New to this!

[Daffodilly]

Ok I will give the golf balls a go. Like I say, I am totally new to this so doing alot of quick learning....with the coop that I bought, the base of the nest box is just slats of wood (with equal size gaps) is this right? when I queried it with the seller, they told me yes as the nest box needs really good ventilation..I was giong to line it with straw to make it a bit more 'nest like' but I was told no no, dont do that, straw is really bad for chickens as its too dusty so the nest box is just a wooden box bit with open slatted floor?? I was also worried about this being an opening for mice or rats..Any advice on this please xx

[RichmondHens]

Ok I will give the golf balls a go. Like I say, I am totally new to this so doing alot of quick learning....with the coop that I bought, the base of the nest box is just slats of wood (with equal size gaps) is this right? when I queried it with the seller, they told me yes as the nest box needs really good ventilation..I was giong to line it with straw to make it a bit more 'nest like' but I was told no no, dont do that, straw is really bad for chickens as its too dusty so the nest box is just a wooden box bit with open slatted floor?? I was also worried about this being an opening for mice or rats..Any advice on this please xx

Advice? I think you have been fed a load of old codswallop to be frank! The nestbox needs to be dark, secure, dry and comfortable. Straw is just fine as a nesting material, or shavings. You will have to see which your hens prefer as some scratch straw out but sit happily in shavings, or the other way round. If I were a hen there is no way I would want to sit in a slatted box with gale force ten blowing up me chuff while I was laying an egg - no wonder your hens have avoided the nest box so far.

[frias]

Nest box sounds a bit like the one my niece bought. Sadly the slats move so easily the fox just pushed his way in one night and had all her chickens.

[its hilly]

And they tend to sit on the highest bit to sleep so make your perches slightly higher than the nest boxes, then they wont (yeh right) try to sleep in them.
One of my coops had slatted nest boxes but I put in a solid base instead.
You can get 20kg bags of dust extracted chopped straw ( and shavings) in most feed merchants and lots of equestrian supply shops. So whichever yours prefer it can be dust freeish. Change it regularly and you wont have any dust problems.
By the way welcome to the vine, and heed the warnings..chooks are seriously addictive. I went from 3 to, err 30odd at the mo, in just a couple of years.

[Hilary B]

Advice? I think you have been fed a load of old codswallop to be frank! The nestbox needs to be dark, secure, dry and comfortable. Straw is just fine as a nesting material, or shavings. You will have to see which your hens prefer as some scratch straw out but sit happily in shavings, or the other way round. If I were a hen there is no way I would want to sit in a slatted box with gale force ten blowing up me chuff while I was laying an egg - no wonder your hens have avoided the nest box so far.

Absolutely!
BTW, has the coop got lots of tiny gaps where the dreaded red-mite can lurk? With that level of 'advice', it wouldn't surprise me to hear of the whole thing being a red-mite haven!

[polo]

Welcome to the forum. Keep asking those questions - I've had loads of help on here over the last few years. :-)

I know the type of hen coop you have - get the slats screwed down asap or replace the base to stop foxes. My 'emergency' hen house was like that.

Polo

[Daffodilly]

Thank you so much everyone who has takent the time to reply and help. It really is much appreciated. Right, I will put a solid base in the nest box and get some good straw in there. Must admit, I thought it had to be a bit...wel...nesty! but this chap said no just a plain empty box with slatted floor for ventilation, I was also worried about them getting cold so the first night or so, I lined the slatted base with a couple of newspapers then scattered some shavings on top (I cant remember the shavings they told me to use, something like white horse pellets or something. they are like big pellets that I have to partially soak in water to fluff them up into shavings - does this sound right? Im querying everything now!) Im feeding them corn and mash mixed together, is that ok? they are tending to sleep in the nestboxes but I gently lift them up onto their perches and they seem to stay there....And yes there are little nooks and crannys where the coop has been put together, I was thinking of lining all the joints with like a sillicone sealant, would that be an ok idea?? Cant thank you guys enough, feels like I have a bit of back up, very comforting :-)

[polo]

Loads of questions - I will try and answer them all in order.


You have the right idea there - I line the nest boxes and under the perches with newspaper purely becasue it makes it much easier to bundle up and clean out.

I'm not familiar with the pellet things you soak but if youre happy using them then as long as they aren't dusty then they will be fine. You can also use normal shavings or straw or hemp based horse bedding. I would use whatever is easier for you and that the hens get on with.

Its also good to know that as long as there aren't any drafts low down (ventilation high uop in the coop is essential) then hens will not be cold. They will snuggle up on the perch and be very snuggly. Last winter it dropped to -12 for a good week here and the hens were fine. I gave them a handful of corn in the evening to keep them warm (corn takes longer to digest)

Personally, I would feed mash on its own and keep the corn seperate. The corn is like sweets for hens and they may fill up on that to the expense of the goodness they need in the mash. Giving a small handfull in the evening gives you that opportunity to get to know your hens and give them a once over I think.

Carry on putting them on the perch - hopefully they will get the right idea eventually. I have three ex battery hens that are resistant i have to say and are always in the nest box - they will perch if I move them though.

as for the nooks and crannies, you can fill themwith silicone, just make sure its secure and the hens dont pick at it! They will eat anything. Ideally you would creocote the joints before you put it together but its probably not practical now the hens are in there. If you keep a good cleaning regime and use a dusting powder in the coop and under the perches etc you should be ok with red mite - have a look at the red/blaack mite sticky thread at the top for more info. You also need to dust the birds regularly.

There is more than one way of doing things though - I'm sure there will be some more suggestions coming along from the vine.

goodluck - great fun keeping hens

polo

[Suechooks]

I'd cut out the corn mixed with mash. Is it layers mash? When you've finished that bag you might find it easier to feed layers pellets in a hopper type feeder so they have food always available. Either layers feed is a balanced food for laying hens so giving corn too is like mixing chocolate with your greens! Which would you choose!!!! Just scatter a very small handful of corn in the afternoon as a treat.
Any horse bedding is usually ok. Not heard of soaking it - does it feel damp? Damp in winter isn't good.
As far as sealing the coop it is a good idea to keep red mite out of the joins. However a lot of people use Creocote in the joins each year to destroy and deter red mite so the sealing may hinder that - though both options are possible.
Make sure there is enough ventilation if you are sealing gaps.
Don't worry too much though and do what you feel is right for you! I've just mentioned all these things for you to consider - tis not writ in tablets of stone!

And Polo types faster than me!!!!

[Daffodilly]

Thanks Polo, very grateful. when you say dust the hens regularly, how often would you reccommend?

[polo]

Hmm, dusting hens.. I do mine once a month with diatomaceous earth if nothing amiss. If I see lice then I would do weekly for 4 weeks to kill lice and the eggs. What does everyone else do?

Sue makes a good point about the potential dampness of your bedding - hens really dont do dampness!

Polo

[Daffodilly]

Yes it is very slightly damp, it soaks up the water so it then fluffs up from large hard pellets to something that resembles sawdust/shavings but it is still very slightly damp..looks like I have been told a load of rubbish. :-( I was going to buy layers pellets but the person in the shop said to me "oh they will like mash and corn much more, have you ever seen pellets? they dont look to appertising, I wouldnt give it to mine!" so I was put off......do you think, if, next time I buy food, if I bought the pellets, the chickens would accept them ok? Just popping outside to see if it is layers mash on the bag.....:-/

[Daffodilly]

It just says "Traditional Farmyard Feed - Poultry Mash" would this layers mash? I also have a cup of grit out for them. On the first day they were pecking at it quite a bit, but havent seen them touch it since..

[its hilly]

I know the bedding you mean, like pellets, but you spray the surface lightly with water to fluff it to give comfy lying, leaving the bottom layers as pellets for soaking up wet. I used it for my neds because it soaks up huge volumes of ...well wet...which is great for neds as you just lift out wet lumps, very economical. But you only spray it lightly and then let it dry off so it's not damp to lie on.
Tbh I wouldn't recommend it for chooks.
And yes that's layers mash. There is grit in mash and pellets, so they may not take a lot of grit, but I still keep some there anyway.
I'm same as you Polo. Dust with diatom in coop at weekly clean, dust hens roughly monthly, if they do get creapy crawlies of any sort I do them weekly 'till clear.

[Daffodilly]

Well, once again, thank you for all the advice, I think I need to make some changes but now feel able to do this with confidence, I cant thank you enough xx