Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: cammi on January 13, 2011, 21:02
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Please bare with me if these are REALLY stupid questions and feel free to just post links if i've missed past replies ;)
After watching my chickens again today(we only got them this past saturday) i started to wonder if i'd ever seen Ruby eating any layer pellets out of the feeder so paid more attention and decided she wasnt so i poured some into a cat bowl for her..............immediately she dug in bless her.
I have one of these http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/info_07443.html is it quite common for them not to want to feed out of these?
I'm now deciding whether to get a trough type or one of those plastic ones like the water one.
Next........what make of layer pellets do you recommend at the moment the girls have a bag that i bought from them lady i got the chickens from, its just a white bag with nothing on whatsoever. I havent been to the proper feed shop yet, but have seen around here Dodson and Horrell and Bearts in pet shops.
One more................. do you all clean the actual coop out every week? I only have 3 chooks and i poo pick the coop every morning, diatom is sprinkled onto the bedding ( i know about the paste idea now) (do any of you still just sprinkle it in the bedding?) and it really still looks good as new, could i just top up the bedding this week, renew the nest boxes and give it a proper old clean out next week?
Ok one more lol................i give them their pellets in the morning when i let them out the at dinner time they have same treats (i save a few scraps in one of those little boxes you get blueberries in, today was banana, grapes cherios etc) then about 2.30 i throw 3 little handfulls of oats and corn. Is this ok or is it too much non pellets intkae.
Sorry to go on just thought it was best in one post :wacko:
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no such thing as a stupid question :)
1) some chickens don't like feeders with hats on, so if you use a feeder without then please put it under a cover to stop the rain getting onto the pellets.
2) my hens were fed on organic pellets but when the price went upto almost £15 a bag I changed to Garvo and have now moved them onto Bearts and they love them.
3) no I don't do a full clean every week - more like every 2 depending on how much mess they make - I do the occasional poo pick in between.
4)
too many treats - the corn is also a treat so just keep the treats to once a day or even every couple of days. The fruit etc is a treat as is the corn and the bulk of their food should be their layers pellets :)
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Hi and welcome.
No question is stupid if you don't know the answer! More importantly, it makes me feel good about my stupid questions, so keep 'em coming.
Welcome to the madcap totally addictive world of chicken keeping. Your girls will soon have you trained up so don't worry about a thing. What the chickens don't tell you the good folk on this site will. Just bear in mind that chickens are like children; they haven't read the manuals.
So have fun :tongue2: and look forward to meeting you virtually in future blogs.
Pertelotte
PS post pics of your girls - it's the Law! :D
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We use Bearts now. Used to have Farmgate, but they kept putting their prices up. the chickens are fine on Bearts. How much do the shops where you are charge for Bearts? Would be interesting to know as we buy ours by the tonne!
Some of our chickens don't like the feeders with rainhats either!
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there is a company on ebay from Spalding who sells Bearts for £6.50 - these are Bearts free range layers.
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My hubby works over in norfolk and has a 'chicken friend' so actually goes into Bearts so he will be able to pick some up for me. I'm going to Heckington Supplies tomorrow will see how much things are they are get another feeder!! Trust her, as i bought an expensive feeder instead of just a plastic one!
Dont know when im likely to need a new sack of food though.
Although if im giving too many nibbles perhaps they will eat more layers, they really dont seem that keen on them.
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treats are the chickens equivelent to children's sweets so you really need to cut back on treats and make them eat their proper food, don't worry they will sulk for a short while but wont starve :)
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Hi Cammi,
As said, no such thing as a silly question (there are silly answers( ;)).
For feeders It must be stable.. If you can afford it, the old fashioned galvanised feeders are good, because they are heavy and have a lip so food is not scattered too easily. If you opt for an open feeder, then you need to make sure that they can't get in it; otherwise they will and they'll poo there. I put a long round handle along the top, which serves both purposes. Put it where they don't dust bath, or you'll spend your life cleaning it out.
There are lots of posts about treats so have a trawl, but basically most agree chooks must eat a good breakfast of pellets and fill their crops with pellets before bed. Treats go in the middle and need limiting. You need a mouse proof container for the feed, paper sacks are designed to make it easy for the little perishers.
How often you clean depends on the material in the coop. We have an uncovered wood floor under the perches. This is cleaned every day. Bedding of shavings in the nest box and a small area for the couple of old ladies who can't perch any more. Have a look at comments on using diatomaceous earth slurry. Although the main aim is to deter red mites, it also acts as an easy-clean surface.
Have fun.
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Hi Cammi, don't worry about the questions, you'll be answering them before long! I have a hanging feeder with pellets at hen shoulder height undercover, just on a double chain. They have always been fine with that and twice a day they have warm mash in a galvanised dish with a bit of fruit in the afternoon. I give my house a full clean when it is dry airy weather so it doesn't have any dampness, but I do clear all bedding and floor material once a week and poopick every morning. I am lucky - I can unslot my coop and reverse the floor and nest box areas. I also remove perches and clean weekly. I always use diatom and also sprinkle some where they dustbath in the run.
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I would give the Cheerios a miss. They don't need sugar. :unsure:
Jinty
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I cleaned them out too much when we first got the chickens nearly everyday but soon realised it's not needed.I lined the whole coop with thick newspaper Put the shavings on the top deeply and now every morning it's easy enough to poo pick the damp shavings and replace with a few handfuls .Then you only have to change the whole bedding once a month It's not cheap stuff so every money saving trick helps.
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thanks for the replies everyone. Bought a cheap plastic feeder and got rid of the expensive galvanised one, all chooks now happily eating their layers :)
We also extended their run yesterday its now just over twice the size it was, if chickens could smile they would of been grinning ear toear when we let them into it !
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Please bare with me if these are REALLY stupid questions and feel free to just post links if i've missed past replies ;)
After watching my chickens again today(we only got them this past saturday) i started to wonder if i'd ever seen Ruby eating any layer pellets out of the feeder so paid more attention and decided she wasnt so i poured some into a cat bowl for her..............immediately she dug in bless her. This isn't unusual behaviour they tend to go for the last thing you throw them
I have one of these http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/info_07443.html is it quite common for them not to want to feed out of these? I doubt they would turn their nose up at food from whatever source but I've no experience of these
I'm now deciding whether to get a trough type or one of those plastic ones like the water one. Yes these gravity fed ones are very good
Next........what make of layer pellets do you recommend at the moment the girls have a bag that i bought from them lady i got the chickens from, its just a white bag with nothing on whatsoever. I havent been to the proper feed shop yet, but have seen around here Dodson and Horrell and Bearts in pet shops. Any main stream feed company like D&H Spillers Bocm Paul, Marriages, Garvo and many others should be able to provide a good compound layers pellet. A&P and Garvo produce specialised feeds which are generally expensive and not necessary in my view. Buy from feed merchants not pet shops as they will be much cheaper
One more................. do you all clean the actual coop out every week? I only have 3 chooks and i poo pick the coop every morning, diatom is sprinkled onto the bedding ( i know about the paste idea now) (do any of you still just sprinkle it in the bedding?) and it really still looks good as new, could i just top up the bedding this week, renew the nest boxes and give it a proper old clean out next week? see my posts on http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=69975.msg799456#msg799456 You can top dress the litter if you use good quality litter like softwood shavings (Snowflakes Premium or Hunters for example) or Hemcore. poo picking isn't necessary though many who have the time like to do this and it does make a cosmetic benefit. Proper house design should make it unnecessary
Ok one more lol................i give them their pellets in the morning when i let them out the at dinner time they have same treats (i save a few scraps in one of those little boxes you get blueberries in, today was banana, grapes cherios etc) then about 2.30 i throw 3 little handfulls of oats and corn. Is this ok or is it too much non pellets intkae. Yes . make pellets available ad lib all day and just feed treets in the evening. A handful of mixed poultry corn per bird is the most you need. Keep kitchen scraps strictly rationed to no more than 5% of their feed. Many kitchen scraps are very high in energy and tend to discourage them from foraging. Keep your birds active and working for their low energy dense feed and they won't develop boredom habits like feather pecking. Don't put food litterally on a plate for them make them work for it
HF
Sorry to go on just thought it was best in one post :wacko:
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I use an old fryingpan as a feed holder and put it underneath the coop to keep dry. I found that they used to kick the other feeders about and topple them over.
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Just looked at this feeder and it looks fine but as joy & grannie have said chx don't like top hat designs though maybe in this case it's the shiny surface which puts them off.
If your birds free range you should provide a sheltered outside feed station for your feed and water and if you can make it large enough for your birds to use as a shelter so much the better. A corrigated bitumen panel on a frame suspend 40cm or so above ground level on posts driven into the ground sloping so it sheds rain is excellent. Put a curtain of ribbons made by cutting some heavy duty ground fabric into a fringe round 3 sides (so they can walk through) as a wind & rain break.
I've used old frying pan minus handles as a trough for a drinker, just invert a plastic bucket or tub filled with water with some gaps in the rim to let the water out. Works as a makeshift drinker. However feeders should be suspended above vent height to prevent fouling and being walked in and also to prevent rodents being encouraged. They can't be tipped up if they are suspended as they should be. Large area flat dishes are too easy for chx to scratch out the feed from which they will do and encourage rats. A purpose made feeder does the job best.
HF
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I now throw the corn as far up the garden as I can so they need to go hunting for it. Keeps them entertained for ages. :D :D
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I now throw the corn as far up the garden as I can so they need to go hunting for it. Keeps them entertained for ages. :D :D
Good idea and you'll also find some interesting grasses growing in the garden too in summer:lol:
HF