New - advice please!

[smileyt]

Hello everyone

I am going to be getting 3 ex-battery hens on 5 June I am really excited but just wanted to check that my plans for them are OK or is there any other advice anyone can give, please.

I only have a small backyard (think Coronation Street style). I am getting a 6ftx6ftx6ft run built with half-inch square weldmesh on the sides and over the top. I will put a roof on myself- half bitumen/onduline type stuff and half clear plastic. I am getting an old rabbit hutch from freecycle and I intend to build this up a bit so there is more headroom for the chooks.

The pen will be half on flags and half on soil ( I am currently digging out my favourite flowers/plants to put in pots in the yard to save them from a chickeny death!). I intend to cover the flags with aubiose or woodchip and leave the soil bare for the hens to scratch in.

Does this sound OK so far? What would I use to keep the soil bit of the run 'sweet'?

The other option would be to cover the whole run with weed membrane and woodchip the whole lot, although it seems a shame to deprive the hens of soil to scratch for the first time in their lives.

Also, this is a shopping list I have come up with from doing some reading. I 'd be grateful if you someone could let me know if I've forgotten anything!

Feeder, drinker, layers mash, some corn (for a treat in the afternoons).
Bedding (aubiose?) for the coop and shredded kitchen roll for the nest box.
Poultry shield and diamotous earth for cleaning the coop.
Sand and DE for putting in a dustbath.
Flubenvet.
Poultry spice or some other extra vitamin-y thing to perk them up a bit.
Stalosan F for sprinkling in coop and run to keep the smell down.

What do I buy to treat fleas and lice? Do I need to sprinkle redmite powder as well as DE in the coop and next box and dustbath?

I've been reading stuff on 'enrichment' too so I'll be hanging cabbages in hanging baskets/using mirrors/cds/millet sprigs etc to give them something constructive to do.

Sorry this is such a long first post, but I just want to start off on the right foot and give the hens a lovely retirement home! Thanks for any advice anyone can give.

[MaureenHall]

Well done you for rescuing ex-batts And a big welcome to the vine too. You'll get loads of advice and possibly different answers to your questions, but by the sounds of things you've really been doing your homework and seem to have planned for every eventuality, so I'll jump straight in and go through your shopping list with you.

Forget the layers mash and go for layers pellets from the start. Mash is exactly the same as pellets except it's finer, makes a heck of a mess, loads of waste, therefore could attract vermin. It might take a little while for the girls to realise that the pellets are food, but there's quite a few threads on here about making them into a porridgy mush and adding other stuff to it.
Auboise or Hemcore or Easibed or dust-extracted wood shavings are all good bedding materials. Forget the shredded kitchen paper, lots of us use shredded junk mail in the nest boxes though it can get stuck to the eggs if the girls have been pooing in there. I use Hemcore, the girls like it because it's nice and soft and comfy; I like it because it smells nice, and it seems to break down quicker once it's composted.
I've only ever used Red Mite powder puffed into all the cracks, crevasses and corners of the coop but Snadger uses DE. I think it's an "either / or" as a preventative or cure but someone else may give you better advice about this. Louse powder sprinkled into the bedding in the nest box will help too, but it's a good idea to de-louse each of the girls individually every so often (under wings, round neck and bum)

Enjoy your girls when they arrive and watch them grow from oven-ready looking creatures into beautiful ladies with lovely feathers It's a wonderful experience seeing them starting to behave like proper chickens, feeling the fresh air around them, standing in the rain and wondering what the heck is that , seeing the sky for the first time. Well done, have fun, and make sure you've no urgent jobs to get done once the girls arrive - they're wonderful time-wasters

[RichmondHens]

Welcome to the Vine and well done for doing your research prior to getting your hens.

Maureen has given you lots of good advice so can't really add to that other than I use Barrier Healthcare products for red mite and lice (applied direct to bird in both cases although you can puff the red mite powder into crevices in the house and rub on perches too). Both these products contain natural ingredients, smell nice and work for me.

Enjoy your hens!

[Hilary B]

No-one has mentioned the Apple Cider Vinegar or the garlic.......

[sheena]

A couple more things to add to your shopping list...

Grit and Oyster shell!
You can get it as a mixed variety, but I chose to get seperately.

As you are only getting a few to start with, I would recommend getting grit from wilko's for now. It's 59p a bag and will last a while.
Oyster shell is to help build up calcium levels and aid egg shell production.

You'll probably find the girl's will bath in the mud/dirt that is already there (mine are a bugger for throwing it around) but adding a little sand will help.

As Maureen said, don't plan anything for the first 2 weeks... you will be mesmorized by them! They are such fun when they get going, and better than any comedian I have ever seen. Enjoy!

[MaureenHall]

No-one has mentioned the Apple Cider Vinegar or the garlic.......

whooops! I knew I'd forget something! There's probably loads more things I've forgotten too - put it down to my age and lack of layers at the moment

[smileyt]

Thank you all for your input. I will add apple cider vinegar, grit and oyster shell to the list. Plus a rubber egg, I think!

The hutch arrived today. It's a bit rough and ready but with a bit of extra woodwork it will do until I can afford something better - my income is set to plummet as my lodger is due to leave and I think I am going to have to sign on over the summer (I work with disabled students so there is no work when they all go home for the summer holidays). The hutch has lots of nooks and crannies so unfortunately would be a haven for red mite so I shall have to watch carefully ....

How do I use the garlic and the ACV? Surely they don't go in the water together? I will have to have a look round the forums for more information!

Was dreaming about hens last night

[MaureenHall]

If you get some garlic powder from the place you buy the pellets (usually horsey places) you can add that to the food. Put the ACV in the drinking water

We all dream about our chooks

[RedThorn]

whooops! I knew I'd forget something! There's probably loads more things I've forgotten too - put it down to my age and lack of layers at the moment

... you've forgotten more than most of us have learn't and yet still know more than me

[Flummery]

I put apple cider vinegar in the water every day and about twice a week I add a crushed up garlic clove. (yes, together) They seem to guzzle the water whatever. When you think that they'll happily slurp down mucky puddle water I wouldn't worry!

[nmayhew]

may i ask what the ACV and garlic are for?

[Flummery]

They are both said to make the gut inhospitable to worm infections and they improve digestion. Garlic is good for human digestive tracts for sure. ACV also keeps the water sweet and helps to minimise green algae - which you get more in hot sunny weather (I wish!)

[nmayhew]

Thank you Flummery - now the (silly) question I should have asked in my original post: how much ACV do you add? (sorry!)

[Flummery]

Ah - now you've asked the difficult question! It all depends on whose advice you follow. I've heard of 40ml per litre - which seems strong to me - mine get a capful in a half bucket of water. Not being mean - that's what my supplier said he does - and all his chickies looked very fit and lively! Might be worth asking here what others do.

By the way, you'll need a plastic water feeder or bucket - the galvanised ones will be corroded by the acidity.

[Glutton4...]

If you've got a week or two before your Hens arrive, it could be worth painting the inside of their coop with a good coat (or two) of gloss paint. This makes it really easy to clean the poo up, and a quick squirt with the hose if it gets mucky should have it good as new. Also, the gloss will hopefully fill any little gaps that mites would choose to hide in.

Just wish I'd done it myself!

Don't worry about no work for the summer, you'll be chook-watching anyway LOL!