Your top hen keeping tips please.

[thepopela]

Hi,
i have 2 chickens which we keep for eggs and am new to this, so any good hen keeping tips for great tasting eggs and the chickens welfare would be appreciated. We feed them layers mash and all our veg peelings raw, apart from potato (i was told not to feed them this?)
Cheers.

[Nicos]

My main tip would be hygene- keep the coop,run and chooks as muck free and pest free as possible. Lots of regular checks/clean ups!

Second tip would be to phone around now and see if you can find a vet who specialises in chooks!

Oh ...( not such a nice one)...try and keep an eye open for someone who may- in an emergency- send one of your gals off to chooky heaven

( cooked potato peelings are fine!)

[thepopela]

cheers Nicos,
what kind of soaps/cleaners are best to clean the coop with in your opinion?

[Nicos]

I'm not the best person to ask to be honest as mine free range and live in a pigsty which I clean out each week with diluted brown Dettol ...then powder any nooks and crannies against red spider mite.

[thepopela]

ok cheers,
just read about putting cider vinegar in the chooks water, what is the purpose of that? sorry to be a pain!

[Nicos]

Not a pain- tis good you are so caring and concerned!

Here's a thread about cider vinegar..

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...gar_49714.html


Many of us have only recently started having chooks- so our 'voyage of discovery' is well mapped on the various Rule the Roost threads- make a brew and go through them- they're great fun and VERY educational!!

(Give us a yell if you can't find them!)

[OverWyreGrower]

I tend to use diluted dettol too - much easier to get hold of etc than some of the more commercial poultry cleaners

Top tip - get all your birds used to being handled, as one day, for whatever reason, you know you are going to need to pick one of them up!

[jimred]

when the girls have gone to sleep slide some newspaper under there perch.

in the morning take out the newspaper and pooh and stick it in the compost.

nice clean coop, i also spray the coop once a week, put down diatom and steam clean twice a year, bit paranoid but haven't seen a red-mite yet, but still time!

[Scarlet]

And don't forget to worm them.
Good to see someone welsh on here - I'm originally from Pontllanfraith!!

[Glutton4...]

I'd get two more Chooks! They hate being on their own, and if the worst should happen and you lose one, the other would quickly get depressed! Whoever sold you two in the first place should have suggested at least three. (Well, that is what I was told!)

It'll be worth you having a look through the 'Rule The Roost' section of the Vine. There's loads of information, advice, and different experiences to learn from. It may take you a week to trawl through it all though - good luck!

[sheena]

I'd get two more Chooks!

Only 2!!!

Shame on you G4, bad bad bad... get to that naughty corner and learn to count... 2 more does not sound good enough to me, save yourself the bother of up-scaling and go for the big number. 6 should about fine, sell the surplus to pay for their keep (Free eggs for you)

[Glutton4...]

Only 2!!!

Shame on you G4, bad bad bad... get to that naughty corner and learn to count... 2 more does not sound good enough to me, save yourself the bother of up-scaling and go for the big number. 6 should about fine, sell the surplus to pay for their keep (Free eggs for you)

Now repeat after me;
'My name is Sheena, and I am mad!'

Go on now...


Sorry thepopela, we didn't mean to hijack your thread, honest!

[sheena]

My name is Sheena and i'm as mad as a march hare!

Sorry

[its hilly]

Now repeat after me;
'My name is Sheena, and I am mad!'

Go on now...

Oooo can I join in please 'my name is Hilly and I'm a chicken addicted fruitcake'

Sorry thepopela, to be more serious..the idea of the ACV (use horsey apple cider vinigar rather than the cooking one cos its unpasturised and has more goodness in it) is that it alters the acidity of the gut and makes it less atractive for some of the bad bugs that chooks can pick up. Just add a splosh to the drinking water once a week or so.
My best tip would be to pick up your chooks at least once a week and just have a quick feel at the breastbone to see if its razor sharp (bad, up the food) or disappearing under fat (also bad, fat hens dont lay so cut the treats back) and give them a general once over for lice or any cuts or nicks they may have picked up etc.

[Gro-Bag]

Access to greens - if they've destroyed the grass and are in a run throw them some clumps in and dandelions etc when you're weeding. If they are free ranging they'll find their own. And dust baths - good for keeping pests at bay and the hens really enjoy them. Mine have big plant-pots of compost and sand mixture.

Agree - get a couple more. Going by all the hatching threads on here there should be a few chickens going cheep before long (sorry, sorry, sorry!!!)