2 questions: oyster shell, and separating nest boxes

[nmayhew]

hi,

should i mix my girls' oyster shell supplement in with their mash, or put it out separately? or does it not really matter?

also, their house is an arc raised off the ground. they only seem to go in there at night which seems right, but do i need to "cordon off" the nest boxes from the roosting area?
it is all on the same level, and their is no "privacy" for the birds once they decide to lay (only got them saturday so maybe a while yet), so should i put up curtains or something?

many thanks,

Nick

[di]

I find that unless I mix the grit/oyster shells in with their mash our girls tend to not touch it,but I think there's others on here who's will!
As for the nesting boxes,you should be OK...ours aren't sectioned off...they tend to lay during the day & roost at night,so you shouldn't have any problems with privacy.Maybe pop a couple of wooden eggs in the boxes to give them the idea that that's where they need to be laying.

[Flummery]

I scatter the shell/grit mix with a bit of mixed corn of an evening. They potter around and pick it up then and next day when they are foraging.
As to nest boxes, as long as they are not opposite the door and therefore have a bit of 'darkness' the chickens will be happy to lay there. It doesn't really need to be separated from the rest of the coop. If you have 2 they will no doubt all want the same one!

[Gardenwitch]

i hang the grit in a separate lil cup near the main feeder of food and mine help themselves to it.

[nmayhew]

thank you for your repsonses

as to the nest box being "opposite" - well, it is: the boxes are at the far end of the arc.

do i need to make it darker?

[Flummery]

As long as it's not in full sun it should be ok.

[RichmondHens]

My grit and oyster shell is mixed up in a grit hopper attached to the side of the henhouse. I dump a couple of large handfuls in every couple of days and the hens just gobble it up as is, no need to mix it with anything. They will eat it as and when they need it, just make sure it is always available.

Nestboxes like the others have said, away from the door and curtains are optional. You can hang a sack/hessian curtain across to make it darker, or a sheet of black plastic with a dividing cut in the middle that the hens can push through. Try to site them below the level of the perches otherwise the hens will roost in them (they will always try for the highest point - safety instinct kicking in) which is to be discouraged otherwise you get poopy nestboxes!

[kirsty b]

I sprinkle a handful of grit for them with the corn so they pick it up while scratching about.

Mine have 3 nestboxes and only use two. Both are right next to the shed door, mine are quite happy to have it that way, if I move the boxes they sulk and just lay on the floor in that corner. Yesterday I had 2 hens tring to use one at the same time, quite comical it was, also when they form a queue, cos they all prefer one box to the other

[MaureenHall]

Mine have 3 nestboxes and only use two. Both are right next to the shed door, mine are quite happy to have it that way, if I move the boxes they sulk and just lay on the floor in that corner. Yesterday I had 2 hens tring to use one at the same time, quite comical it was, also when they form a queue, cos they all prefer one box to the other

Yep Been there, had that It's even funnier when there's 3 trying to squeeze into 1 box and 5 more queueing up outside waiting for that one when there's another 3 empty!

[Scouse]

I have 2 girls and I use a separate container for there grit "and fingers crossed never had any problems", they have 2 nest boxes which are next door to one another and they only ever use the 1 box!!!

[nmayhew]

thanks guys, very helpful

i can't make the nest box lower than roost because it's a one-level arc, but hey-ho.

as an aside, i grabbed some handfuls of mash from their feeder and threw it around the run early evening and they went crazy for it! funny because they hadn't been eating much from the feeder at the time (and totally ignored the wetted brown bread bits i threw down for them), and then went scratch / peck crazy!

do you throw just corn / grit mix btw, or is it any other grain? and why have some on here warned about too much corn? it's not bad for them is it?

off to shut the coup now - just realised i forgot!!! :0

[Hilary B]

thanks guys, very helpful

i can't make the nest box lower than roost because it's a one-level arc, but hey-ho.

as an aside, i grabbed some handfuls of mash from their feeder and threw it around the run early evening and they went crazy for it! funny because they hadn't been eating much from the feeder at the time (and totally ignored the wetted brown bread bits i threw down for them), and then went scratch / peck crazy!

do you throw just corn / grit mix btw, or is it any other grain? and why have some on here warned about too much corn? it's not bad for them is it?

off to shut the coup now - just realised i forgot!!! :0

Corn for chooks is like sweeties for kids. They enjoy it so much they may decline to eat their dinner, excess makes them fat, and once they get the taste, they may whinge for more if you stop giving them any!

[MaureenHall]

Corn for chooks is like sweeties for kids. They enjoy it so much they may decline to eat their dinner, excess makes them fat, and once they get the taste, they may whinge for more if you stop giving them any!

And fat hens don't lay many eggs!!

[nmayhew]

Hilary, Maureen, thank you.

I may stick to just throwing around some mash - it seems to have the desired effect and "get them going".

[Flummery]

A bit of mixed corn - sold as such for chickens - is very popular - our supplier said it's like doughnuts! - therefore I guess yummy but bad if overdone. We give a handful between four of them with the grits mixed in - about 7.00 p.m. now it's light evenings. It does encourage them to scratch around and to pick up the grit too so I think it's a worthwhile exercise. But I do try to remember the doughnut comparison - it's tempting to spoil them but the word spoilt isn't used for nothing!