[silverteen]

hello everyone,

me and my girlfriend have decided we'd like 2 or 3 chickens for our garden, we've decided as we're only having a couple we'd like some beautiful bearded silkie chickens.

we've bought a coop and stained and built it this weekend and bought food, and equipment etc.

I was wondering where to place the coop, the  garden is 80% gravel/chippings and 20% paving slabs, which would be the better surface for the birds? we live in rural west wales and  im sure a fox would eb able to dig under chippings if need be so im opting to lay the coop on the paving slabs which is close to the house and in shade from a fence, I was going to buy some hardwood wooodchips from flyte so fancy to add as a flooring in the coop. would this be ok?

we plan to let the birds out in the garden for about 2 -4 hours a day minimum, while we are home, the garden is fenced off by a 4 foot fence so thats another reason why we want silkies so theres less chance of them flying over a 4 foot fence.

seems alot of the local breeders no longer have silkies left this year, so still looking for some beautiful fluffy hens to home.

also the coop has some small gaps in two places around 5mm wide, should i try and cover these gaps for the winter months?

i was thinking about putting a sheet of newspaper in each nesting box area with wood shavings and straw, would this be a good idea for the winter/cleaning?

[bantam novice]

Hello Silverteen and welcome to the forum 

I am not an expert and I'm sure some more experienced people will be along to give you advice.  However this is my instinct.

I would go for three chickens rather than two.  This is because you won't have one left on its own if one dies.

The coop (meaning the house where the chickens will go to roost at night) on the paving slab sounds fine; however the chickens will need at least 2 square metres of run space each or you could get problems with feather pecking and boredom. 

Chickens love to sunbathe so an area where they can dig themselves a dust bath and sunbathe is a good idea.  If you are on hard stand or chippings people have used a large old tyre filled with a mixture of sand and earth.

People on this site have used dust extracted wood shavings, hemcore or bliss as bedding in the coop.  You can use the same in the nesting box.  I found that if I put newspaper in the hens just scratched it up and shredded it.  You need to avoid dust as hens can get respiratory infections easily.

About the gap; you will need some ventilation but not a draught in your coop. Hens are very good at keeping themselves warm when they roost together but you need to make sure that there isn't a draught across their roosting area.  That said a rat or mouse may be able to get in through that gap.  You may like to cover it with weld mesh.

There is no such  thing as a silly question on this forum so feel free to ask. 
We love to see pictures so when you get your hens it would be great if you could post pictures of them.  Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[SMS6]

I wouldn't use straw at all, they say that it can harbour the dreaded red mite

[3Bluebelles]

Rather than hardwood chippings which might be expensive, we use cheap play bark, which we usually get from B&Q or Homebase. They usually do a deal on 3 or 4 bags of it and the chooks love digging in it.

[kegs]

You might find this post of interest in helping you decide what to use.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=75787.msg858839#msg858839

My coop is on paving slabs but our chickens are let out in the garden all day. I've used newspaper in the coop every day on the tray under their perches which makes it faster to clean in the morning.  In the nest box I put a few layers of paper with Rapport bedding (no straw because of red mite) on top then another layer of paper and Rapport on top of that which makes it very quick to clean.  Their coop has been slurried to (hopefully) prevent red mite using this recipe:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=81422.0

Stalosan F is a good product to keep handy as it's highly absorbent and will help to reduce ammonia smells.  I agree with Bantam about getting at least 3 birds as when we got our 3 in April we lost one of them within 2 weeks from a prolapse (of course by then I was so hooked that I had to buy two new chickens - so make sure your coop is big enough to start with because you will become addicted to chickens!!). 

[silverteen]

Thanks for the replies....

Someone who i was talking to earlier today has told me not to buy chicks/pol hens now as they wont make it through the winter? i havent read anything like this so was a bit suprised? is this something i should take seriously?

[3Bluebelles]

I don't think so. I have never heard of POL chickens not making it through the winter. The only thing is that if they're not yet laying they may not start until the spring, so it's probably better value to buy in the spring, which is why most people do it then.

It depends on the breed though. Hybrids will lay through the winter, especially in their first couple of years. Pure breeds lay less in the winter, but lay for longer in their lives, or so I understand.

If you want them now, and there's a local breeder selling them, then go for it!

[ANHBUC]

We got our 2 Bovan Goldlines (20 weeks old) and 4 Black Rocks (12 weeks old) on 30th December 2010.  It was when everything was covered in snow and didn't thaw out for weeks and weeks.  The hens were fine and the BG's started laying regularly after 2 days.  The Black Rocks did not lay until they were 26 weeks old.  With 6 hens in the coop they were nice and toasty on their roost bars even with the air vent fully open.

Don't have any knowledge of how hardy bearded silkies are but sure other members will advise you about them.

[silverteen]

thanks for your help everyone!

well we've ordered wood chips from a local tree surgeon and easicheck bedding and we've also reserved 3 silkie hens (20 weeks old) one white, one black and one light blue, all bearded which we collect on sunday.

so i have a couple more questions....

ive bought one of the standard all in one coops, and it has 2 large perches over a removeable lined tray floor. should i put bedding under the perches? i planned to place newspaper over the removeable floor to help with cleaning. is there any need for bedding below these perches? or is it important for heat?

also thenesting box has a divider splitting it into two, is this ok between 3 birds? i presume they will sleep on the pirches?

i plan to give fresh water (warm in winter) every morning before work, and let them into the run, then at 12.30 i come home form work so plan to give them food then and let them out of the coop completely where they can go all around the garden until i come back from work at 4-5 pm.

what should i be cleaning and how often? nesting bedding changed weekly? clean poop every day?

i plan to give the silkies water overnight in the coop, do i need to provide food overnight? or will it be ok just to give them food during the day?

i have layers pellets, mash, corn, grit and oyster shell. am i right in thinking pellets say 5 days a week, mash 2, corn a couple times a week (handfull) and grit/oyster shell once a week?


im also worried about eh chickens being cold so seeing if i can run a electricity supply to the coop over the winter for a heated drinker pad.

sorry for all the questions.... just want to get it as right as possible at the beginning!

[kegs]

well we've ordered wood chips from a local tree surgeon and easicheck bedding and we've also reserved 3 silkie hens (20 weeks old) one white, one black and one light blue, all bearded which we collect on sunday.

Photographs are a must !

so i have a couple more questions....

ive bought one of the standard all in one coops, and it has 2 large perches over a removeable lined tray floor. should i put bedding under the perches? i planned to place newspaper over the removeable floor to help with cleaning. is there any need for bedding below these perches? or is it important for heat?

You don't have to put bedding.  I use newspaper with just a light sprinkling of bedding to help soak up the moisture.  There isn't a great deal of room below my perches anyway.

also thenesting box has a divider splitting it into two, is this ok between 3 birds? i presume they will sleep on the pirches?

2 nest boxes between 3 birds is plenty.  I've got 2 but all four of my birds insist on using just one nest box.  Sometimes 2 of them lay in the one box together!!

If you're lucky they will sleep on the perches although you might have to persuade them. 
I put a lightweight seed tray in front of the nest box at night so they go on the perches (they can easily move the tray out of the way if they need to lay first thing).  I like their nest box to stay clean so I get clean eggs!

i plan to give fresh water (warm in winter) every morning before work, and let them into the run, then at 12.30 i come home form work so plan to give them food then and let them out of the coop completely where they can go all around the garden until i come back from work at 4-5 pm.

If I understand this part correctly you will need to put food out for them first thing in the morning not just at lunch time.  When they first wake they have empty crops so the first thing they want to do is eat!

what should i be cleaning and how often? nesting bedding changed weekly? clean poop every day?

You'll work out what is best for you depending on your birds, coop size, the weather, and how much they free range.  I dispose of the paper under their perches every day and check the next boxes.  I wash and slurry their perches probably once a week depending on how dirty it is and what the weather is like.

i plan to give the silkies water overnight in the coop, do i need to provide food overnight? or will it be ok just to give them food during the day?

They won't need food or water overnight as they'll be asleep and the food would only encourage rodents.

i have layers pellets, mash, corn, grit and oyster shell. am i right in thinking pellets say 5 days a week, mash 2, corn a couple times a week (handfull) and grit/oyster shell once a week?

Layers pellets need to be available for them all day.  Only give corn late in the day, say a small egg cup full, to ensure they have eaten enough pellets.  Corn is a treat for them.  (I don't give mash so someone else will have to advise you on that).  Leave the grit and oyster shell out for them and they should help themselves as and when they need it. 

im also worried about eh chickens being cold so seeing if i can run a electricity supply to the coop over the winter for a heated drinker pad.

They should be warm enough in their feather coats!    If you use the search facility I'm sure I remember reading something Hillfooter wrote about insulating drinkers with black plastic.  If we have as much snow as last year you could think about putting down a pallet for them to walk on so they don't get cold feet and get some vaseline for their combs to prevent frostbite.

sorry for all the questions.... just want to get it as right as possible at the beginning!

The more you ask, the more you'll learn and the better a chicken keeper you will be.  Ask away.

[silverteen]

thanks for the answers!cleared up quite a few things!

heres the silkies were getting....3 silkes hens

the blue and black hens in middle (right)...


and one of the  white hens here...

[kegs]

Gorgeous.  I bet you can't wait for Sunday? Good luck and I hope it all goes well.

[ANHBUC]

Think kegs covered everything for you apart from the warm water you mentioned for winter.  Sure I have read on here that it would affect their body temperature regulation so I would wait for someone more experienced to clarify that for you. 

i plan to give fresh water (warm in winter) every morning before work,