Hens arrive on Wednesday still so much to decide - Advice Please

[dovesel]

Hello I am David. I am new to keeping chickens and would love a bit of advice on Feeding and Bedding. I have a 8 by 6 shed converted with 2 nesting boxes attached and a 20 x10ft contained run for then to enjoy. I am picking up my 8 hens on Wednesday but I am still unsure what Feed to use and what to do about bedding and keeping the pen clean.

Any Advice at this point would be gratefully received.


Thanks In advance.

[Scarlet]

Hi Dovesel - welcome to the forum.
There will be loads of variation to answer this question! I use horse bedding - its dust extracted and comes in large bales which is suitable for me although if you aim to use it in your compost bins it takes a while to rot down. If this is the case, you could look at hemcore which alot of grapes on here will recommend. A good idea is to lay some newspaper or a board under their perch at night which can be cleaned off quickly in the mornings.
As for feed, layers pellets should be on offer all day with a handful of corn thrown out for the evening and any greens you have available. Make sure you keep their treats to a minimum

[its hilly]

Treat yourself to a decent quality feeder with a 'rain hat' of some sort (not needed if you intend to hang it inside the shed obviously) and keep it full of layers pellets. Layers contain everything they need to stay healthy and lay. You'll never need to worry if they are hungry as they will just eat what they need. Treats of mixed grain or sweetcorn etc, can be fed once a day whenever best fits in with your family. Like kids they will stuff themselves full of treats, and ignore the 'proper' food if you put both out together once a day. Greens are always welcome, just whatever your local supermarket/greengrocer has on offer, or spare stuff from the garden..not lawn clippings though.
I tend to hang water drinkers rather than stand them on the floor as it stops them getting full of, errr, allsorts. Rough height at around mid neck height of your chooks.
Add a tub of grit for calcium and digestion.
Most of all allow plenty of time to stand and laugh, watch and enjoy, cos you sure will

[country chic]

Hello i was new to this too a few months go and it is a bit of a learning curse as there are no hard fast rules just differences in opinions.

Have tried a few different bedding but now find that Aubiose/Hemcore are by far the best as they are highly obsorbent and suitable to chuck on the compost heap. They also my the coup look clean and i tend to poo pick daily to keep it that way.


Layers pellet is my girls main feed and I usually give them some sort of green leafy material to eat. At the minute the dandilions are in abundance and my girls love the leafs. Some grass cliping go down well and they just adore green grapes and apple core, rice and pasta, the latter tow as a treat.

Well enjoy your birds am sure you will find them fascinating to watch.

[JohnMac]

Hi Dovesel.... in addition to al the good advice above, I use wood shavings for bedding. A big bale lasts about 3 or 4 months and costs about £6. I compost the shavings when changing the bedding once a week... I also clear out any chicken poo from the coop just about daily and compost that too.

Since the layers pellets should be available all the time be careful about how this is made available to your chickens. This is the greatest reason for generating a rat problem. I made my own rat proof chicken feeder... see the link below for design. You'll also find general advice available at the second link below. Hope this helps, and best of luck! John

Allotment Heaven: How to make a rat proof chicken feeder

Allotment Heaven: Ten top tips to chuckling chicks