do you think my girls are spoilt??

[angelat]

hi all,

havent been on for a while but was just browsing through posts and was amused by affections towards hens. i have got to confess i have totally spoilt mine, i think?? they get:

can free range the whole of the garden, access to patio etc (i just keep on top of sweeping and cleaning)access to house when it rains, they come running up and wait on step.every time they hear the back door open they fly over garden wall for treats,hot porridge in mornings, evening leftovers and roast dinners on sundays. they had mince pies at christmas and they adore flapjacks.

i totally love my carmen and miranda and in return they 'talk' chook language to me and produce wonderful eggs which i never fail to appreciate when they have layed. they havent done much damage to the grass and they have been free ranging for around 18 months now, they have their own section which contains there house and a barked area with a sturdy picket fence and gate, although i always open it for them to free range in day (although wide lawned area, so not confined to one patch, maybe thats why they havent destroyed the grass too much, they dont spend their whole time on the grass) they have leafy borders and patio to roam on as well. they have produced lovely toiled soil (i dont have plants in my beds) i plant in pots high on wall so they cant get them.

i can still have my hanging baskets and find that i can still have a nice garden, i just keep on top of it and put pots with plants they might get up high. having the corn around has attracted more birds to the garden which i love and have a well established bird table which now is visited by a squirrel for the nuts. the chickens dont know what to make of him though?? my dog (who passed away last year) wasnt bothered by them and didnt chase and my cat who i was worried about when i got him is wary of them so they have obviously put him in his place. He likes to watch them up high so they cant get him!!!! its like chook tv for him. i would recommend them to anyone.

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[tlck9]

mine are soooo spoiled and I keep being told this on the allotment. They have loads of room in their run and get let out when we are up there.

They have various slides, perches and areas to hide or stand on so they dont pick on the newer ex batts.

they get hot mash of a morning, rice and corn in the afternoons and a bit of lettuce with their early morning mash.

However they lay well and I hope have a lovely life, albeit a bit bleak in the winter as we are so high. I get 3-5 eggs a day from 5 birds, 3 are hybrids and 2 ex batts

I am so amazed how they have managed to worm their ways in the both mine and my OH hearts, especially since the OH wanted nothing to do with them, but goes up every day, because they like their corn and rice

[mr darcy]

I don't think there's any such thing as overspoiling chooks, we folks are just helping to balance out all those 'orrible fings that happen to them else where in this world spoil a way! there's not enough love in this world, you'll have beautiful karma

[BUFFS]

we may not intend to spoil our chooks but we do fuss over them,in this cold weather mine get hot layers pellets in the morning,toast broken up for them at lunch and rice with sweetcorn at about 4pm(load their crops for the night) so we have been getting an egg a day from each,except for the one just finished her moult,and with her wattle colouring up nicely,we will soon be back to maximum eggs.we sell a few egggs and this pays for all the feed plus greens etc so the amount they get doesnt bother me,they laid through weeks of ice and snow(down to -13/14) without fail so they deserve to be spoilt a bit.
i have a question for the more knowledgable..would it be better to introduce a few new chooks now,while they are spending more time in the coop,so not outside squabbling? would they have an easier time this part of the year?we want to replace the one we lost in the first cold spell with two more bluebelles(beautiful but tough as old boots) and want to keep the bullying down to a minimum,i thought the long nights might help,so am i right or would it not make a difference?,ireally need your thoughts on this.

[julesapple]

i have a question for the more knowledgable..would it be better to introduce a few new chooks now,while they are spending more time in the coop,so not outside squabbling? would they have an easier time this part of the year?we want to replace the one we lost in the first cold spell with two more bluebelles(beautiful but tough as old boots) and want to keep the bullying down to a minimum,i thought the long nights might help,so am i right or would it not make a difference?,ireally need your thoughts on this.

I'd be interested in any thoughts on this topic too, Buffs, as I'd like to get two more from DTBC in Devon (they've got a sale on!) We've just built all of the component parts for our new henhouse, so I'm wondering if we get two new girls and put them all in the new house together on the first night we have both (the new chooks and the new house) will there be less squabbling as they are preoccupied? I will be using the tried & tested vinegar trick though - that works a treat.

Jules

PS Yes, my girls are well spoiled too!!!

[RichmondHens]

If you have a new henhouse Jules then to put all birds together for the first time in a new house will help as ALL will be in a new space. Will you have a new run too?

Buffs - No time of year is better or worse than any other for introducing new hens to old. It's always best to introduce at night, so they get to "sleep" with the oldies and all come out into the run together, but there is always squabbling for a few days. The more space they have to "escape" though, the better it is for them. There will inevitably be more fighting and stress to the new birds if the pen is small as they can get pushed into a corner and beaten up more easily.

We are always moving hens about, swopping in and out of different runs (for breeding, re-introducing broodies, new growers etc) and they all shake down pretty quickly.

[MrsC]

I spoil my too and Mr C who is a softy at heart and goes out and talks to them (he won't admit it though!) I like it when the weather is nice at the weekend and they wander round the garden all day. They always come up to the kitchen and have a wander, although if Mr C sees them he opens the oven door, he never would really do it though! I have spent the last few days deciding (not that Mr C has heard of my plans yet) about extending the run and the hen house so I can get some more girls. They're fab! I will get some more soon!

[lettucegrow!]

Same here MrsC. Been quietly planning for a while under the pretense of making the run under cover and safer( which is true) and then will be able to move two more in.I'm sure OH will be quite happy as I'm hoping to get a Welsummer and I keep reading their eggs are especially nice.
Mine are as spoilt as everyone else' s but we just want to give a good life ,don't we?

[julesapple]

If you have a new henhouse Jules then to put all birds together for the first time in a new house will help as ALL will be in a new space. Will you have a new run too?

Buffs - No time of year is better or worse than any other for introducing new hens to old. It's always best to introduce at night, so they get to "sleep" with the oldies and all come out into the run together, but there is always squabbling for a few days. The more space they have to "escape" though, the better it is for them. There will inevitably be more fighting and stress to the new birds if the pen is small as they can get pushed into a corner and beaten up more easily.

We have a run attached to the existing henhouse, but it's never been used. The girls have the free run of what's left of the garden (chooks & weather have both turned my lawn into mud -we're just waiting to get delivery of some promised meadow turf so that we can recarpet the garden, but it's taking ages - it's free so I can't complain, just have to be patient. Meanwhile the clay soil is being aerated and covered with sand & grit mixture to help future drainage) and, as there is always someone here, we've never had to put them in the run. The new house is just a free standing house, no run.

Jules

[BUFFS]

thanks richmondhens for the info,i will wait a few weeks before getting my new birds and see what hybrids/breeds my breeder has,probably have bluebelles but fancy white leghorns for the colour of the eggs..thank you all for the help.. i rely on this site for good advice and its always welcome.

[curvychick]

Gosh and I thought my lot were ruined! I was so worried about thier first winter, that the OH put up insulating stuff over the hen house, I've renamed it the Hennedy Space Centre as its silver!! I clean them out every day, they have a lovely run, perches (one a water soaked log that I dragged up the road from my local park!) and access to the top half of my garden where there is a natural devon bank for them to scratch around on. They get the usual hen food and offerings of corn on the cob, sweetcorn, cucumbers, apples, grapes ets as extras here and there, and mealworms which they do anything for!
I have four girls now, two hybrids Trinny and Susannah and two bantams which Trinny hatched for me last year - Victoria (Peckham) and Madonna (Louis Chickoni!). Susannah rules the roost and has yet to start laying this year, but Trinny and the kids are going great guns now which is fab as I'm hoping to sell a few to pay for their feed etc!
They are all individual characters and I'd miss them if we didnt have them (even Trinny-see the noisy hen link!)
Sam
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