!

[nick the grief]

feather pecking is a classic sign of boredom.

Best way round this I found was to give them one of the cabages that was going over fastened to som bailing twines so it was suspended in the air, it kept them and me amused for hours I used to talk to mine they seem very understanding and don't tittle tattle to the neighbours ... do you think it's the first signs of senile dimensure

[Lottie]

Best way round this I found was to give them one of the cabages that was going over fastened to som bailing twines so it was suspended in the air, it kept them and me amused for hours I used to talk to mine they seem very understanding and don't tittle tattle to the neighbours ... do you think it's the first signs of senile dimensure

I tie up broccoli and brussle sprout stalks, lettuce and cabbages on sticks like lollipops, cages of sorrel and spinach leaves in a wire cage made for squirrel food, which is attached to a rubber bungee and hung up on the fence post - the have so much entertainment they don't have time to get bored. The also love old cd's dangling from a piece of string - shame that, it scares the other birds off all my fruit and veg up the allotment - it will obviously attract my chickens though.

And I not only talk to my 'triplets', I pick them up and cuddle them - they are so tame now. I can tell what they want or if there is a problem just by their clucking, bok bokkinging or brk brrk brrrking! Hope it is just eccentricity rather than anything else

[soobeth]

I would like to get some chickons along with my mum but i need to know the advattages and what to do
HELP HELP US

[Don Vincenzo]

If you are the youngest you have a huge advantage over some of us......you have a life in front of you so don't waste it!!!. I am going to get three chickens next spring, the main advantages to my opinion are fresh eggs and chicken manure one of the best after pigeon. If you get one/two day old chicks and feed them, they will thing you are they mum and will follow you everywhere. Best of luck to you and your mum Regards Don

[Squirrel]

I would like to get some chickons along with my mum but i need to know the advattages and what to do
HELP HELP US

Hi Soobeth! Keeping chickens is a wonderful hobbie and one you wont regret!

The advantages of keeping chickens is that you get lovely fresh eggs, plenty of manure and much pleasure in their antics.

The downside is that they need proper housing and a run (they will ruin your veg plot otherwise!) need to be locked up each evening so the fox doesn't get hold of them and kill them, to be fed and watered on a daily basis and regularly cleaned out.

The advantages of having chickens though I have only listed three, far outweigh the time spent looking after them!

Do hope you go ahead and get some! Would suggest you start off with either some Light Sussex or the 'hybrid' hens like Black Rocks which are bred specially to lay eggs. They are hardy birds and will teach you a lot while you are still learning!

Any questions or help, feel free to ask and we will help as much as we can. There are some very good poultry keepers on this site!

[yoanbob]

hello jennie, we had simular concerns before we got our chuks, we have 3 chucks now and 2 ducks,(and now 4 duckings) we keep them in quite a large grassy area that has 6 foot fencing altho the fencing is old and needs constant patching. we built them a hen house out of an old shed and seperated hens from ducks with a venitian blind, they have seperate entrances, we made a ladder out of an old broom handle and some dowling for the for the chucks and the duck door opens on to a small pond to discourage cats, fox's ect, seems to work well. we trained our chucks to go in at dusk by rounding them up for the first few days, now when we go to put them in they are already snuggling for the night. if we are overnighting somwhere we let them out for as long as poss then put them in early, they dont like it much but for overnite its fine, if we are away longer we put them in an ark and run, for a couple of days this is fine, if we are going away for longer we put then in a cat basket and take them to familly, with there run and all, we use an eggloo for this as its easy to transport has a fox proof run and is easy for relatives to clean. you will surprised how people want to look after them (especally people with kids) if they know its only for a few days.
from 2 chucks you will get plenty of eggs for two of you, when all our ducks and chucks were laying at once we had lots for gifts for friends and relitives who are allways eager for more. you should get an egg a day from each chuck for the first 2 years if in a run up to 4 if compleatly free range for most of the year, it slows down a bit in winter. there is every chance your hens will lay into there old age just not as frequently. ducks tend to lay every day except when molting (about two weeks in winter) and they lay early morning so you know when to pick them up, chickens form eggs every 26 hours so the time changes daily. you wont regret getting them, its the best stress relief after work to spend half an hour watching them. there great fun.

[Birdie Wife]

Make sure whatever housing you get for them is very securely wired down! I heard stories on Orkney of all the hen houses being blown halfway to Norway in one winter gale!

[JennieAtkinson]

Thanks Yoanbob - seems a long time ago I started this thread. We still haven't made a decision as unfortunately we seem to have spent this year being away from home for various different reasons. But, perhaps when things settle down a bit - I would just love to eat a fresh egg in the morning for breakfast. Must be brill!

[Saoirse]

One of the best things for me is collecting the eggs: I still get a real thrill and praise the girls like a mad thing! We have had our girls for a year now and I love watching them at their scratching and dust bathing.

You haven't had scrambled eggs until you have had bright yellow ones from all the cabbage you've fed to the hens!!

Nicky