Soon to be chook nut

[colser]

Got me chicken coop (looking very cute), run structure in place (justs needs the wire mesh which has been ordered).hopefully enough concerete around the run to deter the local fox.

I should be picking up 4 chook's from this place in a couple of weeks time.

Stagenhoe Chickens- Point of Lay Chickens For Sale in Hertfordshire.

......... i'll be joining your gang soon

[colser]

....right the questions have started

feeders and drinkers, do i need the metal ones or can i be cheap skate and get away with the plastic ones.

do i need feeders/drinkers in the coop, run or both.

how much pellets will i need for 4 hens? best sourced locallly or bought on-line?

will i scream loudly and want to baste them in rosemary after they eat all my veg wreck my lawn and destroy all my flowers ?

[RedThorn]

....right the questions have started

will i scream loudly and want to baste them in rosemary after they eat all my veg wreck my lawn and destroy all my flowers ?

Yes and Most ceratainly YES oh?.... did I say yes? Sorry I meant a resounding YES!!!! lol

As to the local food place, I'm on the tuther side of Hertfordshire....sorry.

[MaureenHall]

feeders and drinkers, do i need the metal ones or can i be cheap skate and get away with the plastic ones. I started off with a plastic set then moved on to a galvanised trough for the food and an orange bucket from B&Q for the water

do i need feeders/drinkers in the coop, run or both. Just in the run

how much pellets will i need for 4 hens? best sourced locallly or bought on-line? Buy a 20 - 25kg bag and it'll last the 4 of them ages. Online prices will include p&p so will be expensive. Try and source locally

will i scream loudly and want to baste them in rosemary after they eat all my veg wreck my lawn and destroy all my flowers ? Yes of course then you'll think about it and decide to protect the bits of your garden you definitely don't want them eating or messing up

[RedThorn]

will i scream loudly and want to baste them in rosemary after they eat all my veg wreck my lawn and destroy all my flowers ? Yes of course then you'll think about it and decide to protect the bits of your garden you definitely don't want them eating or messing up

Lol Aunty Mo and so true! That's one of the things that's taking me the longest, is protecting the beds once I've made them! It's actually amazing how far they can flick the soil when they get a good scratch going!

[colser]

thanks all ,
on the feeder/drinker in the run, don't they at least need a source of water at night?

will i scream loudly and want to baste them in rosemary after they eat all my veg wreck my lawn and destroy all my flowers ? Yes of course then you'll think about it and decide to protect the bits of your garden you definitely don't want them eating or messing up

makes a lot of sense, i guess i'll be protecting my plants more than i was expecting too, hoping that the chooks will also eat enough slugs to compensate

[dozey1]

No they don't need water at night, I just make sure they have fresh every day. They love mealworms as a treat, i give mine a handful of corn every afternoon.... with freshy veg..

[Suechooks]

Make sure the food is under cover so it doesn't get wet. If you opt for galvanised drinker DON'T put Apple cider vinegar in it - it needs to be in plastic container. I hang my feeder from roof of the covered area of the run. It helps stop them scratching it out on the floor!

[colser]

a quick google and i'm now up to speed on the benefits of apple cider vinegar
thanks once again for the tips.

[lettucegrow!]

Hi Colser- I'm at the same stage as you! Nearly ready, coop up ground prepared, just need to get chicken wire to contain them a bit.Waiting for the email from Stagenhoe Farm. I 'm going to do a big shop at Titmuss animal feed suppliers in Wheathampstead and geteverything there. They look about the most reasonable. It's all really exiting isn't it- I've even started dreaming chooks!!

[colser]

>>I 'm going to do a big shop at Titmuss animal feed suppliers in >>Wheathampstead and geteverything there.

nice one, i'll check them out

[Suechooks]

a quick google and i'm now up to speed on the benefits of apple cider vinegar
thanks once again for the tips.

Read up about garlic (powder or cloves), Poultry Spice and Poultry Shield too before you go shopping!

[lettucegrow!]

I love all this info. that keeps appearing. It's great. I 've read loads but it's always good to see what is really important.

[HayleyB]

Of the plastic feeders and drinkers the green and white range (although a little dearer than the red and white range) are extremely good value for money and work tons better, I gave up on a red on

[colser]

a few pics, they just seem to eat and poo all day.
i'm amazed how tame they are already, they are also doing a grand job of munching all the slugs i can find (several hundred over the last couple of days).

white one is known as the boss, "cow and chicken", cheetah and ematrude are the others.